Night of Power (or Honour): a night for everlasting change

Tonight the last ten days of the blessed month of Ramadan begin. Their sheer importance is underpinned by Quranic revelation, as well as Hadith, emphasising the significance of finding the one night in this period that is better than a thousand other nights, in terms of worship, devotion, recitation of the Quran, Dua, charitable deeds, kindness etc.

In a hadith that highlights the importance of these nights, Ayesha, may Allah be pleased with her, says: ‘When the last ten days approached, the Messenger of Allah would spend the night awake (in devotion to Allah), and would wake his family up, and get ready and prepared (for the night’s devotional acts). Bukhari & Muslim

The Prophet, peace and mercy of Allah be upon him, said: ‘look for the Night of Power in the odd nights of the last ten days of Ramadan’. Narrated by Bukhari.

This hadith of the Prophet encourages the Muslim community to follow his example and to look for this blessed night among the odd nights of these last ten days.

The Night of Power or Honour is the culmination of goodness and spiritual ascension in the month of Ramadan. The Night is a precious gift from Allah which could grant a people all they wish for in their lives; the Night of everlasting change.

It has been made very easy to seek this Night out through acts of ibadah, good deeds, charitable acts and life changing resolutions. All a person needs to do is to properly prepare them-self for it, with good intentions and a dedication solely to this purpose. Is the Night of Power precious to us, or is the sleep and other business that we may conduct during the night more so? The blessing is in the test and sacrifice, a very small one, but for a great reward.

First of all, what is this night? What does the Quran say about it? Let us have a look at these Quranic verses in our attempt to understand the importance of this Night of Power and honour.

The Quran has a small surah, (Al-Qadr) containing only 5 verses, which starts with the statement that Allah sent down the Quran and revealed it in the Night of Power. It says: ‘We have indeed revealed this (Quran) in the Night of Power. And what would explain to you what the Night of Power is? The Night of Power is better than a thousand months. The angels along with the Spirit descend by the permission of their Lord with all kind of decrees. All Peace is that night until the rise of dawn’. S97 1- 5

This beautiful surah underscores the importance of the Night of Power by saying that the Quran was revealed during it. The Holiest of the divine scriptures, the Quran was sent down first from the ‘Protected Tablet’, (al-Lawh al-Mahfooz) in the seventh heaven to the lowest heaven, in preparation for it to be revealed to the Prophet. Then the first of the revelations from the Book was brought down to the prophet, peace and mercy of Allah be upon him, in the Night of Power.

The Quran further reaffirms this in the Surah al-Baqarah verse 185: ‘Ramadan is the month in which was sent down the Quran, as a guide to mankind, also clear signs for guidance and judgement’. In Surah 44, in its first four verses, the Quran reiterates this fact by saying: ‘Ha Meem. By the Book that make things clear. We sent it down during a blessed night; for We wished to warn. In that night is made distinct every affair of wisdom.’

These three references from the Quran, mentioned above, make it absolutely clear how important this night is and how closely connected it is with the revelation of the Quran.

The below are important points to remember about the night:

1-                  The revelation of the Quran was made in that night

2-                  The Night of the Power is better than the night of a thousand months. That is more than the conscious life span of a person, i.e. 83 years

3-                  Angels, including Gabriel, descend to earth with Allah’s blessings.

4-                  Affairs concerning mankind and Allah’s creation are distributed

5-                  The night is all peace.

These are some of the most distinguishing features of that blessed night. For a person of righteousness and godly devotion who is always seeking to please Allah and receive His Mercy and Forgiveness, these nights are a God-given opportunity, once a year, to enhance his stature in the Sight of Allah. Are there any backbreaking requirements? The answer is no. Indeed, it could be regarded as time off for the Sake of Allah. Hence the importance of ‘E`tekaaf’, which is seclusion in the mosque for a certain period of time, enabling our focus to be directed solely on the issue during these last ten days.

Many people regard the 27^th night of Ramadan as the Night of Power. Even though there is some evidence to support this opinion, we must remember that there are other hadith that support the Night of Power as being on other odd nights; for example 21^st, 23^rd, 25^th, and 29^th. We should, therefore, be careful not to miss this wonderful opportunity by restricting ourselves to one night and ignoring the rest. Secondly, the Prophet himself used to seek it in all other odd nights. Indeed he would spend all the nights of the last ten days of the blessed month of Ramadan awake and engaged in devotional activities. For our own convenience we appear to have convinced ourselves that it is the 27^th night, which might indeed be the case, but should we risk this opportunity for the sake of convenience? 
 

The Night of Power offers its blessings throughout the whole night, from nightfall to the rise of dawn. These blessings are available to all, even though he or she may not be able to spend the whole night in devotional activities.

Ayesha, May Allah be pleased with her, says: 'I said to the prophet O Messenger of Allah! Tell me if I knew which night it was what should I pray in it?' The Prophet replied: say: 'O Allah! You are Forgiving (and pardoning), You love pardoning so pardon me’. Narrated by Tirmidhi

Glorifying Allah and seeking His pardon and forgiveness  are the foundations for all our devotions and they are what is required from us on that night. A little commitment, a willing heart, a conscious tongue, actions of generosity and kindness, all make a difference in our spiritual life. This Night of Power is a life changer, but only if we fully understand its importance from a religious perspective can it affect our material life, our do's and don’ts and all that surrounds us.

May Allah grant us all this night and its real benefits. This night is the culmination of all our devotional activities in the month of Ramadan and indeed all other months. This is the Night of Power and Honour and the honour will be ours if we earn and receive it from Allah!