The Night of Power - Hijabi and the City

We have indeed revealed this (Message) in the night of Power:
And what will explain to thee what the Night of Power is?
The Night of Power is better than a thousand Months.
Therein come down the angels and the Spirit (Jibreel) by Allah's permission, on every errand: Peace!... This until the rise of Morn!

(Holy Qur'an, Chapter 97 - Al-Qadr, Verses 1-5)

As I write... Laylat al-Qadr (The Night of Power) is about to come to end for those of us living in Australia... Well, maybe...

I say maybe, because an exact date is not given for this very very special night which is said to be "better than a thousand months". For those of you who do not know yet, The Night of Power occurs during an odd-numbered night (e.g. 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th, or 29th night) within the last ten days of Ramadan, but its exact date is uncertain due to the promises made in the Qur'an and in various ahadith.

This night is very special, because it is during this night that the first verses of the Qur'an were revealed to Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him); it is during this night that our prayers are "better" than any other night that isn't The Night of Power (this does not mean you never do your prayers for the entire year, and then do it once on this night - just another reason why the exact date is not given!); it is during this night that the Angels are informed of every event, every single thing that is to happen until next year (i.e. The Night of Power of the following year)...

This is the night which angel Jibril (Gabriel) and numerous other angels descend to earth. This is the night which the world is free from evil and peace is all around until dawn...

The above points are from the traditions (ahadith) of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

So it is very special to be blessed with this night as the exact date is unknown. Muslims differ on which day this night is most likely to be. I don't know about most others, but I do know that the Turks believe the 27th night is the strongest possibility - based on the traditions of the Prophet (PBUH) and revelations of His Companions.

So, since my background is Turkish, all throughout this day (well, it's yesterday as right now it is Wednesday the 16th of September, 2009) I received text messages, emails, FB messages, telephone calls etc. from friends and family "celebrating" this night and wishing wonderful things for me from Allah. (Thank you)

I love being a muslim... Even though I may not be a very good one as I tend to fall off the track quite frequently, I love everything that Islam has to offer me. I love the hope that comes despite the shame of our disrespectfulness to the One we love, the Beloved Creator, Allah when we do the wrong thing... Where the wrong thing usually consists of something that will have negative impacts on others or ourselves....

Okay, I'm going off topic again... I suddenly felt really good inside with all these feelings... so it's normal that I get carried away. :)

While writing all this, I remembered the disagreement between some muslim groups with respect to which day we start fasting for Ramadhan... This year the Turks in Australia began one day before the Arabic community like most previous years... However, it seems that we are going to be celebrating the first day of Eid (3 day celebration after fasting for one month during Ramadhan) on the same day (Sunday, 20 September 2009). The date has been announced as the official date, however, I received an email that states the actual date should be the 21st...

Anyhow, my intention is not to discuss about the dates... If I can just bring it all together (you can tell I haven't been blogging for a while yeah? it just doesn't seem to end!)...

You know how The Night of Power is very special?... So much so that any worship done during this night is better than that which is done in a thousand months altogether (1000 months is just a symbolic figure to give us a comparison of how special it is)... And we do not know the exact date... With all the confusion of start and end dates for Ramadhan on top of all this... I guess it's not a surprise that only those who are sincere and who deserve it will reap the benefits of this night...

Look, I feel as though I'm just dragging it on and this post isn't going exactly the way I want it to... Shouldn't be surprised; its 5:00am and I haven't slept yet... been working on the large translation project I mentioned in my previous post. Finally I completed it right on deadline! So now you know where I found the time to write this post. :) But yeah, my body and brain are drained out. So I better stop before I drain you too. :)))

Note to self: Treat every single day of Ramadhan as though it is the Night of Power so that the chance of being blessed with the blessings of that night are high.

May we all be blessed with the Night of Power!

Open out your hands to Him (in prayer) for He will not leave them empty
Pray so that the heart finds relief
It is the Night of Power; He will forgive everybody/anybody

(not a very good translation, but it'll do) :)

Allahu akbar! (God is Great)