Virtues of “Laylat ul Qadr”

Besides fasting and the “Taraweeh” prayer, the one other thing for which the holy month of Ramadan is most known about is the Layla tul Qadr much popularly called “Shab e Qadr” or the night of power. It is the most blessed night in the last ten days of Ramadan and every good deed and act of worship committed during this night gets rewarded with an exponential increase and for these reasons every muslim tries to catch this night and do acts of righteousness in this night. It has been revealed in the holy Quran that there is no other night that stands equal to Layla tul Qadr much popularly called “Shab e Qadr” or the night of power in it sacredness and holiness in Islam. According to the prophetic tradition it is an odd-numbered night among the last seven or 10 days of the month, that is, the 21st, 23rd, or 25th, or any of the 25th, 27th or 29th night of holy month of Ramadan . However, muslim scholars believe that “Shab-e-Qadr” or the night of power is the 27th night of the holy month of Ramadan. The lines below give some major virtues of the Night in the light of different Ayaah and hadith. In holy Quran, Allah the Almighty says: “Verily, We have sent it (this Quran) down in the night of Al-Qadr (Decree).” (97:1). From this ayah of Quran it is more than clear that perhaps the biggest virtue associated with Laylatul Qadr is that in this night Allah the Almighty bestowed Quran upon humanity, which is perhaps the biggest gift that Almighty Allah has sent upon humanity. Therefore, if a muslim is to celebrate the Night of Power for any reason, the biggest one can be perhaps the fact that Allah the Almighty has sent down his biggest gift upon Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in this night, hence it ought to be celebrated by the muslim umah for this very gift.
Again Almighty Allah in another verse of holy Quran says: “The night of Al-Qadr (Decree) is better than a thousand months (i.e. worshipping Allah in that night is better than worshipping Him a thousand months, i.e. 83 years and 4 months).” (97:3). Through this ayah of holy Quran, Allah the Almighty shows the kind of stature and sanctity the Laylatul Qadr enjoys over the rest of the nights of the year. Moreover, the ayah also tells that the reward or the effectiveness of praying in this night is definitely better than prayers in a thousand months. Ergo, every muslim must try offering as much prayer in this night as possible in order to receive uncountable and extensive reward. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) also spoke about this night in one of his hadiths in the these words: “Whoever establishes Salah on the night of Qadr out of sincere faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, all his previous sins will be forgiven.” (Bukhari). This hadith again emphasizes on the great virtues of Laylatul Qadr. This hadith tells that this Night is the best option for a person to seek forgivness for the previous sins. Thus, this is a grand night, which the Almighty Allah has chosen for beginning the revelation of the holy Qur’aan. So muslims must acknowledge its weight in worth, by guarding it and spending it in worship whilst having firm conviction and seeking the reward of the Almighty Allaah, in order that the Almighty Allah may forgive all of his previous sins. This is why the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) warned us about being heedless of this night and being neglectful of spending it in worship, for the muslim would be prevented from its good. All a muslim has to do is to be sincere at heart and seek forgiveness from the Almighty Allah, which he will definitely grant in this night. Therefore, Laylatul Qadr can best be utilized as a means of seeking forgiveness.