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How to make the most of the blessed night of power

Whosoever stands up (in prayer) during the Night of Power out of faith, all his past sins will be forgiven (Holy Quran)

Laylat-ul-Qadr is the crowning glory of the holy month of Ramadan. It is associated with the sending down of the Holy Quran, the last Book of Allah on His last Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), for the guidance of mankind. The Holy Quran describes this Night as: "We have indeed revealed this (message) in the Night of Power: And what will explain to you what the Night of Power is? The Night of Power is better than a thousand months. Therein come down the Angels and the Spirit (Jibraeel) by Allah's permission, on every errand: Peace! This until the rise of Morn!" (Surah Al Qadr 97:3)
The Night of Power is the night of spiritual bliss. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is reported to have said concerning Ramadan: "Verily this month has come to you; and therein is a night which is better than a thousand months. Whosoever is deprived of it, is deprived of all good; and none is deprived of its good except a totally unfortunate person." (Ibn Majah)
"Whosoever stands up (in prayer) during the Night of Power out of faith and is hopeful of reward, all his past sins will be forgiven."(Targhib)
A thousand months are equivalent to 83 years and 4 months. Fortunate is the person who spends this night in prayer. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: " Laylat-ul-Qadr has been bestowed by Allah on my Ummah (people). It was not given to any people before this." (Dur-Mansoor). We are a blessed Ummah to have received the special bounties and mercies of Allah and it will, therefore, be extremely foolish to allow ourselves to be deprived of these great blessings at the expense of sheer laziness and a few hours of extra sleep.
Although there are different reports in different traditions regarding the exact night, it is almost unanimous that the blessed night is one of the last ten odd nights of Ramadan i.e. 2lst, 23rd, 25th 27th or 29th night. The popular opinion is, however, in favour of the 27th night but that is not absolutely certain. It was, therefore, the practice of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his companions to make I'tikaaf in the mosque during the last ten days of Ramadan. Hazrat Aisha Radiallah Anha reported that the Apostle of Allah said: "Search for the Blessed Night in the odd (nights) from the last ten (nights) of Ramadan."(Bukhari).
Special attention should be given to the excessive recitation of the Holy Quran on the blessed night. Furthermore, one may engage in lengthy Tahajjud salaat, Zikr (remembrance of Allah), etc. The worship during the Night of Power is a treat for the soul. The heart tends to melt into tears of heartfelt gratitude. The body is in a state of angelic ecstasy. The soul strives to reach nearer to Almighty Allah. In this holy month let us strive to seek the Night of Power and its bliss.
Since over fourteen centuries, Muslims are striving diligently to benefit greatly from it. Interestingly, we have embraced the night for its mathematical magic but seemingly misplaced the very essence of the night. In fact, it was just another dark night. But it became the Night of Power because of what was revealed in the darkness, the Holy Quran.
Mosques and communities celebrate the night by staying up all night, listening to lectures, reading Quran and remembering Allah. What seems to be missing though is to reflect on the Divine Words and to act upon it. Unless that is done, the real power will not be received from the Blessed Night.
Muslims all over the world, especially during the last 10 nights, should make a pledge to try their best to achieve excellence of character which is a necessity to regain their lost glory. We are always focusing on rituals - prayers, fasting, Haj and Zakat. No doubt they are the pillars of our religion, but lack of attention to excellence of character is also crucial for being an exemplary Muslim community.
(The writer is a former Khaleej Times staffer)