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Laylat Al-Qadr - The Night of Power

**Notes are derived from the Qur'an Weekly video by Shaykh Abdul Nasir Jangda. You can download Laylat al-Qadr notes here from Dropbox.

**Shaykh Omar Suleiman of Bayyinnah Institute also did a lecture video on the Virtues of Laylat al-Qadr. You can download those notes here.**

WHAT HAPPENS ON LAYLAT AL-QADR?

– Sidratul Muntaha is the highest spot in the heavens before entering into the realm of the Arsh of Allah

On the night of Al Isra Wal Mi’raj (the journey at night to Jerusalem & the ascension to the heavens), Jibril took the Prophet (saw) to the point of Sidratul Muntaha & told the Prophet to proceed forward because Jibril couldn’t do so

Sidratul Muntaha is the highest spot in the seven heavens that the angels could go to

– All the angels gather at the place of Sidratul Muntaha

There are very specific angels that are reserved exclusively for the place of Sidratul Muntaha, & these are the most noble of angels – Malaaikatul Muqarrabin

They are the angels closest to Allah

At Sidratul Muntaha, some of the angels are in ruku’, some in sujood, some say Alhamdulillah, some say Subhanallah, some say Allahu Akbar

They are all engaged in the praise & glorification of Allah

– Standing in the middle of these angels in the position of a leader & a coordinator is none other than Jibril (Gabriel)

– On Laylat al-Qadr (the Night of Power), when the sun fully sets (because night begins after sunset), Jibril descends down from Sidratul Muntaha through the 7 heavens & through the sam’a (sky of the dunya) & descends upon the earth

Jibril has two wings that are green in color. He only opens those two wings on Laylat al-Qadr

Along with Jibril, all the angels also start coming down to the earth in waves

All the angels that are there at the place of Sidratul Muntaha are beyond our ability to count, & they all descend down in waves upon waves upon waves, assembling around Jibril

Angels from Sidratul Muntaha continue to descend in such numbers so much so that there are more angels than the entire number of pebbles or rocks on the entire face of this earth – beyond our ability to count

These are not even all the angels that Allah has created

These angels are just the ones that are stationed at Sidratul Muntaha, the ones closest to Allah in their position

Only Allah knows how large His assembly & army of angels is

– The Prophet said, “The Heavens, the sky is creaking. It’s breaking under the pressure of how many angels are in the sky.”

On the night of Al Isra Wal Mi’raj, the Prophet saw that there are so many angels in the heavens & in the sky, that there is not a single place in the sky that doesn’t have an angel worshipping, praising, glorifying, & prostrating before Allah

The entire skies are covered & blanketed with these angels

The Prophet also told us from the journey of Al Isra Wal Mi’raj about Baytul Ma’mur, which is the Ka’bah of the Heavens

It is directly aligned on top of the Ka’bah

– Every single day, 70,000 unique angels perform tawaaf in Baytul Ma’mur

Once an angel does tawaaf of Baytul Ma’mur one day, then that angel will never have the opportunity to do tawaaf every again

They only get one opportunity in their entire lives

Since the beginning of time til the end of time, 70,000 unique & new angels do tawaaf every single day

– Once the malaaikat muqarrabin descends down waves upon waves on the earth on Laylat al-Qadr, Jibril starts to deploy the angels all over the earth. Weak narrations mention that the place Jibril descends down to is the Ka’bah in Makkah

Jibril, the imam of all the angels, deploys the angels in all different directions. Jibril instructs the angels, “Go to every single home on the face of this earth where there is someone worshipping & praising Allah.”

The angels then begin to enter in every home

– The only places that the angels avoid are places where there might be idols, filth, najasa, or something impure or unclean

Specifically, the angels enter into every single place except for a place that might have intoxicants & alcohol. This is more motivation & reason for us to cleanse our homes

Shaykh Abdul is not talking about what sin you might commit or not commit (that’s between you & Allah), but he’s talking about ridding your home of those types of things/filth, because the angels will not walk through your doors & enter your homes on the Night of Qadr if there is any type of intoxicant within your home

Aside from homes that have idols, filth, or intoxicants, the angels go into every single home where there is someone praising, glorifying, & worshipping Allah

– Jibril tells his army of angels to do a couple of things

He says, “When you go into their homes, & you find people making dua, say ‘ameen’ to their dua’s.”

So the angels go into these homes, & they say ameen to every single dua that every single person is making on that night

Jibril also tells the angels, “Look for people that are praying & worshipping tonight. Make dua for them. Make dua that Allah forgives them. Make dua that Allah blesses them. Make dua that Allah sends peace & tranquility upon them.”

The angels go around looking for homes, people, & masajid, where people are praying & worshipping, and these angels make dua, “O Allah, forgive these people. Have mercy upon these people.”

– One beautiful narration mentions that Jibril also tells his army of angels, “Go and look for people who are worshipping & praying, & shake their hands. Give them salaams.”

The angels & Jibril go around giving salaam to people who are worshipping on the Night of Qadr

Imagine the angels saying salaam to you, embracing you, shaking your hand, & hugging you, & making dua for you, & saying ameen to your duas

This goes on all night long. The angels move about the earth embracing the earth, saying salaam to people, & saying ameen to people who are worshipping on the blessed night

– When Fajr time comes near, all the angels gather back to Jibril. Jibril reassembles all the angels, & from there, Jibril ascends up into the sky but he doesn’t leave this dunya

He ascends up to the sky & he suspends himself in the air in between the sky & the earth, where the sun is. All the angels gather up & they start to ascend up into the sky, & they all gather around Jibril

The angels stay there, suspended between the sky & the earth, until the sun rises

– There’s a Hadith from the Prophet who told us, “Do not worship while the sun is rising.” We are not supposed to pray when the sun is rising; we pray Fajr before the sunrise

Once the sun has fully risen, then you can pray the shurooq prayer & Ishraq prayer

– Special Prayers

Shurooq prayer

Ishraq & Duha prayers

– We don’t pray while the sun is actually rising, because the Prophet said that Shaytan aligns himself with the horizon on the east where the sun rises

The Prophet said, “The sun rises between the horns of Shaytan. Shaytan aligns himself there on the horizon so that the people who worship the sun at the time of sunrise actually end up worshipping Shaytan.”

– On the morning following Laylat al-Qadr, Shaytan is not allowed to align himself where the sun is rising, so that morning is the only time of the year where the sun rises without Shaytan trying to position himself at the eastern horizon

One of the signs of Laylat al-Qadr is that when the sun rises on the following morning, it doesn’t have sharp rays shooting out of it. Instead, the sun has a general glow

The Prophet said, “The sun is almost like a plate or a dish that is completely round & has a round haze/glow around it. The sun doesn’t have rays shooting out of it.”

The explanation for this is that when all the angels align themselves in the sky during Fajr time, their presence in the sky shields the rays of the sun, so when we look at the sun that morning, we are looking at it through an angelic filter

– After the sun rises, Jibril & all the angels travel up to all the levels of the sky

Every level of the sky of this dunya (& every place in the universe for that matter) has angels

The angels in the sky witness the army of malaaikat muqarrabin (the closest angels to Allah) led & guided by Jibril coming up

When the angels of the skies see the army of malaaikat muqarrabin, they ask them, “How was the Night of Power?”

Jibril & his army of angels reply, “MashAllah, it went very well, Alhamdulillah. It was excellent.”

The angels of the sky ask, “Who was worshipping? Who was praying?”

Jibril & his army of angels mention every single person who was worshipping on the Night of Power. They mention all the names of the individuals who worshipped that night & they brag about these individuals. “So-and-so, & the son of so-and-so, & such-and-such woman, the daughter of so-and-so, these people were worshipping on this night.”

Jibril & his army brag about these worshippers & praise them to the angels of the skies

– After this conversation takes place, Jibril & the rest of the malaaikat muqarrabin ascend up to the 1st Heaven

Again, the angels of the 1st Heaven ask Jibril & his army, “You are coming from the Night of Power. Tell us how it went.”

Jibril & the rest of his army mention the names of every single person who worshipped on Laylat al Qadr & brag about them

This conversation takes place in every level of the sky as Jibril & his army continues their ascension into the heavens. They keep bragging about the worshippers & mentioning these worshippers by name who were worshipping on the Night of Power

– This continues until Jibril & his army finally reach the point of Sidratul Muntaha where they started from, the place that is nearest to the Arsh (throne) of Allah

The angels stand before Allah & deliver their report

Allah knows, sees, & hears everything, but the angels deliver their report to Allah

In delivering their report, the angels say, “Ya Allah, our Raab, we are coming back from Laylat al Qadr, & we found many of Your slaves in Your worship. We found so-and-so, the son of so-and-so. We found such-and-such woman, the daughter of so-and-so.”

The angels mention each & every single person by name in front of Allah

WHY IS THIS NIGHT CALLED “LAYLAT AL-QADR"? WHAT DOES “LAYLAT AL-QADR” MEAN?

– It’s usually translated as “Night of Power,” but what does that actually mean?

– Laylat al Qadr is two words

First word is laylat, which means “night of”

This is a genitive construction (shows relations between two nouns), so it means the “night of al-Qadr”

Second word is “al-Qadr”

This has several meanings according to different narrations

– The scholars mention that al-Qadr in the Arabic language means “reverence, respect, greatness, awesomeness”

First reason that this night is called “Laylat al Qadr” is that this is the night that Allah, who is Al-Qadir (The All Powerful), gives HIs reward by the means of the greatest of His angels who is Jibril

How great is Jibril (as)?

The Prophet saw Jibril in his true original form twice. The Prophet descried Jibril to have his feet on the ground & his head in the clouds. The angel was the size of a skyscraper (very huge)

The Prophet also described Jibril’s wings to be so huge that when the angel opened his wings, they covered the entire distance from the east to the west; the wings covered the entire horizon. The Prophet narrated, “I couldn’t see anything past Jibril’s wings.” Jibril has 600 such wings

The Prophet also mentioned that Jibril moves at the speed of light. On the night of Al-Isra Wal Mi’raj, Buraq (the animal that the Prophet was riding) moved at the speed of light; its first step was as far as the eye could see, & Jibril was flying right by the side of the animal the entire time – he never got left behind. Jibril could fly that quick

On the Night of Greatness, Allah (who is the Greatest) sends the greatest of His angels (Jibril) with the greatest of His mercy, His forgiveness, & His blessings down upon the slaves in the greatest of the months & in the greatest of the nights

This is a night of total & absolute greatness

– Another explanation of why this is called the Night of Greatness is that the Qur’an was revealed on this night. There are 3 opinions on this:

The 1st opinion is that Allah commanded the Pen to write the Qur’an in the Protected Tablet

The Protected Tablet (Al-Lawh al-Mahfudh) is where Allah has written the Qur’an, where He has written all the Revelations, where He has written all the destiny of all of mankind, the entire world, & in the entire universe. Everything in existence, basically

It was on the night of Laylat al-Qadr, long, long ago, that Allah commanded the divine pen to write the Qur’an in the Protected Tablet

The 2nd opinion is that this is the night on which Allah had Jibril transfer the Qur’an from the Protected Tablet to the sky of this world, in a place that is aligned on top of the Ka’bah, called Baytul ‘Izza (the House of Honor, Dignity, & Might)

Allah had Jibril transfer the Qur’an from Al-Lawh al-Mahfudh to Baytul Izza so that it could be revealed from there piece by piece, ayah by ayah, surah by surah, portion by portion to the Prophet

The 3rd opinion is that on this night, the greatest of the angels brought from Allah the greatest of revelation upon the greatest of mankind & the greatest of messengers of all time, and that is Prophet Muhammad

One thing we can say for certain is that on this night of Laylat al Qadr, great & remarkable things have, will always, & will continue to happen on this night. Great things have occurred on this night, great things happen on this night, & great things will always continue to occur on this night. That’s why it’s called Laylat al-Qadr

– The 2nd reason that this night is called Laylat al-Qadr is that whoever worships Allah on this night becomes great in the eyes & Sight of Allah

Not only is this night inherently great, but this night has the ability to make someone great

All you have to do is worship Allah, stand before Allah, pray before Allah on this night, and you will be granted greatness by Allah Himself on this night-

– The 3rd reason that this night is called Laylat al-Qadr is that one of the meanings of the word Qadr is for something to become tight, restricted, or constricted

When you’re traveling & you have a carry-on bag that you stuff so much, & when you try to close the bag, then at that time, you can’t close the bag, you can’t zip it shut because you’ve stuffed the bag too much

Part of the meaning of qadr is for something to be so amazing & so full of greatness, that it can’t contain it

The night is called Laylat al Qadr because so many angels come down upon the earth that the entire world is not able to contain the greatness that is that night. The angels are overflowing out of this dunya on this night

– The last reason that this night is called Laylat al-Qadr is that part of the meaning of the world al-Qadr is “predestination” (from the word “taqdir”)

This night is also called the Night of Predestination as mentioned in Sura Dukhan, “Indeed, We sent it down during a blessed night. Indeed, we were to warn mankind. On that night is made distinct every precise matter” [44:3-4]

In that Night, every single command from Allah is distributed & handed out. On Laylat al Qadr, Allah assigns to the angels what they need to carry out & what they need to do for the coming year

Allah has already predestined everything about 50,000 years before He created the heavens & the earth; He had already written the predestination of mankind, but on Laylat al Qadr, Allah instructs the angels on the tasks that they will be carrying out for the coming year – about who will be born & who will die, who will be fed, how much they will be fed, etc.

– All of the above reasons are why this blessed night is called Laylat al-Qadr. All of those things occur on the Night of Power

HOW DOES ALLAH TALK ABOUT LAYLAT AL-QADR?

– In Surat al-Qadr, Allah talks about the amazingness of Laylat al-Qadr

“Indeed, We sent the Qur’an down during the Night of Decree. And what can make you know what is the Night of Decree? The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months. The angels and the Spirit (Jibril) descend therein by permission of their Lord for every matter. Peace it is until the emergence of dawn.” [97:1-5]

Allah mentions this night as being better than a thousand months. This can have 2 meanings:

– When Allah used the terms “thousand months,” it was possibly meant literally. A thousand months is equal to 83 years & 4 months

It’s okay to understand it as literally a thousand months because in Imam Malik’s Muwatta (X) it’s mentioned that the Prophet told his Sahaba, “I was shown the ages of the followers of the prophets before me. I was informed by Allah about how long the followers of the previous prophets used to live. They used to live for hundreds of years. I was very sad that the average age of my followers will be between 60 and 70, & they will not live very, very long. I felt bad that my ummah will not be able to worship like the people that came before, like the followers of the prophets before me. To console me, Allah has revealed this surah about the Night of Power, that the reward of worshipping on the Night of Power is greater than a thousand months.”

Another narration mentioned that the Prophet was telling his Sahaba about some of the great people that lived in the ummahs that came before us. The Prophet specifically mentioned specific individuals who were given very long lifespans, but at the same time they were so dedicated, that they worshipped Allah for 80 years continuously

When we have a 2-hour or a 3-hour prayer session, on a really special night like in the last 10 nights of Ramadan, we might stand up & join in qiyam prayer of taraweeh prayer for 2 nights straight. At this time, we don’t use the restroom or eat food or drink anything; we just stand up & pray for 2 hours straight

Keeping this in mind, there were some followers of previous prophets who had 80-year long worship sessions. Imagine praying for 80 years straight.

Another narration mentions that the Prophet talked about some pious people in the past who fought in battle for 80 years nonstop, in jihad fisabilillah. They strove in the path of Allah for 80 years nonstop

When the Sahaba heard this, they felt a little sad. They felt like they didn’t have the same opportunities as the previous followers of the previous prophets did

The Prophet told them, “Allah is consoling you. Allah has revealed Surat al-Qadr, in which He says that ‘We have given you the Night of Power, and it is better than a thousand months.’ “

This is one meaning of the “thousand months” term, the literal meaning

When we worship on that single night of Laylat al-Qadr, the night that is greater than a thousand months, it is equivalent to worshipping Allah for 83 years continuously. Imagine the reward we will get for worshipping for 83+ years nonstop. We get even a better reward because we worship on that night of Laylat al-Qadr

– The second meaning for the term “thousand months”

In the Arabic language, there are certain expressions that are used like there are in any language

In English, when we say that there is a lot of something, we use the expression “dozens and dozens”. When we want to say that there is a lot more of something, we say “hundreds and hundreds”. If you want to paint a picture of an even bigger number, we use the term “thousands and thousands.”

When you try to say that there were so many people that you couldn’t even count the number, you say “there were millions and millions of people”; you don’t literally mean that there were exactly 2 million or 5 million people there, but what you mean is that there were more people than you could count

A similar expression in Arabic is the world alf/alaaf, which translates to “thousands,” & that is English equivalent to “millions & millions”

When Allah says that the reward of worshipping on the Night of Power is better than a thousand months, it means that it’s better than worshipping for all of eternity

It is like worshipping for you entire life. imagine a person being granted the ability to worship from the minute you are born into this world to the second you left this world to – an entire lifespan filled with worship

Worshipping on that one night is more rewarding & better than worshiping your entire lifetime (khayroun min alfi shahr)

– In the next ayah, Allah says, “The angels and the Spirit (Jibril) descend therein by permission of their Lord for every matter” [97:4]

– In the last ayah, Allah says, “Peace it is until the emergence of dawn” [97:5]. This has 3 meanings:

That night is peaceful

That night is safe. Allah protects you from Shaytan & distractions on that night

The angels go around saying “Salaam” to everyone who is worshipping Allah on that night

WHAT HAS THE PROPHET SAID ABOUT THE VIRTUES OF THIS PARTICULAR NIGHT?

– The Prophet said, “Whoever fasts in the month of Ramadan while believing in Allah & hoping for a reward from Allah, all of the sins of that person will be forgiven. Whoever worships on the Night of Power believing in Allah & hoping for a reward, Allah will forgive all of the previous sins of that person.”

– The Prophet also talked about how Shaytan is not allowed to align himself with the sun as it is rising on that day

– In another narration, the Prophet said, “The angels descend down on the Night of Power with the mercy of Allah & with the blessings from Allah, bringing peace & tranquility from Allah.”

– The Prophet said, “The angels come down on this night saying salaam to everyone who worships Allah on this particular night.”

– When the month of Ramadan came, the Prophet talked about Laylat al Qadr at the beginning of the month so that people would be ready for it. He said, “The month of Ramadan has come upon you. Allah has made fasting obligatory during this month. The gates of Paradise have been opened during this month. The doors of the Fire of Hell have been locked during this month. The shayatin (the devils, the troublemakers) have been chained up & locked up during this month. There is a night that is better than a thousand months. Whosoever was deprived of worship during this night, that person is deprived of everything good.”

– In another narration, the Prophet said, “There is a night in the month of Ramadan that is better than a thousand months. Whoever was deprived of worshipping Allah this month, the person is deprived of everything good in existence. Nobody is deprived of the good of Laylat al Qadr except for someone who is truly, truly deprived of everything good in this life & the next.”

WHEN IS LAYLAT AL-QADR?

– Based off the Prophet’s descriptions of the signs of Laylat al-Qadr, the Sahaba had different opinions about when Laylat al-Qadr can be

Abu Sayid al Khudri claimed that Laylat al Qadr is on the 21st night of Ramadan

Other companions of the Prophet said that Laylat al Qadr is on the 23rd night of Ramadan

Yet other Sahaba have claimed that Laylat al Qadr is on the 24th night of Ramadan

This is a weaker opinion, based on weak narrations that state that the Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet ton the 24th night

Some of the Sahaba also say that Laylat al Qadr is on the 25th night of Ramadan

There were a large group of Sahaba who mention the authentic narration that Laylat al Qadr is on the 27th night of Ramadan

This is specifically based off the fact that the Prophet said that there is a bit of light rain on the night of Laylat al Qadr

Ubay bin Ka’ab went into the masjid & saw a bit of water trickling down through the roof of Masjid al Nabawi. When the Prophet got up from his prayer, his clothes, hands, & also his forehead had a bit of moisture & a little bit of dirt because of the moisture that made the dirt cling to his body

Yet other narrations point out that Laylat al Qadr is on the 29thnight of Ramadan

This is because of narrations from the Prophet who said that Laylat al Qadr is on the “night that remains”

Weaker narrations say that the Prophet said, “The last night of Ramadan is Laylat al Qadr,” & this refers to the 29th night of that particular year

– These are all the varying opinions of when Laylat al Qadr is, ranging from 21st, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 27th, & 29th nights of Ramadan

The Prophet specifically said, “It is one of the odd-numbered nights from the last ten nights of the month of Ramadan.”

That means it is not the 21st, or the 23rd, or the 25th, or the 27th, or the 29th

It means that is 21st AND possibly the 23rd, AND the 25th, AND the 27th, AND the 29th , meaning it could be ANY one of these. It is not certain exactly which particular one of those nights is Laylat al Qadr

Yet in another narration found in Bukhari & Muslim, the Prophet said, “Seek out the Night of Power during the last ten nights of the month of Ramadan,” and he did NOT specify the odd-numbered nights

– The understanding of this if someone is willing to take less of a chance, they could take a chance on any one of those odd-numbered nights

But if someone is not willing to take a chance on achieving on such an unbelievable & remarkable reward from Allah, then s/he would worship on all of the last ten nights of the month of Ramadan

– Based off of all of this, some of the Tabi’un (the students of the Sahaba) concluded that Laylat al-Qadr could be any one of the last ten nights

The reason the Sahaba observed Laylat al-Qadr on different nights because the night would change year after year (after all, the Islamic calendar is based on the lunar cycle)

So one year, Laylat al-Qadr would be on the 21st, & the next year it would be on the 27th, then the next year on the 23rd, then on the 29th. It rotates around every year, so the Night could be on any of the last ten nights of Ramadan

– So to answer the question, when is Laylat al Qadr? Yes, we have all these hadith & narrations telling us the possibilities, but what is the bottom-line answer? When is exactly Laylat al-Qadr? What day should I take off from work? What night should I buckle down to worship?

An authentic narration tells us that one time, the Prophet went to the Masjid al Nabawi, & there were two Sahaba who were arguing with each other

They were calling each other names; it was a very intense argument. When the Prophet came upon them, the two people of course stopped arguing, & the Prophet paused for a second. Everyone noticed a look on the Prophet’s face, who was thinking deeply. They ask him, “Ya Rasulallah, what’s going on?”

The Prophet replied, “I was given the knowledge by Allah of when exactly is Laylat al Qadr, & I came out to tell everyone. I saw two people who were arguing, & because of their argument, I was made to forget when is Laylat al-Qadr. Seek it & find it in the last ten nights of the month of Ramadan. In the last third of Ramadan, make sure you seek out the night. This is what is better for you.”

To answer the question of when Laylat al Qadr is, we don’t know. It could be on any of the last ten nights of Ramadan, & the Prophet said that it was better for us this way

WHAT’S THE BENEFIT OF NOT TELLING US WHEN EXACTLY IS LAYLAT AL-QADR?

– First, we have to understand the objective of the month of Ramadan

Think of Ramadan as a school, the Madrasa of Ramadan. Normally, throughout the rest of the year, Allah has made certain things haram & impermissible, & we’re supposed to stay away from those things. We also know that a lot of us struggle to stay away from the haraam.

During the month of Ramadan, Allah tells us that from the hours of dawn til dusk, from Fajr to Maghrib, from the beginning of the fast til the end of the fast, we are now to stay away from those things that are haraam, but we are also supposed to stay away from those things that are halaal. What that does is teach us willpower & give us spiritual, mental, emotional, & physical strength. It will give us the ability to resist temptation.

When you’re fasting, a lot of people have it harder than you do. Places like Norway, Muslims fast for about 20-21 hours out of 24 hours a day. In Texas, it’s not that long – fast is about 16-17 hours in 100-degree weather. Burning, scorching hot. When you don’t even drink water for 16-17 hours in such burning weather & you can survive, you develop p such an ability to be able to resist anything & everything . it makes you stronger as a person. That’s what Ramadan teaches us.

Worshipping during the night takes us to a whole new level. In Ramadan, we take things to a whole new level. We don’t even do things that we’re allowed to do, but we’re allowed to do those things at night again. We can eat, drink, and engage in intimacy with the spouse, etc. at nighttime.

But when you’re worshipping exclusively during the last ten nights of Ramadan, now you’re not even doing those halaal things in the nighttime. You’re spending most of your time praying, worshipping, reading Qur’an, & making dua. So this takes your Ramadan training to a whole new level

Imagine how amazing of a person we all would be if we not only fasted throughout the month of Ramadan, but also worshipped every single night in the last ten nights of Ramadan. Imagine where we will be in terms of our spiritual peak by the end of Ramadan. We’ll be ready to tackle the rest of the year, Insha’Allah.

So that’s the first benefit in not telling us when is Laylat al Qadr, so that we spend the whole ten nights trying to get it

– The second benefit to not knowing when Laylat al Qadr relates to forming a close relationship with Allah

If you’ve ever gone on a vacation or a road trip or traveled with a friend for ten days straight, where you’re driving all morning long, sightseeing all afternoon, & in the evening sleeping in the same place, and eating & touring – you’re doing everything together for ten days, 24 hours a day you’re with this other person

Think about how close you become to that person, how accustomed you become to having that person around you all the time, how comfortable you become talking to that person

Then on the 11th day, you come back home & that person goes back to their city, and you’re separated from that person, how much do you miss that person? You think of a joke & you look around immediately to tell that person, & they’re not there. You remember something & you want to share it, but when you turn to tell that person, they’re not there. you text that person all day long, you talk to that person for hours that 11th day, because you honestly & sincerely miss that person

Similarly, apply this exampled to us spending the last ten days & nights of the month of Ramadan in worship

During the day, we pray 5 times, we read Qur’an, & we fast all day long. During the night in the last ten nights of Ramadan we spend our time praying & talking with Allah all night long.

Think about how beloved Allah will become to you, & how much you would love talking to Allah, & how comfortable you would become in worshipping, praying, & talking with Allah.

When the 11th day comes, the day of Eid, how much are you going to miss talking to Allah that day?

Normally, imams all across the country remind people on the day of Eid to remember to pray Dhur, Asr, Maghrib, & Isha

If you spend the last ten days & nights worshipping & praying to Allah, then you won’t have to be reminded to pray on the day of Eid – you’ll yearn to pray. You’ll be looking at your watch, thinking, “When is Dhur time going to come? Because I need to stop & pray to Allah.” You’ll be waiting around looking at your watch waiting for the adhan, waiting for your phone app to notify you of the prayer time, because you’ll get to talk to Allah again. You’ll look around & see your friends & family chilling around, eating food, with everyone just hanging out, & you’ll be like, “Hey guys, it’s Dhur time. Wanna go to the masjid?” Everyone kinda gives you a look like, “Uh, go to the masjid? You know it’s Eid, right? We’re not supposed to go the masjid.”

No, that’s false, you are supposed to go the masjid. But you’ll feel like going to the masjid because you spent the last ten days & nights with Allah, & you’ll miss Allah. You missed talking to Allah. This is a very beautiful thing

– Lastly, Imam Razi in his tafseer said, “Anything that is valuable, Allah never discloses its exact precise knowledge, location, or time to us. But Allah always made us look for it.”

Which actions are pleasurable to Allah? We don’t know

We’re just told to “do good deeds”. Which deed will finally get us over the hump of the pleasure of Allah? We don’t know, but we just keep doing good deeds nonstop

Allah warned us about the fact that sins can earn us the anger of Allah, but which sin will finally bring the punishment of Allah?

We don’t know. That just means stay away from all sins as much as possible

When exactly are duas accepted? The Prophet told us that there is a time on Friday when duas are accepted. But what is that exact hour? The exact time?

We don’t know, so we spend the whole day of Friday making dua as much as possible

The Prophet told us about the great name of Allah, but the Prophet didn’t tell us exactly which name of Allah it is.

So then you learn all the names & attributes of Allah, & you mentioned all those names & attributes as much as possible in hopes of getting it

In the Qur’an, Allah said, “Guard the prayers and middle prayer, the best prayer.” Allah didn’t tell us which prayer was the middle prayer or the best prayer

That’s why there are different opinions – it’s Asr, or it’s Dhur, or it’s this prayer, or it’s that prayer.

We don’t know, so we treat every prayer like it’s the middle prayer or the best prayer

Allah told us, “When death comes, you don’t get a second more or a second less.” But when will death come?

We don’t know, so we live every moment like it’s your last

The Prophet used to tell the Sahaba, “Pray like it’s your last prayer.”

– Anything that is of significance & value, Allah has made us work for it a little bit

Laylat al-Qadr is a very beautiful, blessed, & remarkable opportunity, and Allah is going to make us work for it, He’s going to make us search for it

The reward corresponds to the effort that is put in the deed, so the harder we work, the greater the reward will be

So always remember, the juice is worth the squeeze

We just have to keep looking & working, & inshAllah exert ourselves to the best of our ability during the last ten nights of Ramadan

WHAT ARE THE SIGNS OF LAYLAT AL-QADR?

– The Prophet said, “The night will be very serene & calm. It’ll be almost like a storage serenity & calmness in the night.”

– The night won’t be hot nor will it be frigid cold

If Ramadan is during the summer, then Laylat al Qadr will be a bit cooler than expected. If Ramadan is during the winter time, then that night will not be freezing cold as you might have normally expected

– There will also be some light drizzle or some moisture on that night

– The following morning’s sunrise will not have sharp rays shooting out of it, but it will have a very soft haze & glow about it

WHAT EXACTLY ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO ON LAYLAT AL-QADR?

– Starting at the very bare minimum, pray the Isha salaah in congregation in the masjid on the last ten nights

Ramadan is also a time when we reunite with family & friends & build a community. This is recommended, but not at the expense of your worship

Everyone might get on their Iftar party on the last ten nights of Ramadan. This is not impermissible; go to somebody’s house for Iftar, especially to that of family, friend, or neighbors

But, eat quickly & moderately, and leave in time to be able to pray Isha in the masjid in congregation

Leave on time – that’s the most important thing. That way, you honor the invitation, but you still get the reward of Laylat al-Qadr

You got Isha down

– Now, pray Fajr every single morning for the last ten days of Ramadan in the masjid in congregation

Again, everyone wakes up for suhoor. There is no reason & no justification for waking up to eat suhoor & then not praying Fajr

Up the stakes a bit, that you wake up not only for suhoor, but you stay awake to pray Fajr

Don’t pray Fajr in your pajamas at home, but go to the masjid & pray in congregation (not in your PJs)

There is a hadith in which the Prophet said, “Whoever prays Isha in congregation & whoever prays Fajr in congregation, that person gets a reward of worshipping the entire night.”

– Level 3: Have a little bit of qiyam

Worship a little extra at night. Taraweeh is a great opportunity for that

Pray Isha in masjid, stay for taraweeh prayers, & then make sure you make it back to the masjid in time for Fajr prayer. That’s level 3

– Level 4: Worship a little bit extra during the night. The recommended form of worship is to read Qur’an, offer Nawafil prayer, or make dua

Making dua is especially recommended

Imam Al-Shafi’I mentioned, “Making dua during the last ten nights of Ramadan is more preferable to me than offering extra salaah, even though prayer is the best form of worship. But after someone has offered their taraweeh prayers, & they want to worship some more during the last ten nights, I prefer sitting & making dua. Ask Allah for his forgiveness & mercy, & make dua that Allah makes this world a better place to live in. Make dua that Allah provides peace & justice to all the people who are suffering all throughout the world.”

To sum up level 4: Isha in masjid, taraweeh, extra dua, & Fajr in masjid

– Level 5: I’tikaaf, which is to spend the whole last ten days & nights of Ramadan straight in the masjid

This is a Sunnah of the Prophet. He used to exclusively dedicate himself to the masjid & to Allah during the last ten days & nights of Ramadan

In the last year of his life, he observed I’tikaaf for 20 days straight

What if you have work or have family obligations, & you can’t do 10 days straight?

There is an interesting principle in Islam that when you’re talking about a good deed, & you’re not able to do all of it, then don’t give up a part of it

If you can’t read the whole Qur’an, but you can read a third of it, then read a third of it. If you can’t give $1000 in charity but can only give $500, then give the $500

The Prophet said, “Save yourself from the Fire of Hell, even if it’s with half a date.”

If you can’t do I’tikaaf for 10 days & 10 nights, then observe however much you are able to, whether 1 day, 3 days, etc.

Do however much you are capable of doing, just take out time for Allah. Dedicate your entire time to Allah for the time of I’tikaaf that you’re able to observe

– Go up the levels based on how near & dear you want to be to Allah & how much closer you want to be to the pleasure of Allah

– A’isha (ra) was the beloved wife of the Prophet & the daughter of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq. She was not just one of the most remarkable women, but she’s also one of the most remarkable human beings who has ever walked this earth

She once asked the Prophet, her husband, “Ya Rasulallah, if I am able to worship Allah on Laylat al-Qadr, what do you recommend I do on that night? What do you recommend I say on that night? What dua would you recommend to me, your beloved wife?”

The Prophet taught her the following dua:

Allahumma innaka ‘afuwwun tuhib al-‘afwa fa’affu ‘anni

O Allah, You are forgiving and You love forgiveness, so forgive me

– In depth meaning of the dua

Allahumma

“O Allah”

It’s a way to call out to Allah that is unique only to Allah

When you say Allahumma, it has a great sense of urgency & it’s very powerful

Innaka

“Most definitely, You are, without a shred of doubt”

‘Affuwwun

“One who lets something go, One who excuses, One who gives you chance after chance, One who gives you opportunity after opportunity. One who disregards, One who forgives everything wrong we have ever done”

Comes from the word “al afwu”, which means to look away, to turn away, to ignore, to let something go

Tuhib al-‘afwa

“You love letting our sins go. You love overlooking our sins. You love giving us another opportunity, another chance. You love giving us chance after chance.”

Fa’affu ‘anni

“Based off of the fact that You are the One who wipes away sins, & You love overlooking our mistakes & wiping away sins, I beg you, I plead with you, I ask you, ya Allah, please give me another chance, & wipe me away my sins. Give me another opportunity.”

– The Prophet advised us to make this dua over & over again

In this dua, the Prophet mentioned the act of overlooking mistakes & wiping way sins & giving opportunity 3 times in 3 different ways

The eloquence of the Prophet is such that in the 3 times & the 3 different ways, he mentioned the same things

The 1st time about Allah

The 2nd time about the act

The 3rd time about ourselves

This represents the quantity & the diversity of sins we have committed

What we’re saying through these words is that O Allah, I’ve made more mistakes than I care to have made. I’ve made dozens, & hundreds, & thousands of different types of mistakes. But on this night, what brings me comfort & solace O Allah is that You can forgive, & You are the One who forgives, so please give me another chance. Give me another opportunity, O Allah

– Ten-point plan for Night of Qadr

Download these notes here from Dropbox.

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