Night of Decree (Laylat-ul-Qadr)

My dear brothers and sisters, we are now at the pinnacle of the blessed month of Ramadhan. We have reached the final 10 days and nights of this month, of which one of the nights is called the night of decree or the night of power.

The imam referenced Sura Al-Qadr in which Allah SWT tell us about this night:

Indeed, we have sent the Quran down during the Night of Decree

And what can make you know what is the Night of Decree?

The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months.

The angels and the Spirit descend therein by permission of their Lord for every matter.

Peace it is until the emergence of dawn.

The Night of Decree, which is in one of the following ten nights has the potential for providing us with the reward of 1000 months. That’s about 83 years’ worth of reward.

To put that into some sort of perspective, that exceeds the average life expectancy of people living in the UK today. Therefore, logic dictates for any rational person to pursue this reward with all their worth.

Before we embark upon the strategy for this remaining time, it is worth referencing a few misconceptions on this night.

A lot of people state that the night is the 27^th night. This is a misconception as there is no record of the Prophet SAWS stating that it was definitely this night. However, we do have hadiths stating that it is in the odd nights in the last 10 and so it could possibly be the 27^th.

The imam mentioned a hadith in reference to the identity of the night. It says:

Some of the Companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) saw Lailat-ul-Qadr (Night of Decree) in their dreams in the last seven nights of Ramadan, whereupon the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “I see that your dreams all agree upon the last seven nights. Whosoever seeks it, let him seek it in the last seven nights.”

This would suggest that the night is in the last 7 nights of the 10. There are other hadiths which aim to narrow it down further.

The other question that is often in the minds of people is about the variations in the month start date. As you know, it is rarely the case that this global ummah begins the month of Ramadan on the same day.

Because of this issue, the 27^th night for example, would fall on different days for different people depending on when you started the month of Ramadhan.

Therefore, it is at this point that the following piece of advice ought to be shared. If one was to be informed that there is a lifetime of reward to be attained and all it requires is 10 days worth of effort then would you still do it? If the night of power was in fact 10 nights of power then would 83 years worth of reward make you put the effort in for 10 days?

The answer is of course! What is 10 days compared to our whole lives? The point being made here is that so much emphasis is being placed these days on correctly picking the right day to perform that extra worship that we are forgetting that we can easily put aside the question of which night is the night by taking our worship up a level for these last 10 nights and not just a single night. Surely the promise of a 1000 months of reward is worth the effort?

The final ten days should be regarded as the home-straight, a final push to achieve the most that can be achieved in this month. So in preparation for this grand finale, here is a checklist of 5 things that we can all do to make the remaining days of Ramadhan work to our advantage:

1. Get a Quran and recite as often as you can. The Quran resources on the website enable even those who cannot read Arabic to be able to recite the Quran. Our website is on the timetable at the back of the room. By doing so it’s as if you had read Quran for 1000 months.
2. Do lots of Zhikr. Remember Allah through dua’s and be specific. Think of all that you need to ask Allah for and ask Him now. Make a dua list and repeat it over and over these last 10 days. And insh’Allah the reward is as if you have turned to Allah SWT for 1000 months.
3. Pray Tahajjud every night. Encourage each other to come to the masjid. We are all aware of the challenge of praying night prayers in this month. Sleep becomes a much sought-after commodity during the month of Ramadhan and it is easy to lapse as the clock runs out on this month. However, put the effort in now and it is as if you prayed Tahajjud for a lifetimes worth.
4. Pray Nafl prayers in these last 10 nights. Even if it’s 2 units of prayer only. How long does that take for us to perform? 5 minutes and yet the reward would be as if we have done this for 83 years. Another no-brainer surely?
5. Give at least £1 to charity every day and so if your gesture falls into the night of decree then insh’Allah you will be rewarded as if you gave to charity every single day for 83 years.

Dear brothers and sisters, before we know it this month will be over and we will be left feeling hollow as the blessed month, like a VIP guest in our home, leaves for another year. Only Allah SWT knows if we are here to witness another Ramadhan. Therefore, lets strive to make the most of the last 10 days so that we are of the people mentioned in the hadith by the imam which said:

The Prophet SAWS said, “Whosoever performs Qiyam during Lailat-ul-Qadr (Night of Decree), with Faith and being hopeful of Allah’s reward, will have his former sins forgiven.”