When the Night Equals a Thousand
By Muhammad Alshareef
It was narrated
that in the days that Musa (Alahi salaam) wandered with Bani Israel
in the desert an intense drought befell them. Together, they raised
their hands towards the heavens praying for the blessed rain to
come. Then, to the astonishment of Musa (Alahi salaam) and all those
watching, the few scattered clouds that were in the sky vanished,
the heat poured down, and the drought intensified.
It was revealed
to Musa that there was a sinner amongst the tribe of Bani Israel
whom had disobeyed Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) for more than
forty years of his life. “Let him separate himself from the
congregation,” Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) told Musa (Alahi
salaam). “Only then shall I shower you all with rain.”
Musa (Alahi
salaam) then called out to the throngs of humanity, “There
is a person amongst us who has disobeyed Allah for forty years.
Let him separate himself from the congregation and only then shall
we be rescued from the drought.” That man, waited, looking
left and right, hoping that someone else would step forward, but
no one did. Sweat poured forth from his brow and he knew that he
was the one.
The man knew
that if he stayed amongst the congregation all would die of thirst
and that if he stepped forward he would be humiliated for all eternity.
He raised his
hands with a sincerity he had never known before, with a humility
he had never tasted, and as tears poured down on both cheeks he
said: “O Allah, have mercy on me! O Allah, hide my sins! O
Allah, forgive me!”
As Musa (Alahi
salaam) and the people of Bani Israel awaited for the sinner to
step forward, the clouds hugged the sky and the rain poured. Musa
(Alahi salaam) asked Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala), “O Allah,
you blessed us with rain even though the sinner did not come forward.”
And Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) replied, “O Musa, it is
for the repentance of that very person that I blessed all of Bani
Israel with water.”
Musa (Alahi
salaam), wanting to know who this blessed man was, asked, “Show
him to me O Allah!” Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) replied,
“O Musa, I hid his sins for forty years, do you think that
after his repentance I shall expose him?”
Allah (Subhanahu
wa ta’ala) revealed the Qur’an in the most blessed month;
the month of Ramadan, the month in which the Qur’an was sent
down.
On the most
blessed night, the Grand night: Laylatul Qadr; “Verily, we
revealed the Qur’an on the night of Qadr.”
Ibn Jareer narrates,
on the authority of Mujaahid that there was a man from Bani Israel
who used to spend the night in prayer. Then in the morning he would
fight the enemy in the Way of Allah during the day, until the evening
and he did this for a thousand months.
And so Allah
revealed the Surah: “Verily, We sent it down in the night of
Al-Qadr” until the verse “The night of Al-Qadr is better
than a thousand months” That is, standing in prayer on that
night is better than the actions of that man.
Sufyaan ath-Thawree
reports, on the authority of Mujaahid (also), that the night of
Al-Qadr being better than a thousand months means that the good
deeds performed on it, fasting on it, and standing in prayer on
it are better than a thousand months’ good deeds, prayers and
fasting. (Narrated by Ibn Jareer)
It is reported
from Abu Hurairah that he said: “When the month of Ramadan
came, the Messenger of Allah said: ‘The month of Ramadan has
come, a blessed month in which Allah has made it obligatory for
you to fast; in it the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates
of Hell are closed and the devils are chained. In it is a night
better than a thousand months, whoever loses the benefit of it has
lost something irreplaceable.’” (Narrated by Imam Ahmad
and An-Nasaa'i).
It is reported
on the authority of Abu Hurairah, that Allah’s Messenger (Sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam) said: “Whoever stood in prayer on the night
of Al-Qadr, in faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, he will
have all of his previous sins forgiven.” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari
and Muslim).
This one night
surpasses the value of 30,000 nights. The sincere believer who worries
day and night about his sins and phases of neglect in his life patiently
awaits the onset of Ramadan. During it he hopes to be forgiven by
Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) for past sins, knowing that the
Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) promised that all who bear
down during the last ten days shall have all their sins forgiven.
To achieve this, the believer remembers the Prophet’s (Sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam) advice in different sayings wherein he used words
like “seek”, “pursue”, “search” and
“look hard” for Laylatul Qadr.
Laylatul Qadr
is the most blessed night. A person who misses it has indeed missed
a great amount of good. The Mu’min should search for it in
the last ten nights of Ramadan, passing the nights in worship and
obedience.
For those who
catch the opportunity, their gift is that of past sins wiped away.
The Messenger
of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) illustrated for us some of
the things we should be doing on this Grand Night. From his blessed
Sunnah we find the following:
Praying Qiyaam
(night prayer):
It is recommended
to make a long qiyaam prayer during the nights on which Laylatul
Qadr could fall. This is indicated in many ahadeeth, such as “Whoever
stands (in qiyaam) in Laylatul Qadr [and it is facilitated for him]
out of faith and expectation (of Allah’s reward), will have
all of his previous sins forgiven.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim;
the addition “and it is facilitated for him” is recorded
by Ahmad from the report of ‘Ubaadah Bin as-Samit; it means
that he is permitted to be among the sincere worshippers during
that blessed night.]
Making Supplications:
It is also recommended
to make extensive supplication on this night. ‘A'ishah reported
that she asked Allah’s Messenger (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam)
“O Messenger of Allah! If I knew which night is Laylatul Qadr,
what should I say during it?” And he instructed her to say:
“Allahumma innaka `afuwwun tuhibbul `afwa fa`fu `annee - O
Allah! You are forgiving, and you love forgiveness. So forgive me.”
[An authentic Hadith recorded by Ahmad, Ibn Majah and at-Tirmidhi.]
Abandoning Worldly
Pleasures for the Sake of Worship:
It is further
recommended to spend more time in worship during the nights on which
Laylatul Qadr is likely to fall. This calls for abandoning many
worldly pleasures in order to secure the time and thoughts solely
for worshipping Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala).
‘A'ishah
reported: “When the (last) ten started, the Prophet (Sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam) would tighten his izaar (i.e. he stayed away from
his wives in order to have more time for worship), spend the whole
night awake (in prayer) and wake up his family.” [Al-Bukhari
and Muslim]
And she said:
“Allah’s Messenger (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) used
to exert more (in worship) on the last ten than on other nights.”
[Muslim]
Have we estimated
Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) correctly?
The opportunity
of Laylatul Qadr is coming in the next few days. Life is about people
that take advantage of their opportunities to win the love of Allah
(Subhanahu wa ta’ala), and this is indeed one of those chances.
Abu Dah Daah was one of those who found an opportunity and won that
which is greater than the heavens and the earth. An adult companion
of the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) cultivated his garden
next to the property of an orphan. The orphan claimed that a specific
palm tree was on his property and thus belonged to him. The companion
rejected the claim and off to the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam) went the orphan boy to complain. With his justness,
the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) measured the
two gardens and found that the palm tree did indeed belong to the
companion. The orphan erupted crying. Seeing this, the Prophet (Sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam) offered the companion, “would you give him
the palm tree and to you is a palm tree in Jannah?” However,
the companion in his disbelief that an orphan would complain to
the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) missed the opportunity
and went away angry.
But someone
else saw the opportunity, Abu Dah Daah - radi Allahu ‘anhu.
He went to the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) and asked,
“Ya Rasul Allah, if I buy the tree from him and give it to
the orphan shall I have that tree in Jannah?” The Messenger
of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) replied, “Yes.”
Abu Dah Daah
chased after the companion and asked, “Would you sell that
tree to me for my entire garden?” The companion answered, “Take
it for there is no good in a tree that I was complained to the Prophet
about.”
Immediately,
Abu Dah Daah went home and found his wife and children playing in
the garden. “Leave the garden!” shouted Abu Dah Daah,
“we’ve sold it to Allah! We’ve sold it to Allah!”
Some of his children had dates in their hand and he snached the
dates from them and threw them back into the garden. “We’ve
sold it to Allah!”
When Abu Dah
Daah was later martyred in the battle of Uhud, Rasul Allah (Sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam) stood over his slain body and remarked, “How
many shady palm trees does Abu Dah Daah now have in paradise?”
What did Abu
Dah Daah lose? Dates? Bushes? Dirt? What did he gain? He gained
a Jannah whose expanse is the heavens and the earth.
Abu Dah Daah
did not miss his opportunity, and I pray to Allah (Subhanahu wa
ta’ala) that we do not miss our opportunity of standing to
Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) on Laylatul Qadr.
Dear brothers
and sisters, we do not obey, worship and revere Allah (Subhanahu
wa ta’ala) in a way befitting of His Majesty.
Allah (Subhanahu
wa ta’ala) revealed: “No just estimate have they made
of Allah, such as is due to Him. On the Day of Resurrection the
whole of the earth will be but His handful, and the heavens will
be rolled up in His right hand: Glory to Him! High is He above the
partners they attribute to Him” (Surat al-An’aam, Ayat
91).
Everything that
we have belongs to Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala). When someone
dies we say, Inna lillaahi wa inna ilayhi raaji’oon, Indeed
to Allah we belong and indeed to Him we shall return. This is not
a supplication just for when a soul is lost. It is a supplication
for every calamity that befalls a believer, even if his sandal were
to tear. Why? Because everything belongs to Allah (Subhanahu wa
ta’ala) and everything shall come back to him. Sit and try
to count the blessings Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) has bestowed
upon you. Have you ever tried to count stars?
“And He
giveth you of all that ye ask for. But if ye count the favors of
Allah, never will ye be able to number them. Verily, man is given
up to injustice and ingratitude” (Surat Ibrahim, Ayat 34).
We have not
understood the weight of this Qur’an that we rest on our high
shelves, this Noble book that was sent to give life to the dead.
For even if our hearts were as solid as rock they would have crumbled
to the ground in fear and hope of Allah’s (Subhanahu wa ta’ala)
punishment and Mercy. Could it be that our hearts are harder than
that mountain?
“Had We
sent down this Qur’an on a mountain, verily, thou wouldst have
seen it humble itself and split asunder in fear of Allah (Surat
al-Hashr, Ayat 21).
Dear brothers
and sisters, as you fill the Masajid for Qiyamul Layl in the last
ten nights of Ramadan, remember what Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala)
wants you to know:
“Know ye
that Allah is strict in punishment and that Allah is Oft-forgiving,
Most Merciful.”
There shall
be a night, some night in your life that you shall awaken in Jannah
or Hell fire. Anas ibn Malik, on his deathbed, prayed to Allah,
(Subhanahu wa ta’ala), “O Allah, protect from a night
whose morning brings a journey to hell fire.” Think about that
morning.
Peace shall
descend on Laylatul Qadr until the dawn. It may be that you shall
leave the Masjid after Fajr one day soon forgiven by Allah, Glorious
and Most High.
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