Ramadan Reflection Day 26 Laylat Al-Qadr

Day Twenty-six of Ramadan. A reading from the book "The Call of Allah" by Rosina-Fawzia Al-Rawi. Today we talk about one of the holiest nights of the Islamic year - Laylat Al-Qadr. It is also known as "The Night of Destiny" when the orders for our life this next year come down from Allah. Praying this night is better than praying 1000 months.

Transcript

Assalamualaikum,

Peace be with you and Ramadan Mubarak.

Welcome to the University of Sufism's reading of Rosina Fawzia Al-Rawi's book,

The Call of Allah,

A companion to the holy month of Ramadan.

Today I am sharing day number 26,

Laylat al-Qadr.

Aisha,

Mother of the believers reported,

The messenger of Allah said,

Expect Laylat al-Qadr the night of power in the last 10 days of Ramadan.

The dominant doctrine says that the messenger of Allah,

Peace and blessings be upon him,

Kept the precise day of Laylat al-Qadr open in order to give the Muslims more opportunity to vie for the favor of Allah during this blessed month.

Laylat al-Qadr is the spiritual peak of the month of Ramadan.

In the Quran,

A whole surah al-Qadr is dedicated to this night.

Behold from on high we have bestowed this divine writ on the night of destiny and what could make thee conceive what it is,

That night of destiny.

The night of destiny is better than a thousand months.

In hosts descend in it the angels,

Bearing divine inspiration by their sustainer's leave from all evil that may happen,

Does it make secure until the rise of dawn.

Quran 97,

Ayats 1 through 5.

It follows that the night of destiny,

Laylat al-Qadr,

Is the night of glory,

Power,

Fate,

And peace.

Allah says,

Quran 97,

Ayat 1,

From on high we have bestowed this divine writ on the night of destiny,

Innaa aazannahu nahu fi Laylat al-Qadr.

We ourselves,

Allah,

And not the angel Gabriel Jabril,

Have sent down the Quran.

The complete revelation descended in one night from the seventh heaven,

From Allah al-Mahfuz,

The preserved tablet,

To the first heaven.

Allah al-Mahfuz,

The preserved tablet,

Is the place where Allah's decrees are preserved and protected from everything that is added or removed from changes and additions.

Quran 15,

Ayat 9.

Behold it is we ourselves who have bestowed from on high,

Step by step,

This reminder,

And behold it is we who shall truly guard it from all corruption.

From the first heaven,

And over a period of 23 years,

The Quran was revealed to the heart of the Messenger of Allah,

Peace be upon him,

By the angel Gabriel Jabril.

The revelation began in the night of power,

Qadr.

Qadr means balance in everything,

Calculation,

Decree,

Value,

Worth.

It is the night of destiny.

It is during this night that important decisions are made for the rest of the year.

The angels come to carry them out,

Living orders descend.

The angel Gabriel came down every year during Ramadan in order to repeat the Quran with the Prophet,

Peace be upon him.

Only during his last Ramadan did they repeat the Quran together twice.

Quran 97,

Ayat 2.

And what could make thee conceive what it is?

That night of destiny.

Laylatul Qadr is a special night which recurs every Ramadan,

But it is also the night in 610 CE in which the Prophet Muhammad,

Peace be upon him,

Had retired as he was wont to from the hectic city life to the little rock cave called Hira,

In the mountain of the light,

Jabal al-Nur,

Near Mecca.

And when the night fell,

The angel Gabriel,

Sent by Allah,

Visited the Prophet,

Peace be upon him,

And brought him the first revelation.

From that time on,

Islam took its course,

And it is important to know that there would not be any Muslims without this night and the events which took place during this night.

Laylatul Qadr is the anniversary of the Quran.

This night is actually ever so close to us.

Do not let yourself be distracted by the years between this night and us,

For time plays a minor role.

We are in close proximity to the Prophet,

Peace be upon him,

And in close proximity to Allah,

Especially on nights such as Laylatul Qadr.

Quran 97 Ayat 3 The night of destiny is better than a thousand months.

In the Islamic calendar,

A thousand months are equivalent to a complete lifespan.

Thus,

Allah tells us that this night is better than everything we can accumulate in a lifetime.

A thousand months amount to approximately 84 years,

Namely the number of years granted to a human being who lives for a long time.

This means that this night is better than an entire life.

Our whole life can be seen as an act of worship.

Many preach and warn us at great length of the hellfire,

Yet during this night we are especially confronted with a question that Allah will ask,

O my servant,

I was with you all your life,

And who were you with?

Worship and faith contain all the circumstances and deeds in which we can say,

I was with you,

O Allah.

It is our trust and our longing for Him that bring us into this state of closeness,

This bond with Allah.

Allah knows how much strength and patience,

How much mindfulness and love we need to summon in order not to fall into the distractions of life,

Into forgetfulness and into the entanglements of the ego,

The nafs.

Quran 2 Ayat 45 And seek aid in steadfast patience and prayer,

And this,

Indeed,

Is a hard thing for all but the humble in spirit.

Prayer is the most beautiful form of worship.

Quran 97 Ayat 4 In hosts descend in it the angels bearing divine inspiration by their sustainer's leave.

In this night,

Allah sends more angels than at any other time of the year.

This night is literally flooded with angels.

Everything in our life can be changed and transformed during this night.

The angels descend with Jibreel,

Who is in our company during this night.

All the angels come down on this night,

They are free of all their duties,

And this is when they are informed of their duties for the coming year.

But during this night,

They are only solving our problems for us,

Such as health,

Goodness,

Forgiveness.

The angels' presence brings Allah's blessing upon us,

They are his instrument.

In this night,

Jibreel,

The protector of secrets,

The one who has been chosen to reveal all of Allah's books,

Descends.

Allah has blessed us by allowing him to come down to earth once a year.

During this night,

He will pray for every woman and every man engaged in dhikr.

Every year,

Allah makes us this present.

Quran 97 Ayats 4 and 5 From all evil that may happen does it make secure until the rise of dawn.

This night is no longer than any other night as it continues until we can see the light of the sun.

There is no night like this night.

Everything is present to give peace.

This night is peace itself.

During this night,

Do not fight.

Go deep into worship,

In prayers,

In your heart of hearts.

Be at peace during this night because it is a night of special spiritual experience.

No evil comes during this night.

Only paradisical peace.

Open your heart and experience it.

This night is majestic and your invocations will be heard,

Elevated and blessed,

Inshallah.

In his love and kindness,

The Prophet,

Peace and blessings be upon him,

Said,

Whoever stands in prayer and true faith during Laylatul Qadr,

The night of destiny,

Hoping for Allah's reward,

Allah will forgive all his past sins.

On this blessed night,

Filled with the light of the angels,

Allah calls upon us,

Out of his love and care for us human beings,

To help shape our fate through our prayers,

Salat,

And our supplications,

Do us.

Al-Amin,

Peace be upon him,

Described the presence of the angels as follows,

Verily in this night the angels are as many as pebble stones on earth.

This night is here for us to open our hearts and hold out our will to Allah.

It is a night in which Allah gives us permission to tie our will into the divine will.

It is the opportunity to transform for the good things preordained which may be changed.

For it is in this night that human destiny is defined for the following year.

On this night we pray for our fellow human beings,

And we take into our prayers all those who are enduring need,

Sorrow,

And oppression.

During this night,

Our prayers are dedicated to peace and harmony in the world.

As believers,

We pray on this night for peace and reconciliation in the world,

And all the angels lend us their support.

May the light of love,

Respect,

And compassion grow and banish from creation the darkness of hatred,

Violence,

And war.

Laylat al-Qadr is also the night when our mistakes and weaknesses are forgiven,

And when we renew our resolution.

It is on this amazing night that the Qur'an was bestowed upon us.

May the holy,

Healing Qur'an reflect in our hearts,

Our minds,

Our words,

Our deeds,

And our whole life.

The practice suggested for today.

The Prophet Muhammad,

Peace and blessings be upon him,

Entrusted his wife Aisha with a special prayer for this night.

Allahumma innaka'afoon tuhibbu al-afwaa faafoo'ani Oh Allah,

You are the one who forgives,

You love forgiveness,

So please forgive me.

Allahumma innaka'afoon tuhibbu al-afwaa faafoo'ani During this night,

Let us repeat this supplication time and time again until dawn catches up with us.

An explanation of the divine name,

Al-afoo.

The quality al-afoo gives us the strength to overcome humiliations and upsets without threat or punishment,

Solely through kindness and generosity,

Without shaming the other by reminding them of their weaknesses.

This name erases all traces and lets the mistakes fall into oblivion.

Such is the quality of al-afoo.

The quality of forgiveness is also explained as follows.

Those who forgive cover up the tracks of injustice.

They let the winds of forgiving mercy blow those traces away from their heart and wipe them from the board of their own memories because forgiving means to wipe out and to forget.

When we regret our mistakes truly and deeply,

Divine mercy comes and lets our senses and our heart forget them,

Removing all traces of our mistakes from the earth.

Al-afoo does not only carry the power of forgiveness,

He makes even the slightest traces of wounds and upsets vanish so that we do not retain any memory of them.

Al-afoo makes the heart free again and lets it recover once more.

Al-afoo is a gift of God which emerges from the depths of our being and frees us.

Thank you for joining us for this reading of The Call of Allah,

A Companion to the Holy Month of Ramadan with the permission of Rosina Fawzia al-Rawi.

Ramadan Mubarak.