Lailatul Qadr HistoryLaylatul-Qadr (Arabic: لیلة القدر), The Night of Power, is the holiest night in the Islamic calendar. Muslims believe that on this night, the Quran was sent down from the heaven to the Earth. The exact date of this night is unknown, but occurs on one of the last ten odd nights of Ramadan (21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th, or 29th). According to Islamic tradition, Muslims who stay up on this holy night worshipping God will have all their sins forgiven. Furthermore, they will be granted as many good deeds as though they had worshipped continuously for one thousand months (83.3 years). Lailatul Qadr Facts- An entire chapter of the Quran, called "Al-Qadr" is devoted to explaining the merits of worshipping on Lailatul Qadr.
- According to Islamic tradition, the following are signs of The Night of Power every year: A peaceful night with moderate temperatures, no shooting stars, and a moon that shines without rays. The sun, when it rises, will appear as a disk with no beams of light coming out of it.
- Some Muslims believe that the entire Quran was revealed to Angel Gabriel on this night, who conveyed it to Muhammad verse by verse over a period of twenty-three years, when ordered to do so by God.
- Muslims who can afford to take time off work spend every single one of the last ten nights in prayer, hoping to find Laylatul Qadr, trying to emulate the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad. They fast during the day and study the Quran and pray during the night. The Prophet Muhammad used to do the same. In fact, according to his wife, he would tighten his belt and pray all night, and encouraged his family members to pray all night as well. (Bukhari, Sahih Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 32, Number 241)
Lailatul Qadr Top Events and Things to Do- There are several Islamic recommended acts for Muslims to do on this night: Study the Quran, give charity, strive for forgiveness, pray, make duma (a more personal prayer during which Muslims ask God for things that they need), and remember the power of God.
- For Lailatul Qasr Muslims congregate in mosques to pray and worship all night together. Imams often give sermons that teach listeners about the best prayers they can make that night.
- On this night, many Muslims give money away in charity, after more than 20 days of fasting. The rewards of charity are multiplied on Laylatul-Qadr. This can be evidenced by the Prophet Muhammad's teachings:
Whoever draws near to Allah during it (Ramadan) with a single characteristic from the characteristics of (voluntary) goodness, he is like whoever performs an obligatory act in other times. And whoever performs an obligatory act during it, he is like whoever performed seventy obligatory acts in other times. - Ibn Khuzaymah, Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah, no. 1887.
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