Podcast
Bismillahi Rahmani Raheem
Hello everyone, Ramadan has entered its last ten days.
(97:1-5) We sent it [Quran] down on the Night of Destiny. And what will make you comprehend what the Night of Destiny is? The Night of Destiny is better than a thousand months; on that night, the angels and the Spirit come down by the permission of their Lord with His decrees for all matters; it is all peace till the break of dawn.
According to the hadith:
When Allah created all things, no matter how big or small, e.g. from the life and death of a person, to when the leaf was dropped. According to Quran (85:22), it mentioned this preserved tablet in Arabic is (لَوْحٍ مَّحْفُوظٍ). All living things in this world, the visible and the invisible, including the existence of all dead things, have their own measure, check and balance each other. And the Qur’an descended from Allah at once to the nearest heaven, and then slowly descended to Prophet (pbuh) according to the events that occurred during his 23 years lifetime.
And this Qur’an was revealed for the first time on the Noble Night (in Chinese translation) in the month of Ramadan. According to the Arabic translation, “Noble Night” should be also “Night of Destiny” (لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِ).
According to the interpretation of the Qur’an by “Ibn Kathir” and the hadith records, that night, the angels and spirits, the archangel “Gabriel”, will be, with the permission of their Lord, fill the heavens and the earth and put the decree for everyone and everything for the coming year, because that night the heavens and the earth are fill with and crowded with angels, there is no gap in between, so if that night, one with sincere faith in one Allah to pray and ask for forgiveness, all angels together will ask Allah to grant the permission for the prayer.
According to another hadith narrated, “Indeed, that night there were more angels on earth than pebbles.”
Because the angels come with the blessings and mercy bestowed by Allah, just like when people are reciting the Quran or when a group of people study and remember Allah, the angels will spread their wings and ask Allah for forgiveness and accept their supplication.
In another hadith, Abu Huraira narrated that the Prophet said: “Ramadan has come to you, a blessed month. Allah has obligated fasting for you during it. During the month, the gates of heaven are open and the gates of Hell are closed. The strongest, most arrogant devils are chained during it. Allah has in it a night that is better than a thousand months; whoever is prevented from obtaining the good of that night is certainly prevented (from much good).”
From this hadith, it is clear and understandable why whoever is prevented from obtaining the good of that night is certainly prevented (from much good). Who can truly believe in the one and only Allah, and when asking for forgiveness and praying, and encountering this “night of decree”, all sins will be forgiven, leaving no record, just like a blank sheet of paper, and start all bad deed record new. And the fate of the coming year until the next Ramadan can also be bestowed with blessings and mercy.
Therefore, it is narrated by “Aisha”, she asked: “O Messenger of Allah! If I find this night of decree, what shall I say?'” He replied,
«اللْهُمَّ إِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ فَاعْفُ عَنِّي»
“O Allah! Indeed, you are the forgiver of sins, and you like to forgive, so please forgive me.”
Another hadith narrated by ‘Aisha: “As the last ten days of Ramadan began, the Prophet (ﷺ) used to tighten his belt (i.e. work hard in worship) to pray all night and to wake up his family to pray together.”
In addition, the Prophet liked to stay in the mosque for the last ten days, also known as “I`tikaf”, to worship and remember Allah day and night, paying zakat and be especially generous to do good deeds.
Another hadith narration:
Allah’s Apostle (ﷺ) went out to inform people about the date of the “Night of Decree”, but there was an argument between two Muslim men. Therefore, the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “I came out to inform you of the date of the “Night of Decree”, but because of the quarrel between so-and-so, the news about it has been deleted from my memory; perhaps this is better for you, so look for it on the odd days of the last ten days of Ramadan! Whoever prays on that day and seeks their reward, Allah will indeed forgive him his former sins and his later sins.”
Another hadith narration:
The Prophet (ﷺ) dreamed that he was in the “night of decree”, “It is during an odd night and I saw myself as if I were prostrating in mud and water.” The roof of the Masjid was made of dried palm-tree leaves and we did not see anything (i.e., clouds) in the sky. But then a patch of wind-driven clouds came and it rained. So the Prophet lead us in prayer until we saw the traces of mud and water on the forehead of the Messenger of Allah , which confirmed his dream.”
In another narration, it was added that this happened on the morning of the beginning of the twenty-first night, and it was also said that it was on the twenty-third night.
From these hadiths, it can be concluded that the odd number of night of the last ten nights, not necessarily only the 27th night, is the “night of decree”, it can appear on the 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th or 29th night.
The Qur’an says, “All that night was peaceful until the dawn was evident.”
In another hadith, the Messenger of Allah said:
“Verily, the sign of the Night of Al-Qadr is that it is pure and glowing as if there were a bright, tranquil, calm moon during it. It is not cold, nor is it hot, and no shooting star is permitted until morning. Its sign is that the sun appears on the morning following it smooth having no rays on it, just like the moon on a full moon night. Shaytan is not allowed to come out with it (the sun) on that day.”
And the Night of Al-Qadr happens every year during Ramadan. Whoever cannot fast during Ramadan due to different reasons, they still can search for the night of Qadr, they still can ask for forgiveness and do lots of Dua as Allah knows best everyone’s situation.
After Ramadan, it is Eid, also known as Eid ul Fitra, the translation of Eid means festival. The festivals that can be celebrated in Islam, there are only two permitted Eid, the other is Eid ul Adha Eid, any other so-called religious celebrations are regarded as innovations, which did not permitted by Allah, and which the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) did not do during his lifetime. Any new kind of celebrations happening nowadays are prohibited.
Abdullah bin Briida narrated from his father:
“Before Eid al-Fitr, the Prophet would eat before leaving home to pray, and on Eid al-Adha, he would not eat before praying.”
Narrated by Jabir:
On Eid al-Fitr, the path that Allah’s Apostle (ﷺ) took to go out to pray for Eid al-Fitr is not the same as the path back.
Narrated by Ibn Abbas:
“The Prophet did two prayers on Eid al-Fitr, before and after these two prayers, there were no other additional prayers.”
Abu ‘Ubaid said:
I was present at Eid with ‘Umar, and he started with the prayer before the khutbah. He said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade fasting on these two days. The day of al-Fitr is the day when you break your fast, and on the day of al-Adha, eat the meat of your sacrifices.
If any Eid occurred on Friday, according to the narration of “Ibn ‘Umar”: “Two ‘Eid came together at the time of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), so he led the people in prayer, then he said: ‘Whoever wishes to come to Friday (prayer), let him come, and whoever wishes to stay behind, let him stay behind.’”
According to this hadith, every Friday prayer is like a small festival Eid, so it is strongly encouraged to dress up and wear beautiful clothes during every Friday prayer.
Finally, I wish you all to be allowed by Allah to find (لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِ) the night of fate, all sins are written off, and success in this world and the hereafter. Ameen
Wishing everyone Eid Mubarak in advance!