Laylatul Qadr, otherwise known as ‘the Night of Power’, can divinely descend anytime within the last 10 days to end Ramadan fasting, according to the Holy Quran, thus spurring all the faithful to be mindful of their conducts.
As such, an Islamic cleric has enjoined all Muslims to observe the Lailatul Qadr for divine uplift.
The National President (Ameer) of the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria, Mallam Muhammad Jameel Muhammad, described Lailatul Qadr as stated in the Quran as, “a night better than a thousand months” (97:3), which implies that any action done on this night such as reciting the Quran, remembering Allah, etc., is better than acting for 1000 months which do not contain the night of Qadr.
He said that “Allah’s Messenger used to exert himself in devotion during the last 10 nights to a greater extent than at any other time; Allah’s peace and blessings be upon our beloved Prophet.
“Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, related that the Prophet said, Look for Lailatul Qadr on an odd-numbered night during the last 10 nights of Ramadan (Bukhari).” He further quoted the Prophet as saying, “Whoever prays during the night of Qadr with faith and hoping for its reward will have all of his previous sins forgiven.”
He stressed that in order to be able to observe this Night, a Muslim could take a vacation for Allah.
“Since we take a break from our jobs for almost everything in life, why not this time, to focus on worshiping and thanking our creator? “If this is not possible, at least, take a few days off if you can. This can make it easy to stay awake at night to do extra Ibadah (spiritual act to gain extra favour from Allah), not having to worry about getting to work the next day. It will also facilitate your doing Itikaf (to be in seclusion).
“Muslims should do Itikaf. It was a practice of the Prophet to spend the last 10 days and nights of Ramadan in the masjid (mosque) for Itikaf. Those in Itikaf stay in the masjid all this time, performing various forms of zikr (the remembrance of Allah), like doing extra Salat, recitation and study of the Quran.
“They do not go outside the masjid except in case of emergencies; therefore, they sleep in the masjid. Their families or the masjid administration takes care of their food needs,” he clarified. Mallam Muhammed advised further: “Endeavour to make special dua. Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said, “I asked the Messenger of Allah: ‘O Messenger of Allah, if I know what night is the night of Qadr, what should I say during it?’ He said, “Say: O Allah, You are pardoning and You love to pardon, so pardon me.” (Ahmad, Ibn Majah, and Tirmidhi)
The transliteration of this Dua is ‘Allahumma innaka `afuwwun tuhibbul `afwa fa`fu `annee.’
“You must also recite and reflect on the meaning of the Quran .Perhaps you can choose Surahs or passages from the Quran, which you have heard in Tarawih this past Ramadan and recite. If you attend a class where the recitation of the Quran is taught, this is a great time to put your knowledge into practice.
“Make a personal dua list. Ask yourself what you really want from Allah. Make a list of each and everything, no matter how small or how big it is, whether it deals with this world or not. Allah loves to hear from us. Once this list is ready, you can do three things: Ask Allah to give you those things, think about what actions you have taken to get those things and develop a work plan to get those things in future,” the cleric urged.
