IT was on the auspicious Lailat-ul-Qaclr, the Night of Power or the Night of Honour or Majesty that the Holy Quran, the most blessed and perfect of all revelations, was vouchsafed to the benighted world. By revelation, of course, is meant first revelation because the Holy Quran was revealed in portions during a total period of twenty-three years.

it was this blessed Night of Majesty, which first witnessed the shiningofthedivine light which was destined to illumine the whole universe.

kiilat-ul-Qadr occupies a unique position in the Islamic calendar.TJie world "lailat" in Arabic means night and “qadr” stands for power or honour or majesty.The real merit of this glorious night has been clearly expounded in the Holy Quran. Allah has emphatically and in unambiguous terms declared in Sura Qadr:

"We have Indeed revealed this (message) inthenightofpower.And what will explain to dree what the Night of Power is? / The Night of Power is better than a thousand months." (97:1-2)

The glorious night of grandeur or greatness, better than a thousand months, Is indeed a night of great wonders and divine blessings wherein, as the Holy Quran declares: "Come down the angels and the Spirit by .Allah's permission, on every errand." (97:4)

Nobody knows exacdy on which particular night in die holy month of Ramadan did the great Revelation come down to the benighted world, transformed the conflict of wrong-

doing into peace and harmony through the agency of the angelic host, repre enting the spiritual powersnfthc mercyofAllah.

zMthough t has been clearly laid down in Sur i Baqara: “Hamadan is the month it which was sent down the Quran, a s a guide to mankind, also clear (si pis) for guidance and judgement between right and wrong" (2: 85). nobody knows definitely wl ich particular night is the auspicioi s night of power or the night of hone ur.

The prec se date of Lailat-ul-Qadr is said o have been known to the Holy Pro thet (SM) and a few of his companions. I.iteralists sometimes refer tc some particular night in the calet dar. but there is no agreement o: consensus as to which it is. The d vine night has been variously fix'd as die 12th, 21st. 23rd, 25th, 21 th. or the 29th night of Ramadan, ot more probably one of the last thr te nights mentioned above.

Even som: other nights in the month of Ra nadan are claimed to be Lailat-ul-( |adr. But it is generally supposed to I le a night occurring on any night in t re last third portion of Ramadan.

Hazrat A esha (RA) reported God's Messe iger as saying: "Seek Lailat-ul-Qac r on an odd number night among the last ten in Ramadan." (I ukhari)

Ibn Umar RA) said that some of the Prophet' I companions had a dream that I.ailat-ul-Qaclr was among the la st seven nights, so the Apostle of /ML h (SM) said: “I see that your dreams. gree regarding die last seven night, to if any one asks he should do so during the last seven

night." (Bukhari and Muslim)

IbnzXbbas (KA) reported the Holy Prophet (SM) as saying: "Seek Lailat-ul-Qadr in the last ten nights of Ramadan, on the twenty-first, twenty-third and twenty-fifth," (Bukhari)

Abu Said al-Khudrl said that God’s Messenger (SM) spent the first ten nights of Ramadan in devotion, and spent the middle ten nights in a roundTurkish tent, after which he raised his head and said: "I have spent the first ten nights in devotion seeking this night, then I spent the middle ten nights in devotion, and after that I had a heavenly visitant and was told that it Is in the last ten, so he who has engaged In devotion along with me should do so during the last ten nights, for I was shown this night, then was caused to forget it, but I have been myself prostrating in water and clay on the morning following, so seek it among the last ten and seek it in every nigh t wi th an odd number. "

He said: "Rain fell that night, rhe mosque which was a thatched building dripped, and my eyes saw God's Messenger (SM) with traces of water and clay on his forehead on the morning after the twenty-first night.”

Bukhari and Muslim agree on the subject matter, the wording being Muslim's up to "and was told it is in the last ten," the remainder being Bukhari's. In the version of Abdullah bin Unais (RA), he said it was the twenty-third night. Muslim transmitted it.

According to Ibn Hanbal, a Hadith narrated by Ibn Umar (RA) claimed that the Holy Prophet SM) said: "Whoever seeks the Night, let

him seek it on the 27 th."

It is not perhaps necessary to fix the night literally by the calendar. The night on which divine message descends from Allah is undoubtedly a blessed night for mankind, like a much-awaited day of rain for a parched land. It is for this that the I’tikaf, the attending of the mosques or retiring for contemplation during Ramadan as a form of devotion or meditation, is fixed for die last ten daysofthe month of Ramadan.

The Holy Prophet (SM) himself used to spend the last ten days of Ramadan in complete retirement in the mosque. He even had his bed placed in the mosque behlnda pillar during I'tikaf.

Hazrat Ayesha (RA) said that God's Messenger (SM) used to exert himself in devotion during the last ten nights to a greater extent than at any other time. (Muslim transmitted it). She said that when the last ten nights began Allah's Aposde (SM) prepared himself for religious excercises, stayed awake at night and wakened his family (Bukhari and Muslim).

"A thousand months" may also be taken in a mystic or indefinite sense as denoting a very long period of time. It is not necessarily 83 years and 4 months. It may not even refer to ordinary human conception of time. On the contrary, it might very well refer to "timelessTime."

In the words of Abdullah Yusuf Ali: "It transcends time; for it is God's power dispelling the darkness of ignorance by His revelation in every kind of affair. One moment of enlightenment under God's light is better than thousands of months or years of animal life, and such a moment converts the night of darkness into aperiodof.spiritual glory."

Lailat-ul-Qadr. popularly known as Shab-e-Qadr on this continent, indeed occupies a very important place in die life of a devoted Muslim. "The descent of the angels and the spirit by Allah's permission" also testifies to the deeper significance

and religious sanctity of the auspicious night, for though a particular night in the month of Ramadan may be characterised by great divine blessings, it is more especially in connection with the mission of one appointed by Allah for the regeneration of the world diat "the angels and the spirit" come down from heaven, such being the divine support for his cause.

Sura Qadr, testifying so eloquently to the divine grandeur and unique greatness of the majestic Lailat-ul-Qadr, ends with the beautiful expression: "Peace! This until theriseofmorn!"

Peace, indeed, is the chief distinction of Lailat-ul-Qadr. This "peace" comes to the hearts of the devotees in the form of a tranquility of mind, which makes them fit to receive divine blessings. When the night of spiritual darkness is dissipated by the Glory of Benign Providence, a wonderful peace and a sense of security arise in the soul. All jarrings are stilled in the reign supremeofpeace.

"And this lasts,” in the words of Allama Abdullah Yusuf Ali, "until this life closes, and the glorious Day of the new spiritual world dawns, when everything will be on a different plane, and the chequered nights and days of the world will be even less thanadream."

The continuance of the blessed night till "the rise of Morn" is quite clear and evident when the night is taken literally; the work of morning signifying "the approaching end of the reforms, when truth, like the light of the day. has made itself fully manifest."

In the words of Abdullah Yusuf Ali: "The mortal night gives place to the glorious day of an immortal world."

- Lailat-ul-Qadr, the blessed night on which thirteen hundred and ninety two years ago die great revelation of the most gracious and the most merciful Allah "broke through the darkness of the human soul"

and the Holy Quran, the perfect code of human life, reached mankind as message of "mercy from the Lord,” carries another significance ofdivineexcellence.

As Moulvi Mohammed All states: "The time during which a Prophet appears is usually a time of darkness and as such is often compared to night in the Holy Quran. But as in this darkness comes a blessing from on high in the person of a Divine Messenger, die Night is a blessed and majestic Night. Hence the period of the advent of a Divine Messenger may also be metaphorically called Lailat-ul-Qadr. Its designation as the Blessed Night in Sura Ad-Dukhan followed as it is by the statement that in it 'every wise affair is made distinct,' shows clearly that the other significance of the world is based on the Holy Quran itself, because it is during the time of a Prophet's advent that true wisdom Isdistinctlyestablished."

Blessed indeed is this Night of Power! "The excellence of Lailat-ul-Qadr are said to be innumerable,

and it is believed that during its solemn hours the whole animal and vegetable creation bows down in humble adoration to the Almighty.” (Dictionary of Islam, 1988 edition). The divine importance of this Night of Grandeur isso great that die Holy Prophet (SM) himself declared: "He who spends the Lailat-ul-Qadr through prayers, in full faith, shall have all his previous sins and guilt forgiven.” As none can afford to miss this glorious and unique opportunity, Muslims all over the world eagerly await this auspicious night and try their level best to pass this night through prayers, Quranic recitations, and deep meditation with all possible sincerity and devotion.

As this night provides them with the coveted opportunity to receive Allah's blessings, Muslims in every nook and corner of the world rise to the occasion to avail this glorious opportunity and pray with asincere and cherished hope to be blessed with Allah's forgiveness and mercy. It is this mercy of Allah which breaks

through the darkness of the human soul on this blessed night. "All the powers of the world divine speed on their mystic Message of Mercy by Allah's Command and bless every nook and comerof the heart."

But it is not the worldly pleasures and physical comforts that one should ask for on this holy night. What a man should pray for on this blessed night is forgiveness and Allah's forgiveness alone. Nothing can be more pleasant, nothing can be more beneficial, nothing can be sweeter than the glorious mercy of the most gracious and the most merciful Allah.

Hazrat Ayesha (RA) said:" I asked the holy Prophet (SM) what to say on Lailat-ul-Qadr on the assumption that I knew it was the Night.” The Holy Prophet (SM) replied: "One should say: Oh LordIThouart forgiving and lovest forgiveness, so forgive me." (Ahmed, Ibn Majah andTirmizi)

Syed Ashzal Pi Is farmer Director General. Islamic Foundation. Bangladesh.