LAYLATUL QADRI-THE NIGHT OF POWER

Qadr means honour and dignity.
Lailatul Qadr means the night of
honour and dignity. It is this
night in which the first Divine
Revelation came to the Prophet
sallalahu alayhi wasallam, when
he was in prayer in the cave of
Hira. Since this night enjoys the
honour of having the first
revelation brought to the
Prophet sallalahu alayhi
wasallam, it has been named
Lailatul Qadr.
This is one of the holiest and
most blessed nights, which is
likely to occur on one of the odd
nights on the last ten days of
Ramadhan and most likely to be
the 27th. The reward of worship
on this night is better than the
worship of a thousand months
of worship, equivalent to a
person's lifetime. So, on this
night one should pray nafil
namaz, recite the Quran, do
Tasbih, Zikr, Duas, etc as much as
possible.
This night had already opened
its gates of treasures when the
angel for the first time had come
with the Divine Message in the
cave of Hira, but its
auspiciousness has continued to
be with us permanently. Every
year in the month of Ramadhan,
this night is given to the
Ummah. Muslims engage in
prayers, recitation of Quran and
praying to Allah, as the Prophet
sallalahu alayhi wasallam said:
"The person who offered
prayers to Allah in the night of
Dignity with faith and with hope
of reward from Allah, all his past
sins have been
forgiven." (Bukhaari)
As the rainy season is suitable
for farming, similarly for the
attainment of nearness to Allah,
specific times , specific days and
specific nights are most suitable,
e.g. the time of Tahajjud prayers,
Friday prayers, month of
Ramadhan, the Day of Arafah,
etc. So also the Night of Power is
the most suitable night for
attaining nearness to Allah.
In the Hadeeth, we have been
asked to seek it in the last ten
nights of the month of
Ramadhan. Hazrat Aa'ishah
radhiyallahu anhaa narrates that
the Messenger of Allah sallalahu
alayhi wasallam has said, 'Seek
the night of Dignity in the odd
nights of the last ten days of
Ramadhan'.(Bukhaari).
By odd nights, the reference is
made to the 21st, 23rd, 25th,
27th, 29th night of the month of
Ramadhan. No one night has
been fixed so that the yearning
to find it may increase and
people may spend more nights
in worshipping Allah. From this
aspect, the importance of
`Itikaaf (seclusion) during the
last ten days of Ramadhan is
clear.
Some special prayers and Zikr
for Laitul Qadrtop
1. Seeking Forgiveness.
Hazrat Aa'ishah radhiyallahu
anhaa asked the Prophet
sallalahu alayhi wasallam that
if she happened to get the
night sublime what prayer
should she say. The Prophet
sallalahu alayhi wasallam
replied that she should say the
following prayer :
"Allahumma innaka
afuwwun kareemun tuhib-
bul af-wa fa-afo anni"
(O Allah, You are the One who
grants pardon for sins, loves
forgiving, so forgive me.)
2. Reciting Astaghfar. The
following should be recited as
much as possible:
"Astaghfirullah hallazi la-ila-
ha illa huwal Hayyul
Qayyumo wa atu-bu ilaihe"
(I seek forgiveness from Allah,
the Almighty, there is no God
but He. He is self-Existent, the
Eternal and I return to Him)
3. Reciting Surah `Inna
anzalnahu...'
"Inna anzalnahu fee lailathil
Qadr, Wa maa adraka maa
lailatul Qadr.
Lailatul Qadri khairum min
alfi shahr. Tanazzalul malai-
katu var-roohu
fee ha bi izni Rabbihim min
kulle amr. Salaamun heya
hatta matla-il fajr."
4. Do Salatul Tasbih.
5. Do Afzul Zikr i.e. La ilaha
illallah