Laylatul Qadr And Its Relavance

Laylatul Qadr could be interpreted as the night of decree, night of power, night of great value, night of unique honor, destiny (or fate), night of dignity and glory.

Some scholars believe it is one night out of the last 10 nights of Ramadhan. Majority of scholars believe it is any one of the odd nights of last 10 nights i.e. 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th or 29th night of Ramadhan. Allah knows best.

Allah started to descend the Quran on this night itself. The first five Ayahs of the Quran were revealed to our beloved Prophet [SWS] on this night, through Jibrael (AS). Seeking for this night and taking advantage of it has a great reward.

Allah has revealed a whole Surah on this night i.e Surah Al Qadr. It is the 97th Surah comprising of only five Ayahs. Lets look at the interpretation.

Verse 1: Indeed, We have sent the Qur'an down in the Night of Al Qadr (Decree)

Interpretation: On this Night, the entire Quran was brought from Al Lawh al mahfooz (preserved tablet) on the Seventh Heaven to the Baitul izzah i.e., the House of Might or First (or lower) heaven. And on this same night, from the First Heaven, only the first five Ayahs were revealed to our beloved Prophet [SWS]. The first revelation was Surah Alaq 96:1-5 verses.

The rest of Quran was revealed to Prophet [SWS] in parts over a span of 23 Hijri years on specific occasions. These revelations were always sent from First Heaven.

Verse 2: Allah then asks...."And what will make you know what is the Night of Decree?"

Verse 3: Allah answers the above question here..."The Night of Al Qadr (Decree) is better than a thousand months. (i.e. worshiping Allah in that night is better than worshiping Him a thousand months, i.e. 83 years and 4 months.)"

Interpretation: The value of the Laylatul Qadr is explained in this Ayah. If we convert thousand months into years, it would be 83.4 years. It could be the life time of a person. If we remember Allah in this one night it is equivalent to remembering Allah for whole life time. It is like working for one night shift and taking salary for more than 83 years!. Life time of some people could be even lesser than 83 years. Subhanallah.

To explain this Ayah in a better way, lets take an example of a person aged 30 years old. If he seeks Lailatul Qadr in the last 10 nights of every Ramadhan for the rest of his life, he would get the reward of 40 Lailatul Qadrs [if he lives for total of 70 years]. And the reward of 40 Lailatul Qadr is 40 times 83.4 years, which is 3336 years. Subhanallah. One night is only for few hours especially in summer season!.

Since the lifespan of the Ummat of Prophet [SWS] is shorter than the lifespan of the people of other Prophets, this is a gift given to us to multiply our rewards swiftly in our limited lifetime. For example Nuh (AS) lived for 950 years.

Verse 4: The angels and the Ruh [Jibrael (AS)] descend therein by permission of Allah for every matter

Interpretation: Jibrael (AS) and angels descend on this night. The Spirit (Ruh) i.e. Gabriel (peace be on him), has been mentioned separately from the angels in the view of his unique eminence, honor and merit. The angels descend bringing along blessings and mercy, just as they descend when the Qur’an is recited. They surround in circles around the one making Dhikr (remembrance of Allah). They lower their wings with true respect for the student of knowledge.

Verse 5: (At that night), there is peace (and goodness from Allah to His believing slaves) until the emergence of dawn (i.e. until Fajr time).

These angels (Jibrael (AS) and angels) come down onto the earth only for this night and give the greetings of peace to the people. That means if any one has found this night, he had found peace itself. The night starts from Maghrib and ends at Fajr time.

Night where decisions are made:

One of the meaning of Qadr is also calculation. So in this way it is interpreted that “This is the night in which Allah sends the major decisions until the next Laylatul Qadr."

Allah says..."On that night is made distinct every precise matter." (i.e. the matters of births, provisions, deaths, calamities, etc,. for the whole coming year as decreed by Allah [SWT]) ~Surah Ad- Dukhan (44): verse (4)

On this night every year, Allah reveals (from the part of the preserved tablet) to the angels whats going to happen from one Lailatul Qadr to the next one. Allah is aware of everything but the angels will get to know about the next year's plan on this night itself.

Ways to find Lailatul Qadr:

A perfect plan for this night could be: 1. Praying Maghrib, 2. Isha, 3. Taraweeh, 4. more Nawafil, 5. Salatul Tawba,6. reciting Quran,7. reading Tafsir,8. doing dhikr, 9. doing duas (it is also permissible to make dua in our mother tongue in sujood as prescribed by scholars), 10. listening to a good lecture of any great scholar while resting for a little time,11. then praying Tahajjud [it is the best Voluntary act (Nafl) of worshipping Allah] and then 12. Witr. Sitting in Itikaf in the Masjid is also a Sunnah of Prophet [SWS].

The most important Adhkar:-

As mentioned in the Hadith - Aishah [RA] narrated: “I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, what is your view if I know when the Night of Al-Qadr is, then what should I say in it?” He said: ‘Say: “O Allah, indeed You are Pardoning, [Generous,] You love pardon, so pardon me (Allāhumma innaka `Afuwwun [Karīmun], tuḥibbul-`afwa fa`fu `annī).’” Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3513

This dua covers everything: "Rabbana atina fid dunya hasanatan wa fil Aakhirati hasanatan waqina ‘adhaban-nar". Its interpretation is "Our Lord, give us in this world [that which is] good and in the Hereafter [that which is] good and protect us from the punishment of the Fire". ~ Surah Baqarah 2: Verse 201.

Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Whoever fasted the month of Ramadan out of sincere Faith (i.e. belief) and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his past sins will be forgiven, and whoever stood for the prayers in the night of Qadr out of sincere Faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven." ~ Sahih al-Bukhari Vol. 3, Book 32, Hadith 231

As per Scholars, this Hadith is referring to wiping of all our past committed sageerah (minor) sins only. Since kabeera (major) sins will not be forgiven without begging Allah for forgiveness.

As mentioned below in the Hadith, if anyone misses the opportunity to seek for this night, it would be a huge loss for him.

It was narrated that Anas bin Malik said: “Ramadan began, and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘This month has come to you, and in it there is a night that is better than a thousand months. Whoever is deprived of it is deprived of all goodness, and no one is deprived of its goodness except one who is truly deprived.’” ~Sunan Ibn Majah Hadith No. 1644

Allah's servant is closest to Him in the position of Sujood as quoted in below Hadith:

Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: The nearest a servant comes to his Lord is when he is prostrating himself, so make supplication (in this state). ~Sahih Muslim 482

Quran recitation and fasting will intercede for us as quoted in below Hadiths:

1. Abu Umama said he heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) say: Recite the Qur'an, for on the Day of Resurrection it will come as an intercessor for those who recite It. ~ Sahih Muslim 804

2. Abdullah ibn Amr reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Fasting and the Quran will intercede for the servant on the Day of Resurrection. Fasting will say: O Lord, I prevented him from food and drink during the day, so let me intercede for him. The Quran will say: O Lord, I prevented him from sleeping during the night, so let me intercede for him. Thus, they will both intercede for him.”

Source: Musnad Aḥmad 6589

To know about Salat- ut -Tawbah. Click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CJRPCbeOE0