By Muhammad Basir Roslan
You, yes you… The person who visits IIUMToday website to check on latest news that happens around IIUM and interesting articles written by our journalists. May I have your five minutes to read up and gain new knowledge about one special night in the month of Ramadan, the night that we called Lailatulqadr. And once again, I know that some of you will scratch your head and shoulders because you will be eager to read more on this article.
But first, what do we understand from the word “Lailatulqadr”? Getting to know the meaning of the word “Lailatulqadar” is a prerequisite before going further into details on the “magical power” of Lailatulqadar. The same goes to when you do crave or are fond of someone, but until the end you still do not get to know his / her name. In the first place, “Lailatulqadr” in its direct English translation means “the night of power” (“Qadr” in Arabic term means “power”). In the referred Surah of the Holy Quran, the phrase “Lailatulqadr” is used to imply the “Night of Decrees”. This word derived clearly from Surah Alqadr verses 1 to 5:
“Lo! We revealed it (Quran) in the night of decrees. Ah, what will convey unto thee what the night of decrees is! The night of decrees is better than a thousand months. The angels and the spirit descend therein, by the permission of Their Lord, with all decrees. Peace until the rising of the dawn.”
When Allah quotes that He has revealed this Holy Quran on the night of Lailatulqadr, it dictates unequivocally that the whole Quran is none other than the words of Allah Himself; and thus any contention that the contents of the Quran being made up by the holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) does not hold water. Bearing this in mind, any further contention that Quran being the worthless sayings of a soothsayer will perpetually remain a fallacy.
Moving on, what is actually the significance of Lailatulqadr? Yes, for sure we have to know that the importance of Lailatulqadr is too great since the Holy Quran has been sent down on this night. And it is also said in the Quran that the-one-and-only special night of Lailatulqadar is far greater than a thousand months put together. MasyaAllah, praise be to Allah! Surely, the reward that comes with it for the believers who manage to live up the special night with ibadah of any kind and good deeds is far beyond imagination.
Now, let’s imagine yourself being an employee in a company. One day, the CEO of the company makes an announcement that should any of the employees works over-time on a specified day, he / she shall be rewarded with 81 years’ worth of salary. Is it not a super-lucrative offer? Would you turn down the offer? Having said that, now let’s find out how to spot this special night, on our quest for its reward.
Oh, stop. First of all, we have to know when Lailatulqadr occurs and what to do to live up this holy night? A Hadith narrated by Aisyah (May Allah be pleased with her), the Prophet’s wife states: “When the last ten days of Ramadhan began, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) would stay up at night, wake his family and tie his lower garment tight.”
The above Hadith does not specifically point out on which night in Ramadhan does Lailatulqadar occur (as the answer definitely is only with Allah the All-knowing). But the gist of the Hadith is that the Prophet Muhammad himself multiplied his ibadah during the last ten days of Ramadan would indicate that those days are the most special out of the holy month of Ramadan; thus our humanly assumption that Lailatulqadar occurs during any of the last ten days of Ramadan might be right (Verily Allah knows better).
(Actually when I wrote this article, we already have arrived to the last ten days of Ramadan of course). Now, how can we make merry of this night? I once jotted down what had been delivered by Ustaz Muhadir Bin Joll as-Sanari in his religious talk on Lailatulqadr (I found this video on his YouTube channel, may Allah bless him for his good deeds towards the ummah).
He mentioned that in the last ten days of Ramadan, we must try our best not to fail Isya’ congregational prayer, tarawikh prayer, witir prayer and subuh prayer as well. We can also give alms even RM1 for those who are in need, read Quran even one page every day, perform Qiyamullail (standing for prayer at night) and make a lot of supplications that request blessings upon Prophet Muhammad, pray for our parents and ask Allah for forgiveness. We must also leave the mundane, as for us we should reduce our involvement in worldly actions during Lailatulqadr. We all know that it is okay to eat, drink and sleep during the Night of Power, we should refrain ourselves from sexual relations and frivolous activities like watching television or common gossip.
Okay then, how can we know the sign of Lailatulqadr? In Latha’if al-Ma’arif book page 194-195, the scorch of the sun after Lailatulqadr happens is very soft and the weather is not too hot, the taste of ocean water becomes not too salty, some of salafus shalih (or pious peoples) can see the angels doing Tawaf in Masjidil Haram above human’s head, and the condition of night during Lailatulqadr is so peaceful without noise and barking of dogs.
So then, what are we waiting for? Let’s try our best to perform good deeds and pursue the goodness of Lailatulqadr so that we will be blessed by Allah, our only God in this world and the Hereafter Insya Allah!
Surely Lailatulqadar is a great night that comes with great offers and opportunities. But let us not forget that the whole Ramadan itself is a blessing for all of us who are still alive today to experience it. Let us live up our whole life with devotion to Allah and good deeds (especially during Ramadan), and may Allah accept all of our ibadah. May all of us be given the chance to experience Ramadan in the following years of our life. Ramadan Kareem! ***