THE VIRTUES OF LAILAT-UL-QADR (THE NIGHT OF DECREE) AND THE NIGHT PRAYER
All praise is for Alláh who granted His servants these seasons of favors and bounties. He guided whomever He willed to avail themselves of these opportunities to increase their good deeds and actions. Yet, He(swt) forsakes others who turn away from taking advantage of these seasons and lose the goodness thereof. I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Alláh(swt) Alone, having no partners, the Lord of the earth and the heavens. I also bear witness that Muhammad(pbuh) is His Messenger and slave, the best man ever created. May the peace and blessings of Alláh(swt) be upon him, his family, his Companions and those who rightly followed their guidance throughout the passage of time.
O people! Fear Alláh(swt) and take advantage of the seasons of goodness and Alláhs(swt) favors by building up what draws you nearer to your Lord, and beware of wasting and giving up these opportunities. If you do so, you will regret every moment you waste.
O brothers! If you do not profit in this great month, then when do you plan to profit? If one does not revert to his Lord in this month, when does he intend to revert? He who is still inactive in gaining the favors and goodness of this month, when does he think he will be righteous and successful?
My brothers! Take advantage of the opportunities in this month before it is too late! Keep your souls away from its destruction and ruin. Your great month has started to diminish. The countdown has begun on its precious nights and days. So make up for what you have missed and take advantage of what is left before it is too late. Hurry to Alláh, the Almighty! Repent for your sins, and know that actions are but by conclusion, so conclude your actions with good deeds. Two thirds of this great month have passed. What is left of it, is only one-third, but it is the last ten days of Ramadhán, [which are the most virtuous and precious days]. Avail yourselves of these days with honest intentions, doing all what is righteous and being benevolent. Take advantage of these very last nights by praying to Alláh(swt) with submission and humility and with hope for his favors and benevolence. While praying to Him in these nights, seek His refuge from His tortures and punishments. Verily, He is the All Generous and the All Merciful. He is the One Who says:
“And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad(pbuh)) conceming Me, then answer them, I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intercessor). So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright.” (2:186)
Alláh(swt) descends to the first heaven in the last third of every night to offer His generosity and forgiveness to His servants saying:
“Who is saying a prayer to Me? So I shall answer it. Who is asking for something from Me? So I shall give it to him. Who asks Me for forgiveness? So I shall forgive him.”
One of these last ten blessed nights is Lailatul-Qadr (The Night of Decree) in which is decreed every matter of ordainment as well as everything to take place within the next year upon Alláhs Will. In this night, the angels descend from the heavens, the bounties, the goodness, and the benefits increase. Whoever spends this night praying and worshipping Alláh(swt) with pure intentions shall have all of his sins forgiven, yet whoever wastes and neglects it shall be truly deprived and shall only have himself to blame. Alláh(swt) has made this night unknown to the people. They only know that it is one of the last ten nights of Ramadhán every year. This is to promote them to increase their worship throughout the whole ten days, so they may pray more, recite more of the Qur ‘án and be kinder and more helpful to the people during that period. It is then a test, thereupon the striving and active Muslim is distinguished from the lazy one. Had the exact date of Lailatul-Qadr been revealed, this test would have been of no tangible avail and the Muslim would not have striven to reach the utmost of nearness to Alláh(swt). May Alláh(swt) have mercy on you! Pursue this nearness with eagerness and sincerity! Ask Alláh in this night to let you gain more of goodness and bounties in this life and the Hereafter. Then ask Him to protect you from being among the losers. While you pray or recite the Qur’án. Be sure to pray to Allah(swt), to have mercy on you, and provide for you when you come across a verse of mercy, and to protect you from his chastisement when you come across a verse of torture and punishment. In your bowing, glorify your Lord, The Almighty and in your prostration, be eager in your mentioning of His Great and Beautiful Names and be importunate in asking Him for what you like and wish for. A worshipper is nearest to Alláh when he is in the position of prostration in the prayer, so your prayer is worthy to be answered while in Sujud.
The person may make Duá’ for himself, his parents, his children, his relatives and any Muslim he wishes. It is preferable to make the pillars and positions of the prayer have the same amount of time. The position of standing after bowing should be as long as that of the bowing itself and the sitting position between the two Sajdah should also be as long as the Sujud itself.
The standing position after the bowing should be dedicated for praising Alláh(swt), so praise Him lengthily (using what was authentically transmitted from the Prophet(swt)). On the other hand, the sitting position between the two Sajdah is designated for begging Alláh(swt) for forgiveness, so one should ask Alláh(swt) for his mercy and forgiveness while in that position.
One must begin his Tahajjud (night prayer) with two short Rak ‘át because Satan ties three knots on the backside of a person’s neck during the night. When he wakes up, one knot will be untied only if he mentions Alláh(swt). Another will be untied when he performs Wudu (ablution); and the third will be untied when he prays. However, if a person enters the mosque while the Imam is praying, he should join him even though he has not prayed the two short Rak ‘át, because it is more important to follow the Imam than to pray these two Rak ‘át alone. I seek refuge with Alláh(swt) from Satan, the outcast. Bismillahir Rahmánir-Rahim.
“Verily, We have sent it (this Qur’án) down in the Night of Al-Qadr (Decree). And what will make you know what the Night of Al-Qadr (Decree) is? The Night of Al-Qadr (Decree) is better than a thousand months (i.e. worshipping Alláh in that night is better than worshipping Him a thousand months, i.e. 83 years and 4 months). Therein descend the angels and the Rüh [Jibril (Gabriel)] by Alláhs Permission with all Decrees, all that night), there is peace (and goodness from Alláh to His believing slaves) until the appearance of dawn.” (97: 1-5)
May Alláh(swt) bestow upon us the blessings of the Noble Qur ‘án, and guide you and me to (understand and practice) its verses and wisdom. With this I conclude my speech and ask Alláh to forgive all of our sins. Seek Alláh’s forgiveness, for verily He is All-Forgiving, and All-Merciful.
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