Fazilat of The Night of Power (Al-Qadr)

The Night of Power (Al-Qadr)

Surat 97 of the Qur’an
Revealed before the Hijrah. This chapter has 5 verses.

“In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
1. We have indeed revealed this (Message) in the Night of Power:
2. And what will explain to thee what the Night of Power is?
3. The Night of Power is better than a thousand Months.
4. Therein come down the angels and the Spirit by Allah’s permission, on every errand:
5. Peace! ... This until the rise of Morn!”

The Night of Power, or “Laylat ul-Qadr” as it is known in Arabic, is one of the most significant moments of the Islamic year. Muslims believe that groups of angels are sent out on the Night of Power to perform special purposes. Some come down to earth to worship Allah, others come to bring about the requests of believing Muslims. Special angels are also said to descend to earth to make proclamations about the coming year. This night is also called the “Night of the Decree or Destiny” by some.

This night of “blessing” is supposedly the same night of the month of Ramadan as when Mohammed first received the revelation of the Qur’an, but may actually be one of several nights. Bukhari, a companion of Mohammed, reported that the prophet of Islam said, “Seek it on the odd numbered nights of the last ten days of Ramadan.” According to the Hadith by Ubayy bin Ka’ab, Mohammed also said, “By Allah, I know which night it is. It is the night the Messenger commanded us to observe, the 27th night.” Even so, according to many the exact moment during Ramadan remains a mystery to test the sincerity of Muslims concerning their faith. The seriously interested person will seek God’s blessings all night until he or she attains this moment of blessing, regardless of the hardship.

Muslims are often encouraged to stay awake during the entire night, and pray for blessings and forgiveness. This is one moment of the year when Muslims have a bit more confidence that God will hear and act on their behalf. According to tradition, Mohammed is supposed to have said: “Whoever prays during the Night of Power with faith and hoping for its reward will have all his previous sins forgiven.”

Muslims often also recite the Qur’an on this night while making special requests to God. Others may evaluate their own lives and make plans for the next year. Sometimes Muslims will take time off work to be able to stay up all night, spending the time at the local mosque.

Muslims come to this night with several attitudes. Some want to prove their devotion to God through their prayers, even being proud of their religious accomplishments. Others, knowing in their hearts that they are incapable of really pleasing God by their own religious activity, will feel disappointed with themselves. Finally, significant numbers will be praying in desperation and are genuinely seeking help from God.

Prayer Points

Be specific in your praying. Ask God to inspire you. Often women who are sterile will look to God to conceive as a result of their praying during this night. Others who are unemployed will pray. Some who are having family problems or who are sick will also be calling on God during this night.

You might pray something like the following:

* Lord, may Your compassion flow in our hearts for Muslims during this night. Lord, You are a father to the fatherless. You are near to those who are lowly and contrite in heart (Isa 51:17, 57:17 and 66:2).

* Lord, may You break down all thoughts of self-righteousness through religious activity among Muslims who participate in the Night of Power. May You move them toward true humility before You (Dan 4:37).

* May all glory be Yours because of Your loving character and for all You have done. Lord, may You be acting during the Night of Power so that people may have a revelation of Jesus, the Messiah.

* Lord, remember those who are genuinely seeking Your help this night. May You give them the help they need in such a way that they will understand that it comes to them through the Messiah, Jesus (Ps 34:18, Zech 9:9).

Notes on the Qur’an

Please note: The text of Surat 97 (facing) is the only place in the “30 Days” booklet where we have cited an entire Surat (chapter) of the Qur’an. Reading the Qur’an is not forbidden for Christians but it should be done with care.

All chapters of the Qur’an begin with the words “In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.” While this sounds like a Biblical idea of God it is actually the exact opposite concept. In popular Islamic thinking grace is definitely something to be “earned.” One receives grace and pardon by performing certain religious acts. Allah is gracious only to those who practice Islam. He is no lover of sinners.

Meritorious religious activity receives grace in Islam. For example: Some Muslims believe that they will receive the merit of 100,000 daily prayers by praying at the Mosque Haram in Mecca. This amounts to about 55 years of prayer five times per day. This merit will weigh heavily in the balance on the Day of Judgement. However to receive such merit Muslims need to make the pilgrimage to Mecca. They receive merit and forgiveness as a result of their religious activity (if it is God’s will).

Prayer in Islam

Muslims are supposed to pray five times a day at specific times while facing the direction of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Muslim prayer is formal and ritualistic yet many Muslims do make every effort to be sincere and upright in performing their prayers.

Muslim prayer is characterised by rules of respect and attitudes of politeness toward Allah (Please note that all Arab speakers use this word for God — whether Christian or Muslim, though their ideas of God are significantly different.).

"Praying correctly and at the appropriate time is one of the greatest indications of (Muslim) faith and a great sign of true religion".1 Prayer is to be done with heart and body cleanliness, with cleanness of clothing and in a ceremonially clean place. The washing of the hands, nose, face, forearms, ears, and feet in preparation for Muslim prayer is important.

Muslims place very strong emphasis on the exact postures and the words of their prayers (which are always in Arabic). Almost all Muslim prayer is concerned with reciting specific phrases from memory. In the course of the five regular prayer times a Muslim will prostrate himself a total of 34 times and he will repeat the following phrases:

"Allah is greater"

"Praised be my mighty Lord"

"Allah hears the one who praises him"

He will also recite the "Al-Fatiha" or another text from the Qur’an 17 times, the "Shadada" (Islamic creed), and the greeting of peace to all Muslims.

Muslims can make requests to God privately after they finish their ritual prayers. However, Muslims do not believe that God binds himself to his people through covenants. This is a key concept for understanding their attitudes toward answers to prayer and their lack of assurance of God’s steadfast love towards them. In addition, Muslims generally believe that Allah’s desires (for good or ill) will always be done despite their activities or requests. Trusting in God for specific responses to prayer in the Christian sense is not practised among Muslims. This is a huge difference between Muslim and Christian experience.