9. Night-of-Power (Lailatul-Qadr)
The most important thing of this month is the Night-of-Power
(Lailatul-Qadr) — the night which is superior, than the
thousand months, one thousand months jihad, one thousand
months reign, and the worship in it is superior than one thousand months
of worship, (as have been narrated in the traditions). Yes! the
Night-of-Power is very precious and distinguished night, in accordance
with the Qur'anic interpretation it is a very auspicious night; and as could
be derived from the traditions, in this night the sustenace and age of
servants, and the good and evil of their affairs are destined; the Holy
Qur'an was descended in this night; also the angels are descended all over
the earth, and when they pass through the
gathering of believers, send salutations and praises upon them, and consider
their prayers until the dawn.
"
It has been narrated that during this night the prayers of all
are accepted, and the prayer of no one remains unanswerd except
the following:
1. The one who has displeased and angered his
parent and was declared disinherited or rebellious by them.
2. The one who has cut off his relationship with his kith and kith.
( 147 )
3. The one who possesses animosity and vengeance of a
believer in his heart.
4. The one who consumes alcoholic drinks. "
In the book of Iqbal, a tradition has
been narrated from the Holy Prophet
(SAW):
" That the
Prophet Moses (A.S.) in his prayer said: 'oh Allah! I desire Your nearness
and union. `My nearness and union belong for
some one who remains vigilant and awake
during the Night-of-Power.'
Replied Allah. Prophet Moses (AS.) said: 'oh
Allah! I want Your blessing and
forgiveness.' `My blessing belongs for
some one who is kind towards destitutes
on the Night-of-Power.' Replied Allah. Prophet Moses (A.S.) said: 'oh
Allah! I want to pass through the bridge
of Serat on the road to Paradise safely.' `The
safety in passing through the bridge of
Serat belongs for some one who
pays alms on the Night-of-Power.' Replied Allah. Prophet
Moses (A.S.) said: 'oh Allah! I want the
trees and fruits of the Paradise.' They belong to some one who do not
forget to remember and praise Me on the Night of Power.' Replied Allah.
Prophet Moses (A.S.) said: 'oh Allah! I
wish to have Your pleasure and consent.' My pleasure and consent
belong for some one who offers two rak'ats of prayer during the
Night-of-Power.' Replied Allah. "
In the same book of Iqbal it has been
narrated from the Holy Prophet
(SAW.):
" On the
Night-of-Power the gates of Heaven are opend. There is no servant who offers
prayer in this night, but Allah for every prostration stores a tree in the
Paradise — the tree whose branches and
shade is so vast that if a rider travels for one hundred years
through its shade he would not be able
to cross it; for every rakat would
build a home for him in the Paradise — the home decorated and built
by pearls, topaz, and rubies; for every verse recited — a
( 148 )
crown
from the crowns of Paradise; for every praise (tasbeeh) — a bird from the
birds of Paradise; for every sitting — a rank from the
ranks of Paradise; for every witnessing
(tashahud) — a chamber from the chambers of Paradise; and for every
salutations — a robe from the robes of Paradise, would be bestowed upon him
by Allah. And at the breaking of the
dawn, companions —youthful and
sympathetic, houris of Paradise —pure and decoarated, servant —
obedient and well uniformed, horses — most obedient and swift, flowers,
greenery, and good smells, runing elegant fountain
streams, and many other bounties which
make the soul pleased and eyes shined, would also be bestowed upon
him by Allah. "
9.1. The Ranks of the Night-of-Power (Lailatul-Qadr)
It may be derived from some of the traditions that there are ranks and
degrees for the Night-of-Power and each one of the nights of 19th.,
21th., 23th., and 27th. may be considered possessing one of those degree.
And the night which possesses the most superior distinction, has been
mentioned in the Holy Qur'an as equal to thousand months, and whatever is
destined in that night wouldn't be changed — is the night of 23rd. of
Holy Month, which is also known as the
Night-of-Juhanni
l. And the one who wants that his actions
should be exact and precise, better be vigilant during all these four
nights. Of course, regarding the Night-of-Power there
____________
1– Abu Yahya Abdullah bin Onais al-Juhanni:
a shepherd from the tribes of Jnhan,
arrived before the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) and said: `oh Prophet of Allah! I
wish you order me, so that during one of the night of the Ramadhan I come to
Madina and offer the prayer.' The Holy Prophet (SAW.) called him on the 23ird
night of Ramadhan, and therefore this night become famous as the Night-of-Juhanni.
— Bihar al-Anwar vol.99 p-20, and Asad al-Ghabe vol.3, p-20 [Author].
( 149 )
are some other narrations as well, but since their authenticity is not
confirmed, it would not be appropriate to describe them here.
9.2. Beseeching Allah for Bestowing Readiness for the
Night-of-Power (Lailatul-Qadr)
Yes! the one who believes in the religion and respects Qur'anic
verses and traditions of the Sinless Imams
(A.S.), it would be desirable that he should make his best efforts
and endeavors for celebrating this night.
The efforts which are desirable and should be undertaken are, that during
the whole year before the arrival of Night-of-Power, he must repeatedly
beseech Allah (the glorious, the exalted) to bestow upon him the divine grace
to be vigilant during this night; bless him with most
esteemed and dearest deeds; consider that night superior than one thousand
months for him and may accept from him; make him his most
favorite and nearest one during this night; bless him with His love,
learning, nearness, union, pleasure, and consent together with health,
happiness, and welfare; should be pleased with him in such a manner, that
after this he would never be displeased with him; should make the prophets,
imams, and especially the Imam of the Age (may Allah hasten his appearance)
pleased with him; and allocate him to live in Allah's nearness accompanied
by the impeccable ones, bestow upon him divine favor to succeed in
achieving Allah's obedience and consent, and make his ultimate
end — Allah's countenance and pleasure.
( 150 )
9.3. Preparation For the Night-of-Power (Lailatul-Qadr).
The other decent efforts for this night are that before its arrival, the
prudent wayfarer should arrange for its preliminaries and necessities, e.g.
for worshiping in this night a
suitable place, dress, and perfume should be
arranged in advance; for engaging into
private humming communications with Allah (the glorious, the exalted), as
well as for communications with his
Masters, i.e. Sinless Imams (A.S.) should arrange suitable themes and
contents; for paying alms during this night should allocate some money,
even for the invitation of guests and for
payment of alms, he should plan in advance to select the most
suitable guests and the genuinly poor people
who really deserve financial support.
Let us imagine that if an
emperor dispatches a special courier before
some one, with compassion and mercy
invites him for special feast, gives
him glad tidings that if he
appears in the royal feast with decency and
decorum, rewards and magnificent
gifts would be bestowed upon him, and
the more respectfully he would
behave in the assembly, the emperor too
would increase his rewards and gifts in proportion with his behavior.
Undoubtedly, after receiving such a
message this person would become
excited and pleased, in order to prepare himself would not leave any
stone unturned, and during this period would
mobilize all his resources and
efforts to procure whatever is
required for being present in such an
assembly, so that finally, when
that moment arrives, being fully decorated
in a respectable and decent
manner, he could present himself over there.
The invitation of an emperor is responded in the above manner but
how about the invitation of Allah (the glorious, the exalted), who is the
King of all kings — is the King of Earth and Heavens — has invited us
for His feasts; in order to invite us has dispatched, his favorite angels, pious
prophets and sinless imams as his couriers. He has assigned His angels to
anounce his invitation kindly and compassionately to us; has given us the
( 151 )
glad tidings of giving us permanent
abode in the Paradise in return for a
sincere worshiping during one single night (the Night-of-Power); has
promised such bounties, which have not seen by any eye, have not been heared
by any ear, and have not been imagined through any human being's
mind, as well as has given us the glad
tiding of illumination, ecstasy majesty,
splendor, nearness, union, and
countenance, for whose least comprehension and understanding,
faculties of reason and thoughts find themselves astonished and helpless.
Are we among those who have prepared for this night and
invitation, the way we aught to be, and
must be, in order to attain the eaternal blessing and salvation? Or
are we among those negligent and idle ones, who do not achieve
any thing except loss and eaternal
doom? We must better know that the one who acts naively and lazily,
and do not strive to
take advantage of the magnificent
generosities of this night, when in the Hereafter, would see that those who
were zealous, committed, and vigilant during these nights — what have they
achieved, and what magnificence, splendor and glory have been bestowed upon
them. But they would gain nothing except
regret — the regret so great and painful that the Hell's
blazing fire and its torturous
punishments would seem smaller as compared to their regret, and then
together with the loosers and eternally doomed ones, would cry loudly:
"
Ah! Woe upon me! In that I neglected (my duty) towards Allah. "
— the Holy Qur'an (39:56).
But on that Day when the gates of repentance would have been closed, there
would be nothing left for compensation of the damage, every one would have
seen the ultimate out come of his deeds, and then feeling sorry and being
regretful would not produce any gain. Therefore, we must
take a look upon ourselves, and before
falling into such regret and grief,
must admonish ourselves for being so
lazy, naive, and easy going. And before that we are called for
accounting and be condemned into the state
( 152 )
of wretchedness and destitution, for wasting our precious capital — the
capital through which we could have
accomplished most precious and greater gains — we better put our self
to scrutiny.
9.3.1. Selection of the Most Suitable Deeds
Other desirable efforts of this night
are that with the nearing of these nights, one should increase his
eagerness for receiving the promised
bounties and blessings; should select worships and deeds which are more
in harmony with his mood from th point of view sincerity, heart's
presence, and internal purification; in this matter should seek help from
Allah (the glorious, the exalted), and the impeccable ones; and if he can
not diagnose himself what suits properly with his mood, he should seek
guidance from Allah (the glorious, the exalted), through consultation
(istekhara).
9.3.2. Meditation and Pondering
After recital of invocations and supplications one should also
allocate some time for self-meditation and pondering, of course, this
should be done at a time when he is free
from whatever disturbs his thoughts like domination of sleep,
over-eating, and pains of hunger etc.
9.3.3. Not to be Negligent from Allah
During these nights, one must strive his best to keep thinking about
Allah (the glorious, the exalted), all
along the night, and should not forget Him during any part of the
night even for the sake of recommended and
justified deeds. Also while offering
prayer and suplications he should not
think about any other thing — even
though if they happen to be recommended things.
( 153 )
For example, during prayer
(salat),
one should not think about
recommended deeds like building of mosque, cleaning of mosque, and paying
alms etc., because all these are indications of negligence; even
during a part of the prayer
(salat),
he should not think about the next portion of the prayer, e.g. in the state
of standing, to think about the
prostration is negligence. He must try to concentrate upon whatever act of
the prayer he is performing and
should not be negligent about whatever he is doing or reciting. In
order to make this task easier, before performing different acts of prayer,
e.g. recital or genuflexion
(rukoo)
first of all, he should think
about them-briefly and then should perform them. And in
case while performing a certain act,
negligence dominates over him, and if a verse or invocation is
recited with negligence, he must repeat it again.
For example, when he wants to stand towards the Mecca
(Qibleh)
for prayer
(salat) first of
all, he should think briefly about the wisdom of
standing towards Mecca, and then should
turn his face in that direction;
and when, he wants to stand for the prayer, first of all, he should think
about the meanings of standing —
i.e. his standing is for truth and his resting upon his two feet is the
indication of his hope
(raj'a)
and fear
(khouf) about the acceptance of
his worship. When he wants to recite the phrase:
"
In the name of Allah
—the Beneficent, the Merciful. "
First of all, he should think about its meanings in brief, and
then should recite it with his
tongue, and similar is the case with other acts of the prayer.
( 154 )
9.3.4. Resorting (Tawassul) to Ahlul-Bait (A.S.)
The one who wants to be vigilant in this manner throughout the
night, must take refuge in the Sinless
(Ma'sum) — the one to whom this
night belongs — at the beginning of that night, should stretch his hands
towards their generous threshold. With
persistence, supplicating in a polite and soft manner, with words and
content arousing their sympathies, should beseech them for bestowing upon
him the grace of being vigilant during this night. Then he must surrender
and hand over all his existence, reason,
heart, self, virtues, deeds to them, and throughout the night, must
be careful not to commit any thing which is not in harmony with this
surrender, because the one who succeeded in it, certainly would have
achieved Whatever he aspired for during this night.
9.3.5. Crying and Shedding Tears
For the prudent wayfarer who desires, that during these nights his fear,
humility, tears, crying, anguish, and lamentation be more as much as
possible, one of the best method is — that he should tied his hands
around neck; should pour dirt upon his head; should place his head against
a wall; sometimes he should stand and sometimes he should cry; should
imagine himself at the scene of Judgment-Day; and the way sinners
are rebuked with harshness should
rebuke himself accordingly; then he should look towards his right, imagining
about the companions of the right hand
(ashab al gamin)
and should think about their
splendor, majesty, features, virtues, robes, and smells; then he
should look towards the left, imagining about the companions of the left hand
(ashab al-shumal), should regard himself among
them, thinking about their torturous and painful condition with
blackened faces, their swelled eyes, tied hands and
( 155 )
feets, and burnt skins; the angels standing in readiness to execute
Allah's command to throw him together with them inside the Hell; then he
should imagine and be scared lest Allah (the glorious, the exalted) orders:
"
Seize ye him, bind ye him, burn, ye him in the blazing fire,
and make him march in a chain whereof the length is seventy cubits.
— the Holy Qur'an
(69:30-32).
Then he should cry:
"
Oh Thou are then most compassionate, and Thou Who are the
shelter of shelter less ones! "
And should cry:
" Where is Your vast blessing? Where are Your infinite
forgiveness? Where are Your love and benevolence? "
Then he should cry, should remember His
patience and kindness, should think about His infinite forgiveness
and generosity, and if the Satan wants to
make him hopeless should tell him: 'you, with all these sinning
and transgressions can't be hopeless
about Allah's blessing and forgiveness, which belongs especially to
righteous ones and you are not among
them.' He shouldn't pay attention to his words, don't let his
whispers effect his heart, turn his face from him, take refuge in Allah (the
glorious, the exalted), and should pay more attention to his prayer, hopes
( 156 )
and needs, and in a hopeful manner should speak to Allah (the glorious,
the exalted): it is far away from Your
benevolence and magnanimity to turn Your face away from some one
needy like me, and not to forgive a destitute and helpless one like me — who
has stretched his needy hands towards Your's threshold, has resorted to
Your's most favorite ones, with tearful eyes, and heart and body trembling
with fear.
Then becoming further hopeful, he should submit his wants before
Him, and whatever spiritual exalted
position and sublime ranks, like
enlightenment, love, union, faith, and piety could enter in his mind, he
must beg from Him. And should
repeat the following text as much as
possible:
"
Oh! Thou Who is capable of doing
whatever he pleases, and except Thee
there is none, who could do whatever he desires, oh!
Thou are the One Whose great
generosities and large bounties are not expansive at all. Oh! Thou
Whose donations do not decrease any
thing (from His treasures), and Whose not giving away does not
increase any thing. "
Then he
should insists more about the same meanings and plead by saying: oh my Lord!
if I do not deserve for requesting whatever I have
requested from You, but Your generosity
and benevolence is such and deserve
to bestow upon me the grant of my needs. Oh my Lord! Your's
recognition, which You Your self have taught me encourages me, that I
should desire my great needs from You,
because, whatever You bestow upon
Your servants and provide for them is not because they are worthy of
them, and if there is such worthiness,
even that worthiness is bestowed
upon them by You, therefore, benevolence and welfare could not belong to any
one except You, and if such is the case, oh Lord! That worthiness
and decency, which You bestowed upon Your
righteous servants, bestow
( 157 )
upon me too, so that I could also achieve this worthiness, whereby my
prayers could receive Your acceptance and my desires get fulfilled.
Oh Allah (the glorious, the exalted)! You are the one that whatever
You do, no one can question You, and there is no one who could dare to
raise a finger of criticism. Or could challenge You in Your power and
reign, You are such that neither Your generosity have any limit and
boundary, nor Your blessing have any end, therefore, oh Lord bestow
upon me worthiness in
accordance of Your power, and make me rich with
Your generosity oh Thou are the most
generous one among the generous
ones! Oh Allah (the glorious the exalted)! If You want to punish me,
instead, punish to one of those who don't
believe in Your divinity and keep
enmity towards Yours friends. Come on and punish him, but as far as
I am concerned, can I find any one else
except You to pardon me ? oh Lord!
Would You deprive me from Your generosity ? Or there is no need
for You to punish and take revenge but as
for as I am concerned, I do need a lot of Your forgiveness and
generosity.
Oh my Lord! Your enemy as
well as my enemy, Satan desires that I become deprived from Your
supplication and prayer and, thus, becoming
pessimistic and hopeless from Your
blessing and generosities, but I,
because of Your grace have turned off my face from him, and trampled
over whatever he desired. Therefore, help
and support me over him, because
inspite of his whispering I didn't become hopeless and never turned
off my face from You.
Oh Lord! With my little comprehension about Your blessing and forgiveness as
well as Your being needless and omnipotent, I don't believe that You will
deprive from Your forgiveness and pardon, any one of Your servants even the
pagans except the enemies of your favorite ones — who
have oppressed your saints and tortured
them—but as regards to the
punishment of others, if it was not the
surrender and obedience to Your book and Your prophet's words, I
wouldn't have believed; that regarding the punishment of unbelivers, you have
stated in your book that they will be punished; from the point of
view of my reason — the reason which you
have bestowed upon me — in case you decided to punish them to fulfil
Your warning against them, You are not helpless to do so.
( 158 )
But if You don't act in accordance with Your warning, by not
punishing them, then even in that case,
there would not be the least
interference in Your exalted essence and perfection. Oh Lord! I presume
so about the unbelievers, then how come shouldn't be hopeful about
the believers — who have taken refuge in Thee, have put their trust in Your
generosity, and desires Your union, even
though they might have sinned and acted disobediently?
Oh my Lord! My Master! Sinning is from servant
and forgiveness is from the Master,
especially, if the Master happens to be exalted and
beneficent like Thee. Oh my Lord! This is
what I presume about Your generosity and kindness towards Your
servants, during other months, days, and nights, and therefore, I am
hopeful. But during the Holy Month of Ramadhan on the Night-of-Power, which
You have created for the sake of Your
special generosities and blessings; have bestowed a special favor
upon Your servants; have given glad tidings of Your forgiveness and mercy
to the sinners; have opened the gates of
Your benevolence and magnanimity towards all; have spreaded the table
cloth of your forgiveness and blessing
for all; can I say except that — You will reward every one
with pardon, forgiveness, love, and
blessing; would grant their wants;
would accept their prayers; would reward
their evils with goods, and their
sins with good deeds; and would let Your
greatness and magnanimity to surpass their limits — what else can I
presume?
This is my optimistic presumption towards You, and that is my
favorable opinion about Your kindness and
magnanimity; You Yourself are knowledgeable, that Your great prophet has
given what glad tidings for those, who have favorable opinion about you.
