As the search for the ‘Night’ begins

By sunset today, we would have put two-third of this year’s Ramadan fast behind us; bringing our count of the Ramadan fast to twenty. Allahu Akbar! We give gratitude to Allah for His mercy. Some of those who saw the beginning of this Ramadan did not live to see this crucial part of it, which is the most rewarding part of the month. It is the last ten days of Ramadan. It is the period during which sinful Muslims, according to the Prophet (SAW), are liberated (‘itq) from Hell fire.

Within this concluding part of Ramadan is a night that is better than a thousand months. This virtuous night is called ‘Laylat ul-Qadr’; meaning ‘The Night of Power’. It is on this night that the holy Qur’an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) through Angel Jibril. The Prophet (SAW) exhorts Muslims to spend substantial part of this night in worship; seeking mercy and forgiveness of their sins from Allah (SWT).

In His wisdom, Allah (SWT) concealed the knowledge of the exact night of Laylat ul-Qadr. Aisha (RA) reports that the Prophet (SAW) said, ‘Search for Laylat ul-Qadr in the last ten days of Ramadan’. Imam Malik (RA) reports in his Muwatta that Ziyad related from Malik that he heard a man he trusted of the people of knowledge say, ‘The Messenger of Allah (SAW) was shown the lifespan of the people (who had gone) before him and it was as if the lifecycle of his ummah had comparatively become too short for them (to have enough time) to put forth as many good deeds as those before them did. So, Allah gave him Laylat ul-Qadr, which is better than a thousand months’. Besides Laylat ul-Qadr, Qur’an 31:34 tells us about other forms of knowledge that Allah has kept hidden from us.

Prophetic traditions mention that Laylat ul-Qadr is on one of the nights that precede any of the odd days that fall within the last ten days of Ramadan. In other words, Laylat ul-Qadr could be the night preceding the 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th or 29th day of Ramadan. For example, today Saturday May 25, 2019 which is the 20th day of this year (1440AH)’s Ramadan is a night to search for Laylat ul-Qadr; being the night preceding the 21st day of Ramadan. Many scholars opine that Laylat ul-Qadr occurs on the 27th day of Ramadan. A School of Thought that shares this view goes further to explain that the Arabic letters which make up the Arabic phrase ‘Laylat ul-Qadr’ are nine in number, and that the phrase occurs three times in the holy Qur’an. It gives a total of 27 when nine is multiplied by 3; buttressing 27th of Ramadan as Laylat ul-Qadr.

The Prophet (SAW) exhorts Muslims to intensify their acts of worship during the last ten days of Ramadan. On the night of Laylat ul-Qadr, a Muslim is encouraged to engage in as many forms of worship as possible. It is worthy to engage in the recitation the holy Qur’an, observing nafilah (superogatory) prayers, seeking for forgiveness, asking for favours, glorifying Allah through repeated Tasbih (saying ‘Suhana-llah’), or Takbir (saying Allahu Akbar), or Tahlil (saying ‘La ilaha ila-llah’), or Tahmid (saying Alhamdu lillah, or similar invocations of glory and gratitude to Allah (SWT). Aisha (RA) once asked the Prophet (SAW) of what to recite on the Laylat ul-Qadr night. The Prophet (SAW) replied, ‘Allahumma Anta Afwun, Tuhibb ul-Afwa, Fa’fu anni’; meaning ‘Say: O Allah! You are Pardon; You like Pardon; Pardon me’.

Another virtuous act in this period of Ramadan is I’tikaf, which refers to seclusion in a mosque during the last ten days of Ramadan, exclusively for worship. I’tikaf aims at isolating the heart of a Mu’takif (a Muslim in I’tikaf ) from everything except Allah (SWT). In order to get closer to Allah (SWT), all worldly activities are deserted while in I’tikaf. All the thoughts and devotions of a Mu’takif are focused on Allah (SWT). And like the Prophet (SAW) mentioned in the thirty-eighth hadith of Annawawi’s collection of forty traditions, a Muslim would continue to get closer to Allah (SWT) with voluntary acts of worship so much that ‘He (SWT) would become the hearing with which His servant hears, the seeing with which he sees, the hand with which he takes (things), and the foot with which he walks’. May Allah (SWT) put us among those to attain this spiritual elevation during this Ramadan.

It is required that I’tikaf is observed only in a mosque where Friday (Jumu’ah) prayer is conducted. This is to avoid a situation where the Mu’takif would have to leave his mosque of seclusion for another in order to observe the Jumu’ah congregational prayer. However, a Mu’takif may wish to observe I’tikaf in any mosque if he intends to spend few days in seclusion, which would not include Friday. It is most preferable that a believer spends ten days in I’tikaf. The least number of days for seclusion is a day and a night.

The time to enter in to I’tikaf is usually before sunset of the day the Mu’takif desires to begin the seclusion. While in seclusion, the Mu’takif is prohibited from visiting the sick, attending funeral prayers, having conjugal relationships, and from buying and selling. Extensive studies or writing must also be avoided. Engaging in any of these acts vitiates the seclusion. Voluntary prayers, recitation of the holy Qur’an and the glorification of Allah’s most beautiful names, should be a Mu’takif’s routine during seclusion.

A Mu’takif should avoid entering in to his family house or intermingling with his family members. His interaction with the outside world should be reduced to the barest minimum except for reasons of answering the call of nature or attending to a very important matter. He will thereafter return to his I’tikaf spot immediately. A Mu’takif is required to, on the first day of the Islamic month of Shawwal (i.e. Eid el-Fitr day), proceed directly from the mosque in which he observed I’tikaf to the Eid praying ground and would not return to his family until he had offered the Eid prayers along with other worshippers.

Let us take advantage of this season to fervently pray to Allah to liberate us from all the critical challenges confronting us including kidnapping, banditry, insurgency, unemployment, and poverty. We should not forget to also ask Allah of all our needs because everything in the heavens and on earth is for the use of man; not Allah. May Allah accept our prayers, amin. Ramadan Kareem!