Often Neglected Prayers and Good Deeds on Laylat al-Qadr (97.1)
السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته
All praise is due to Allah, the Most High, the Most Great. May blessings be upon our Seal of the Prophets, Muḥammad ﷺ, and may Allah be pleased with all of his Companions.
Today we are sharing a topic: prayers and good deeds that are easily neglected on Laylat al-Qadr.
The Great Blessings of Laylat al-Qadr
Because on Laylat al-Qadr our Lord sent down the Qur’an for mankind, from the Preserved Tablet to the lowest heaven, and on Laylat al-Qadr our Lord apportions sustenance for the earth and for the created beings who are in need of provision. On this noble night there are such blessings as the allotment for people of provision, lifespan, work, happiness, and hardship. Our Lord says in Sūrat al-Raʿd, verse 39:
{يَمْحُو اللّهُ مَا يَشَاء وَيُثْبِتُ وَعِندَهُ أُمُّ الْكِتَاب}[الرعد:39]
13:39 Allah eliminates and confirms what He wills, and with Him is the Master Record.
When explaining this verse, some scholars said that Allah, Exalted is He, removed certain rulings from the previous scriptures, and later completely abrogated all previous scriptures by means of the Qur’an. Some scholars, and even the Companions ʿUmar and Ibn Masʿūd (may Allah be pleased with them both), held that the matter referred to in the verse concerns decreed matters: that Allah confirms some decrees and removes some decrees according to His will. This relates to the subject of divine preordination.
Seeking Forgiveness on This Noble Night
Therefore, this night is immensely noble. Our Prophet ﷺ taught us to seek forgiveness from our Lord. In Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī, and also narrated by Imām Aḥmad (may Allah be pleased with him), it is related that ʿĀ’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) asked:
“O Messenger of Allah, if I encounter Laylat al-Qadr, what should I say in supplication?”
The Messenger ﷺ said:
“Say: اللهم إنك عفو تحب العفو فاعف عني Allāhumma innaka ʿafuwwun tuḥibbu al-ʿafwa faʿfu ʿannī O Allah, You are Most Pardoning, and You love pardon, so pardon me.”
This supplication itself is a supplication for forgiveness. When a person seeks forgiveness from his Lord, he will have peace throughout his life, because in Sūrat Hūd, verse 3, our Lord says:
{وَأَنِ اسْتَغْفِرُواْ رَبَّكُمْ ثُمَّ تُوبُواْ إِلَيْهِ يُمَتِّعْكُم مَّتَاعًا حَسَنًا إِلَى أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى وَيُؤْتِ كُلَّ ذِي فَضْلٍ فَضْلَهُ وَإِن تَوَلَّوْاْ فَإِنِّيَ أَخَافُ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ كَبِير}[هود:3]
11:3 And seek your Lord’s forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance. He will grant you a good provision for an appointed term and graciously reward the doers of good. But if you turn away, then I truly fear for you the torment of a formidable Day.
From this verse we learn that when a person seeks forgiveness, one of the great blessings that the Lord grants him is good enjoyment until an appointed term. That is to say, while a person is alive, he has a good and peaceful life, and he receives the favor that the Lord grants him. Therefore, this is among the blessings we should seek on Laylat al-Qadr, the Night of Decree.
The Meaning of the Night of Decree
Precisely because it is a night of decree, we must not only firmly believe that on that night our Lord sent down the Qur’an, from the Preserved Tablet to the lowest heaven, and then sent it down in portions over twenty-three years to our Seal of the Prophets ﷺ. He also sent down the criterion containing the guidance of our Lord: how, throughout life, a person should face his lifespan, how he should seek provision in the work he has, and how, in the trials of blessings and hardships, he should rely upon his Lord alone and fear Him.
Because the Night of Decree is also a noble night, some scholars reflected on the verses sent down by our Lord, such as the statement mentioned earlier in Sūrat al-Raʿd: “Allah effaces what He wills and confirms what He wills, and with Him is the Mother of the Book.” Regarding the commentary on this verse, we learn in Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr that Manṣūr said:
“I once asked Mujāhid, ‘What do you think about a person who supplicates: “My Lord, if my name has been written among the people of happiness, then make it firm; and if my name is among the people of misery, then erase it and place it among the people of happiness”?’”
Mujāhid said, “This is a good supplication.”
More than a year later, I met him again and asked him about this matter once more. He recited to me:
“Indeed, We sent it down during a blessed night; indeed, We are ever warning.” — Sūrat al-Dukhān, verse 3.
He said that Allah decrees on Laylat al-Qadr the matters that will occur in the coming year, ordaining people’s lives, provisions, and afflictions within it, and that He advances or delays the terms of some matters as He wills, while the record of happiness and misery is established and not changed.
The Supplications of the Early Generations
From the understanding of the early generations regarding these verses, we can receive instruction. For example, in the last ten nights, while we are also seeking the noble night, we should make supplication as the exegetes explained, and as the early generations used to supplicate to our Lord.
In Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī, it is related that Abū Wā’il often used to say the following supplication:
“O Lord, if You have recorded me among the people of misery, then erase my name and record me among the people of happiness. And if You have recorded me among the people of happiness, then confirm my name. For You efface what You will and confirm what You will, and with You is the Mother of the Book.”
So when we supplicate in this way, we are not only affirming that Laylat al-Qadr carries the meaning of decree, and that our Lord apportions sustenance to the creatures upon the earth; we are also certain that we are making supplication to our Lord, to Him alone, asking Him for blessing and asking Him to remove hardship.
Affirming Tawḥīd Through Supplication and Qur’an
At the same time, our Prophet ﷺ also taught us to seek forgiveness from our Lord, and in doing so we affirm the oneness of the Creator and Lord in His Lordship. Likewise, on Laylat al-Qadr the Scripture was sent down, and the Scripture guides us in how to worship our Lord in a concrete way, thereby affirming the oneness of the Creator and Lord in His sole right to be worshipped.
When we supplicate, we naturally call upon the Most Beautiful Names of our Lord. And when we recite and study the Scripture, we are coming to know our Lord and to know His Most Beautiful Names. Thus we are affirming the oneness of the Creator and Lord in His Names and Attributes, without associating any partner with Him. These are among the qualities of those who remember Allah.
A Night of Peace Until Dawn
Our Lord has described Laylat al-Qadr as peace — it is peace until the rise of dawn. Precisely because Laylat al-Qadr is a night of peace, the angels and the Rūḥ descend. The scholars said in explaining al-Rūḥ that it refers to the angel Jibrīl descending. The angels give salām to the people, giving salām to those servants who remember Allah.
Because the Qur’an was sent down on Laylat al-Qadr, the servants of Allah on earth who remember Him will recite the Qur’an. And when people are reciting the Qur’an, the angels descend and surround the gatherings in which Allah is remembered. They lower their wings for those who sincerely seek knowledge — this is something learned through ḥadīth.
When the servants recite the Qur’an on Laylat al-Qadr, the angels also draw near to the servants of the Lord, giving them salām, giving them peace. Therefore, on Laylat al-Qadr, we too should continuously give salām to the angels. Even though the human eye cannot see the angels, one must be certain and firmly believe in them. Our Lord tells us in the final verses of Sūrat al-Ṣāffāt:
{وَسَلاَمٌ عَلَى الْمُرْسَلِين}[الصافات:181]
37:181 Peace be upon the messengers.
{وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِين}[الصافات:182]
37:182 And praise be to Allah—Lord of all worlds.
Sending Salām Upon the Messengers
Regarding the words وَسَلاَمٌ عَلَى الْمُرْسَلِين, the word الْمُرْسَلِين — “the Messengers” — can be understood as referring to the messengers from among mankind whom our Lord sent, and it can also be understood as referring to the angelic messengers sent by our Lord.
Therefore, on Laylat al-Qadr, we must continue to be people of affirmation, affirming the peace of that night. We give salām to the angels, and we give salām to the Messengers. Of course, the highest form of giving salām is to send peace upon our Seal of the Prophets ﷺ.
When we make supplication, asking our Lord to forgive us, asking our Lord to pardon us, and asking our Lord to grant us the blessings decreed for us, if a person’s supplication does not conclude with blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ, that supplication does not ascend to the Lord.
In Sunan Abī Dāwūd, it is reported from Ibn ʿUbayd (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ heard a man making supplication in prayer without praising Allah and without sending blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ, so he said:
“This man has been hasty.”
Then he called him and said to him, or to those around him:
“When one of you prays, let him begin by praising Allah, then let him send blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ, then after that let him supplicate as he wishes.”
Seeking Peace, Blessing, and Guidance
On the Night of Peace, our Lord says that it is peace, so we should constantly send peace upon the angels, upon the messengers from among mankind, and upon the Seal of the Messengers ﷺ. For when we do so, we are affirming that this is a night of peace, and we are affirming that the Creator and Lord possesses the attribute of granting peace.
We thereby become people who reflect on the signs, seeking in our lifespan, our provision, our work, and the trials of blessings and hardships, the peace and blessing that our Lord grants us. As we seek blessing from our Lord in our lifespan, provision, work, and the trials of blessings and hardships, we will naturally think of continually following the Scripture that our Lord sent down. In the noble night, the Qur’an was sent down, and in it are criteria to be followed: how to seek our provision, how to face our life and its appointed end, how to face our work, and how, in the trials of blessings and hardships, to become thankful servants and patient servants.
So when we give salām to those messengers — الْمُرْسَلِين — including the angels, we become people of affirmation, because we must follow the path of the messengers, and because we must learn from the angels how to be servants who submit to the will of our Lord, conform to what He wills, and carry out His command.
That is all for today’s sharing. We ask our Lord to increase us in guidance, perfect His blessings upon us, and forgive us for the neglect that we have fallen into. All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
اللهم صل وسلم و بارك على سيدنا محمد و على آل سيدنا محمد
Allāhumma ṣalli wa sallim wa bārik ʿalā Sayyidinā Muḥammad wa ʿalā āli Sayyidinā Muḥammad
O Allah, send Your prayers, peace, and blessings upon our master Muḥammad and upon the family of our master Muḥammad.
السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته
Qur’an translation source: The Clear Qur’an — Dr. Mustafa Khattab.
Comments
Post a Comment