Laylat al-Qadr (Arabic: لیلة القدر) (also known as Shab-
e-
Qadr , loaned from Persian), variously
rendered in English as the Night of Decree, Night of Power, Night of Value,
Night of Destiny, or Night of Measures, is in Islamic belief the night when the
first verses of the Quran were revealed to the Islamic prophet .. It is one of the odd nights of the
last ten days of
Ramadan and
is better than 1000 months of worship. Muslims believe
that on this night the blessings and mercy of Allah are
abundant, sins are forgiven, supplications are
accepted, and that the annual decree is
revealed to the angels who
also descend to earth. In
plain words, it is the night wherein all divine decisions for the whole year
are taken.
Hazrat Aisha Radiallah Anha stated
that I asked Rasool Allah peace be upon him, "If I find Lailatul Qadar
then what should I do? HE peace be upon him said, recite this Dua."ALLAH HUMMA INNAKA
A’FUVUN TOHIB BUL AFVA FA’AFU ANNI" (Tirmidhi) "O Allah!
You are the Forgiver and You like forgiving so forgive me”
please take advantage of this night,
from sunset till sunrise. Offer nawafil (prayers), recite QUR'AAN, do repent
(Istaghfar), and Pray for pardon, recite many many Salawat (Darood Sharif &
Salaam) and make benediction (Dua'as).
Stages of Taqdeer (fate)[edit]
There
are five stages where Qadar is determined and prescribed/send to creation:
1.
The Decree of Allah that is written
in Al-Lawh Al-Mahfuud before the creation of the universe. This destiny written
in the preserved tablet is never changed and encompasses everything that will
be.
2.
Allah made a divine decree after the
creation of Adam. Allah took out all of the progeny of Adam (i.e. all of the
humans from the beginning of time until the end of time), and asked them
"Am I not your Lord?" and all of the humans responded "We
testify that You are our Lord!" Then Allah decreed to them who shall go to
paradise and who shall go to hell.
3.
The Life-time decree. This occurs
when a person is in the womb of their mother, specifically 120 days after
conception. Allah sends an angel to put a soul into the person, and the angel
writes down the decree that Allah has made; their life-span, their sex, their
sustenance (how much they will earn throughout their lifetime) and whether they
will be a dweller of paradise or a dweller of hell.
4.
The yearly decree. This is during
the Night of Qadr (Night of Decree) where
Allah sends down his decrees from heaven to earth, in it he destines the
actions (deeds, sustenance, births, deaths, etc.) of creation for the next
year. The word Qadar should not be confused with Qadr; Qadar is destiny, Qadr
is that which has been destined, i.e. decree, thus the translation – Night of
Decree.
5.
The Daily Decree. Allah decrees the
daily actions of his creation.
An
example of how these categorizations help clear the idea of destiny is as
follows: It is possible that Allah sends a daily/yearly decree dictating that a
person will get a profit. However, due to that person's good deeds (for
instance, fulfilling the ties of kinship [being good to your relatives and
maintaining the relationship]), Allah sends another decree increasing that
person's profit. The reversal of the two decrees is all within Allah's
knowledge and is recorded in the Preserved Tablet. The person himself knows
nothing of his own destiny or of Allah's decrees, but what he does know is that
if he performs certain good deeds, then He will increase his profit (as in the
example above) more than if he does not do that deed.
In
the light of the above the following may be derived:
·
Our supplications do change destiny
and are of much avail.
·
Good deeds are a source of an
increase in one's sustenance, and can avert calamities.
·
Sins result in a decrease in one's
sustenance, and invite calamities.[13]
Belief in al-Qadar is based on four
things[edit]
1.
– العلم Al-'Alam –
Knowledge: i.e., that Allah knows what had been, what will be, what was never
been, and how it could be if it was. He also knows what his creation will do,
by virtue of His eternal knowledge, including their choices that will take
place.
2.
– كتابة Kitabat – Writing:
i.e., that Allah has written every thing that exists including the destiny of
all creatures in al-Lauh al-Mahfuz prior to creation.
3.
– مشيئة Mashii'at – Will:
i.e., that what Allah wills happens and what He does not will does not happen.
There is no movement in the heavens or on earth but happens by His will. This
does not mean that He forces things to happen the way they happen in the area
of human beings' voluntary actions. It means that He knew what they will
choose, wrote it and now lets it happen.
4.
– الخلق Al-Khalq –
Creation and formation: i.e., that Allah is the Creator of all things,
including the actions of His servants. They do their actions in a real sense,
and Allah is the Creator of them and of their actions.
How to worship
in this Night :
Here are a few suggestions to
worship in Laylatul Qadr :
- One must prepared himself
mentally that he will be worshipping in Laylatul Qadr.
- While performing Nafil salats
take regular breaks to avoid getting over-exhausted.
- Try switching between different
forms of worship.
- Recitation of the Qur'an must
be continued.
- Zikr will be another form of
worship to be performed.
- Social gatherings and meaningless
talk shold be avoided.
