Lailatul Qadar - The night of power

Qadar means honour and dignity. Lailatul Qadar means the night of honour and dignity. It is this night in which the first Divine Revelation of the Quran came to the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w, when he was in prayer in the Hira Cave. Since this night enjoys the honour of having the first revelation brought to the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w, it has been named Lailatul Qadar.

This is one of the holiest and most blessed nights, which is likely to occur on one of the odd nights on the last ten days of Ramadhan and most likely to be the 27th. The reward of worship on this night is better than the worship of a thousand months of worship, equivalent to a person's lifetime. So, on this night one should pray, recite the Quran, Tasbih, Zikir, Doa, etc as much as possible.

This night had already opened its gates of treasures when the malaikat for the first time had come with the Divine Message in the Hira Cave, but its auspiciousness has continued to be with us. Every year during the month of Ramadhan, this night is given to the Ummah. Muslims engage in prayers, recitation of Quran and praying to Allah, as the Prophet s.a.w said: "The person who offered prayers to Allah in the night of Dignity with faith and with hope of reward from Allah, all his past sins have been forgiven." (Bukhari)

As the rainy season is suitable for farming, similarly for the attainment of nearness to Allah, specific times , specific days and specific nights are most suitable, e.g. the time of Tahajjud prayers, Friday prayers, month of Ramadhan, the Day of Arafah, etc. So also the Night of Power is the most suitable night for attaining nearness to Allah.

In the Hadis, we have been asked to seek it in the last ten nights of the month of Ramadhan. Aishah r.a narrates that the Prophet s.a.w has said, 'Seek the night of Dignity in the odd nights of the last ten days of Ramadhan'.(Bukhari).

By odd nights, the reference is made to the 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th, 29th night of the month of Ramadhan. No one night has been fixed so that the yearning to find it may increase and people may spend more nights in worshipping Allah. From this aspect, the importance of Iktikaf (seclusion) during the last ten days of Ramadhan is clear.