Lalitul Qadr

usaamah · Post by **usaamah** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 10:30 am

Salaam,

What are your opinions on Lailatul Qadr? Was the night that's better than a thousand nights a one-off occurrence that passed away 1400 years ago when the Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet (S)? Or, as we have been led to believe, does it occur every year where the Ajr of thousands of prayers can be gained in one night? And which we are to search (quite puzzlingly) in the last 10 days of Ramadan?

Appreciate your responses.

Wassalaam
Usaamah

Arnold Yasin Mol · Post by **Arnold Yasin Mol** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 11:38 am

Salaam Aleikum,

First of all, prayers do not take away your past deeds, you can only compensate deeds through doing good:

11:114 Strive to establish and consolidate the Divine System, day and night. Actions that create balance in the society remove the ill effects of inequities. Good deeds remove bad deeds. This is a reminder for those who pay attention.

When you pray, this is a personal communication between you and God that can strengthen your personal feelings, but it has NO effect at ALL on your record of deeds. Only your actions have an effect on these.

So a "1000 prayer night" has no function. So the question is, why was that night so special?

Because the Quran was revealed that night, and thus our Guide, the Quran, was given to Mankind. When we follow the Quran, we attain wisdom in 1 day Mankind could only have attained in a 1000 months.

QXP:

Surah 97. Al-Qadr â€“ The Majesty

[Authorâ€™s Note] This is the 97th Surah of the Qurâ€™an. It has 5 verses. The Night of Majesty is when the entire Qurâ€™an was revealed through Gabriel on the exalted messengerâ€™s heart in the month of Ramadhan in the year 610 CE. Its order and arrangement was exactly as we see today. Thereafter, it was revealed to mankind in stages over a period of 23 years. Contrary to popular belief, Iqra was not the first word revealed to the exalted prophet. The Qurâ€™an came as the Ultimate Criterion between the Right and the Wrong and ushered in a Splendor that has been spreading on earth during the last 14 centuries. 2:87-97, 2:185, 9:32-33, 14:1, 16:2, 17:85-86, 26:193, 42:52, 44:1-4, 70:4, 78:38, 81:17-19]
With the Glorious Name of God the Instant and Sustaining Source of all Mercy and Kindness

97:1 Indeed, We have revealed it in the Night of Majesty.

97:2 Ah, what will enlighten you what it is, the Night of Majesty!

97:3 The Night of Majesty is better than a thousand months. [A day of enlightenment is better than a life-time of ignorance]

97:4 The Universal forces and the Divine revelation have descended therein, by their Lordâ€™s Leave and shall work in concert with every decree to carry out His plan.
97:5 Peace! It is a message of Peace and Security, and inevitably, a new Morning of Enlightenment shall dawn. [39]

Mahmood Qasmi · Post by **Mahmood Qasmi** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 2:34 pm

Salaam,

What are your opinions on Lailatul Qadr? Was the night that's better than a thousand nights a one-off occurrence that passed away 1400 years ago when the Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet (S)? Or, as we have been led to believe, does it occur every year where the Ajr of thousands of prayers can be gained in one night? And which we are to search (quite puzzlingly) in the last 10 days of Ramadan?

Appreciate your responses.

Wassalaam
Usaamah

Brother you have to realize that what made that night the night of majesty is the revelation of The Magnificent Reading. Hence, what was revealed that night has been with us everyday since the last 1400 years or so. The importance of the night comes with The Message revealed, so the Message should be our focus and not the night... And logically, what would be the point of a night of megesty that "visits" us every year, and we do not know which one of the 10 nights it is?

Arnold Yasin Mol · Post by **Arnold Yasin Mol** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 2:41 pm

This indeed I forgot to mention, the Night which is mentioned in the Quran has already passed. It is not something that re-occurs every year as the Quran was only revealed ONCE, so the moment that stood equivalant to a 1000 months has already passed.

What you must do is study the Quran to understand why that 1 moment of revealing the Quran to Muhammed (p)stood equivalant to a 1000 months.

What makes the Quran equal to 1000 months of knowledge?

Naushad · Post by **Naushad** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 11:32 pm

Salaam alay kum brother Arnold,

Can you please clarify that if the Quran was revealed to exalted Prophet over 23 years meaning surely over a span of several nights and NOT just a single night then what is meant by Night of Majesty (in the verses quoted above) as there never was a single supreme night where the Quran was revealed all at once.

Thank you,
Naushad.

Mahmood Qasmi · Post by **Mahmood Qasmi** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 2:15 am

Salaam alay kum brother Arnold,

Can you please clarify that if the Quran was revealed to exalted Prophet over 23 years meaning surely over a span of several nights and NOT just a single night then what is meant by Night of Majesty (in the verses quoted above) as there never was a single supreme night where the Quran was revealed all at once.

Thank you,
Naushad.

I would think that it was conveyed to humanity by the prophet over a course of time, however, as Dr. Shabbir puts it, the Magnificent Reading was "downloaded" in the prophet's subconcious all at once. According to my understanding, if a question was posed, or if it was a specific scenario, its words would then come to him naturally.

Another explanation may be that the night may not just signify a literal night, but rather a state of ignorance that the world was in, and amidst this darkness, the Quran was revealed to dawn a new era of enlightenment.

UmeAimon · Post by **UmeAimon** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 11:36 am

Salam all,

I think thats all to it. What Allah SWT is telling in Surah Qadar is about the night when the Quran, in brother Mehmood's and dr. Shabir's terms, was downloaded in Prophet's subcontious. Could be part of it too though couldn't it?

The thing is why should it matter to us? That is something that happened so many years ago. The reason it was so special was because this Quran was revealed THAT night!

Any day becomes special to any of us when something special happens to us on that day. We only celebrate the day just to remind us of WHAT happened on that day that made it so special. But we cannot make that thing happen the same way everytime that date arrives!

I don't understand what is this concept anyway. I think people want or wish that whatever happened on that particular day happens again and again an somehow be part of it when all they can do is celebrate Quran's birthday and even that on a date that is not known! :lol:

All because we don't listen to what Allah says and go in for details He does not want us to go into... why not just follow the orders simply?

thank you

a sister

Damon · Post by **Damon** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 10:22 pm

AsSalaam 'Alaiykum Brothers and Sisters,

Another explanation may be that the night may not just signify a literal night, but rather a state of ignorance that the world was in, and amidst this darkness, the Quran was revealed to dawn a new era of enlightenment.

Hhhmmm.....That's an interesting way of looking at it. I never thought of that.

Any day becomes special to any of us when something special happens to us on that day.

Is it possible that The Day any of us became aware of The Holy Qur'an can be considered The Night of Destiny to us?

UmeAimon · Post by **UmeAimon** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 6:51 am

Salam

Day of destiny! uhmmm I don't know really...
well it will automatically be a very special day for us wouldn't it be dear?
But the thing is once you start understanding the Quran you will realise that the day of destiny and the day to celebrate will only be when we have acheived that heaven Allah wants us to create for ourselves through our Amaal! Till then its an ongoing JIHAD.
My veiws only ;) Thanks for reading.

jazakAllah

Anya · Post by **Anya** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 2:59 pm

In my various readings of the different translations of the Quran, the term Laylatul-Quadr has often been called the night of Destiny. It has however also been translated as Night of Majesty (QXP) and Night of Power. I believe that these latter translations are more accurate. Destiny implies something pre-determined, fixed, unchanging.

In the context of the chapter, which seeks to express to the reader that momumental event which gives rise to a blueprint being revealed from the One who created all, the translation of Quadr as Majesty or Power seems to fit better within the context.

I have no doubt that creation as a whole has an ultimate goal in mind - the Creator no doubt created (and creates) everything with purpose. Whether we fulfil our own roles in the fabric of creation is a choice left to each or us. The moment we start believing that our actions are "destined", we stop taking accountability. We need to understand that within the context of the time and space that we find ourselves, we are given the opportunity to grow the self (through intellectual pursuit, scientific observation, social interaction, etc). Each of our actions, thoughts, deeds mould and shape our respective "selves". The higher one's self is evolved, the better equipped such a person will be to cope with that realm which is beyond this one.

Therefore, if one becomes aware of the teachings of the Quran, that is just one step in the journey onwards. One can become aware and, turn away. Or become aware, and implement only that which is taught by your elders. Or become aware, and actively learn, with a view of understanding the Quran. Each of these choices will create a future, different from other futures, and the choices one makes again, will again determine his other future choices.

The ability to use the teachings of the Quran to influence the choices that one makes allows one to create a future that will equip such a person to evolve to higher forms of existence.

But, as numerous posts on this forum have shown, many people who are well versed in the Quran (the traditional moulanas for example) do not necessarily understand it or implement is as it should be. Therefore, merely becoming aware of the Quran cannot assure a "good destiny".

And what about all those other souls out there, who have no exposure to the Quran, but still, using their God-given faculties, make the right choices and evolve their selves - this includes the many scientists, enviromentalists, educators, etc who make decisions in line with Quranic teachings, but which have not necessarily done so with the knowledge of Quran.

Therefore, in concluding (this rather philosophical post), it is my view that the event of Laylatul Quadr is the time when we were given insight into our design and the optimum manner in which to function. The Power that goes with this knowledge is the ability to make those choices that will guarantee a better evolved self - we can make the right choices without Quranic knowledge, and still evolve the self. But why fly solo when you've got a handbook?

abdullah · Post by **abdullah** » Sat Sep 29, 2007 5:08 pm

Salam

A commonly asked question by non-muslim that I'm posting one here:

How can future events of 23 years be revealed in one night??!!" Since the Quran matched commandments & directives according to events happening in Arab & Muhammad's lives (and not events in humanity's lives) over 23 years, which at time of one night revealation was the future.

"Did Allah not know about the future when he gave miracles to Jesus to perform which boomaranged into Christians worshipping JESUS as GOD??!!"

Arnold Yasin Mol · Post by **Arnold Yasin Mol** » Sat Sep 29, 2007 9:18 pm

Salaam,

This is a philosophical and scientific question. For a Being to create the concept of time we must first determine, what is time?

Tims is in reality only the movement of energy, as time is only experienced when energy is moved. If we would stop all energy from moving, all energy in the Universe, there would be NO creature that can experience time as NO creature at that moment could have any brain-activity to record it. Time is thus relative as explained by Einstein and confirmed by the Quran:

2:259 The similitude of this history is that someone passes by the ruins of a town and wonders if that town could ever come back to life again, and God causes him to die for a hundred years and then revives him. He thinks it was only a matter of a day or a part of it.

The question then is, can God experience time if we would stop all energy from moving? Meaning, can He still observe it? We can see by the Design in the Universe that there must be a Designer. Time can only exist within the framework of Creation as it refers to energy moving in this dimension.

Thus the Creator must be loose from the concept of Time, otherwise there could be no Will present that has started the Creation.

We do know we have Free will as Adam repented his deed, thus taking responsibility of his deed while Iblis blamed God for his deeds.

Thus indeed, can Allah look into a future which has no fixed pattern? Has He limited, by His own choice, His power so we can experience Free Will? Very intruiging.

And it will take more time to answer and ponder these issues.

As for Jesus:
1. He did not perform miracles, the Quran uses metaphorical langauage AND some verses are mistranslated due to Biblical influences.

2. Christians worship Jesus because today's Christianity originates in Mithra-worship, they only used the Jewish hear-say stories to give it a new coat.

And God says clearly in the Quran that Mankind will always differ for now as it is not ready yet, not developed enough yet to be rational:

6:112 Remember, We have appointed to every prophet enemies. The rebellious among the urban and the rural populations rose in opposition, (since the message struck at their personal interests.) They plotted and inspired each other with fancy words. If your Lord willed, they would not
do that. Disregard them and whatever they fabricate.

6:113 Those who love quick gains and neglect the long-term benefits and the Hereafter, are parties to such fabrications. Let them delight in it and let them earn from it what they may.

Usman · Post by **Usman** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 3:06 am

Assalaam Alaikum

My view is:

I see most people are of the opinion that this Surah Al-Qadr (97) is about the Quran as being sent down or about knowledge vs. ignorance etc.. but really is it about that?

I find no mention of Quran or Book or Scripture etc.. It is about something (no details given) being sent down in laylati alqadri , then it goes onto give some details about laylati alqadri and those details seem to indicate that it is not a one-off event in Creation (97:3 The Night of Majesty is better than a thousand months) and also those details do not give the frequency of occurrence of laylati alqadri in Creation (i.e. is it yearly, per hundred years, per millenia etc..).

What we do know is that almala-ikatu waalrroohu come down in it to carry out their function.
Also this laylati alqadri is in Creation (visible and invisible) so therefore time bound.

I fail to see how we can fix it to sending of Quran. I realise it does not exclude it but neither is it necessarily or only about Quran.

Further Ayah 5:101 deters the believers from asking questions, whilst Quran is being revealed, which can be answered but the answers may become source of trouble for believers. Now the answers, if questions had been asked (and questions could have been asked otherwise why the deterrence?), would have been revealed as part of Quran (as law or advice etc..) as they were not asked does it mean Quran was not totally delivered? So the concept of downloading Quran as one whole in one go to the heart of the Prophet has some shortcomings UNLESS it was the case that what was delivered through mouth of the Last Prophet became Quran (things which he stipulated as being Quran) and there were a whole lot of other things which were sent down/downloaded into is heart but not required to be revealed so did not become Quran, although could easily have become Quran if he told it or was required to tell it to answer questions. Thus it was Quran PLUS POTENTIAL Quran that got downloaded in one go? This concept then raises a whole host of other questions. Sorry for 'splitting hairs' but I am finding difficulties with this limiting concept, maybe someone can clear up the apparent anomaly in this idea.

I hope I am coming across clearly, advance apologies if it is not clear.

Thank you for your attention.

Mahmood Qasmi · Post by **Mahmood Qasmi** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 1:08 pm

Salam all,
Please note that the phrase used in this chapter is LAILAT-il-qadr and not LAIL-il-Qadr...

M.Ali · Post by **M.Ali** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 1:28 am

Salam

Since the Quran was revealed on the "night of Majesty", could it be that surah Lailatil Qadr is the first surah of the Quran?

Just a thought.

Mahmood Qasmi · Post by **Mahmood Qasmi** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 2:24 pm

I repeat: If it were a literal night, it would surely have said Lail-il-Qadr, and not Lailat-il-Qadr.

Nadir · Post by **Nadir** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 8:58 pm

usSalaam-0-alaikum

Allah rabe zuljalal in Al-Furqan did not make use of one word which we speak and take granted of in our lives, the word is LAW instead of law the word which is used is QADAR. my understanding of which is right proportion, quantity, Qaddaar, tall man, Al-Qadir, Best Law maker, Taqdeer, law unchangeable, etc.
It is a law that fire will burn, water will freeze at 0 and boil at 100 etc.

Right Mafhoom, or understanding of this soorah desires much more study, research, the words used in this soorah are so great and contain huge meanings, like Anzalnahu, Khair, Shahar, Malaikaa, Rooh, Amar, Izni Rabehim and many many more, for our family's sake I just wish to get out of rat race and have some years in education spended.

And wish for all same "Eid Mubarak" I hope your training was more fruitfull then mine.