|
Recommended Acts of Worship in
Laylatul-Qadr
by Shaykh
Muhammad Nasir-ud-Deen Al-Albani
Laylat
ul-Qadr is the most blessed night. A person who misses it
has indeed missed a great amount of good. If a believing
person is keen to obey his Lord and increase the good
deeds in his record, he should strive to encounter this
night and to pass it in worship and obedience. If this is
facilitated for him, all of his previous sins will be
forgiven.
Praying Qiyaam
It is recommended to make a long Qiyaam prayer
during the nights on which Laylat ul-Qadr could
fall. This is indicated in many Hadiths, such as the
following:
Abu Dhar, may Allah be pleased with him, relates:
"We fasted with Allah's Messenger, peace and blessings be
upon him, in Ramadan. He did not lead us in Qiyaam
(Night Vigil Prayer) at all until there were seven nights
of Ramadan left. Then he stood with us (that night, in
prayer) until one third of the night had passed. He did
not pray with us on the sixth. On the fifth night, he
prayed with us until half of the night had passed. So we
said, 'Allah's Messenger! Wouldn't you pray with us the
whole night?' He replied: 'Whoever stands in prayer
with Imam until he (the Imam) concludes the prayer, it
will be recorded for him that he prayed the whole night…”
(Recorded by Ibn Abi Shaybah, Abu Dawood, At-Tirmidhi (who
authenticated it), An-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, At-Tahawi (in
Sharhu Ma`an il-Athar, Ibn Nasr, Al-Faryabi, and Al-Bayhaqi.
The Hadith’s chain of narrators is authentic.)
Point of benefit: Abu Dawood mentioned: "I heard
Ahmad being asked, 'Do you like for a man to pray with the
people or by himself during Ramadan?' He replied, 'Pray
with the people' I also heard him say, 'I would prefer for
one to pray Qiyaam with Imam and to pray Witr
with him as well, for the Prophet, peace and blessings be
upon him, said: "When a man prays with the Imam until
he concludes, he’ll earn the reward of praying the rest of
that night."
Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that
the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
"Whoever stands (in Qiyaam) in Laylat ul-Qadr
(and it is facilitated for him) out of faith and
expectation of Allah's reward, will have all of his
previous sins forgiven." (Narrated by Al-Bukhari and
Muslim). The phrase "and it is facilitated for him",
according to the version narrated by Ahmad, on the
authority of `Ubaadah Ibn As-Samit, means that a person is
permitted to be among the sincere worshippers during that
blessed night.
Making Supplications:
It is also recommended to make extensive supplication on
this night. `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her,
reported that she asked the Prophet, peace and blessings
be upon him, "O Messenger of Allah! If I knew which night
is Laylat ul-Qadr, what should I say during it?"
And he instructed her to say:
"Allahumma innaka `afuwwun tuh.ibbul `afwa fa`fu `annee
O Allah! You are Oft-Forgiving, and you love forgiveness.
So forgive me." (Recorded by Ahmad, Ibn Majah, and At-Tirmithi.
Verified to be authentic by Al-Albani)
Abandoning Worldly Pleasures for the Sake of Worship:
It is further recommended to spend more time in worship
during the nights on which Laylat ul-Qadr is likely
to be. This calls for abandoning many worldly pleasures in
order to secure the time and thoughts solely for
worshipping Allah. This is based on the following
Hadith narrated by `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with
her: "Upon entering into the last ten (of Ramadan), the
Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, would tighten
his Izaar (i.e. he stayed away from his wives in
order to have more time for worship), spend the whole
night awake (in prayer), and wake up his family."
(Reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim) She also said:
"Allah's Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, used
to exert more efforts (in worship) on the last ten than on
other nights." (Reported by Muslim)
Excerpted from
www.islaam.com with slight modifications.
back
|
