APAPUN GOLONGANMU KITA ADALAH SAUDARA

Oleh: Ahmad Saifudin Mutaqi, IAI, Ir. MT.(1)

Beberapa waktu lalu saya tercerahkan oleh pernyataan Prof. DR. Syafei Ma’arif pada saat saya menjadi moderator talk show dalam diskusi yang diselenggarakan Forum Persaudaraan Umat Beriman (FPUB) di Jogjakarta. Beliau menyatakan bahwa persaudaraan itu tidak terbatas pada umat beriman saja, melainkan juga kepada mereka yang tidak beriman, karena sejatinya umat manusia itu bersaudara satu dengan lainnya. Pernyataan simpati terhadap kemanusiaan dikuatkan oleh Kyai Abdul Muhaimin, pendiri FPUB, bahwa sesungguhnya umat manusia adalah bersaudara sebagaimana firman Allah SWT (QS al-Hujarat [49]:13) menyatakan:
"Hai manusia, Sesungguhnya Kami menciptakan kamu dari seorang laki-laki dan seorang perempuan dan menjadikan kamu berbangsa - bangsa dan bersuku-suku supaya kamu saling kenal-mengenal. Sesungguhnya orang yang paling mulia diantara kamu disisi Allah ialah orang yang paling taqwa diantara kamu. Sesungguhnya Allah Maha mengetahui lagi Maha Mengenal."
Ayat ini meletakkan dasar persaudaraan yang melingkupi dan meliputi seluruh umat manusia. Pada hakikatnya ayat ini merupakan “Magna Charta” piagam persaudaraan dan persamaan umat manusia. Ayat ini menumbangkan rasa dan sikap lebih unggul semu lagi bodoh, yang lahir dari keangkuhan rasial atau kesombongan nasional. Karena umat manusia sama-sama diciptakan dari jenis laki-laki dan perempuan, maka sebagai makhluk manusia, semua orang telah dinyatakan sama dalam pandangan Allah SWT. Harga seseorang tidak dinilai dari warna kulitnya, jumlah harta miliknya, atau oleh pangkat dan kedudukannya dalam masyarakat, keturunan atau asal-usulnya, melainkan oleh keagungan akhlaqnya dan oleh cara ia melaksanakan kewajibannya kepada Tuhan dan manusia. Seluruh keturunan manusia tidak lain hanya suatu keluarga belaka. Pembagian suku-suku bangsa, bangsa-bangsa dan rumpun-rumpun bangsa dimaksudkan untuk memberikan kepada mereka pengetahuan yang lebih baik mengenai satu sama lain agar mereka dapat saling mengambil manfaat dari kepribadian serta sifat-sifat baik bangsa-bangsa itu masing-masing.(2)

Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets (Regulation of Fighting IV)

Muhammad Zafrulla Khan

In the time of the Holy Prophet, the Arab method of fighting a battle was that when the opposing forces had been drawn up in battle array, individual champions challenged their opposite numbers from among the enemy to single combat. After these combats, battle was joined on a large scale. Fighting was carried on on foot or on horseback, the latter was preferred on account of greater manoeuvrability. Camels were used as a facility for journeying or for the carriage of equipment and provisions. The weapons normally used were swords, spears and bows and arrows. Shields and armour and helmets were used for protection. Some tribes also employed a catapult for shooting stones at the enemy. The Holy Prophet also employed it during the siege of Taif.

Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets (Regulation of Fighting III)

Muhammad Zafrulla Khan

On one occasion the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, organized a scouting party of eight Emigrants drawn from various tribes of Quraish and appointed Abdullah bin Jahsh as their leader. In order to keep their objective secret, lest knowledge of it should reach Quraish, he did not disclose it even to the leader of the party, who was given his directions in a sealed cover, which he was instructed to open and read after having travelled for two days in the direction of Mecca. When Abdullah opened the cover in accordance with his instructions, he found that the Holy Prophet had directed: ‘Proceed to Nakhlah, between Mecca and Taif, and there keep track of the movements of Quraish and inform me of them.’ He was also directed that if any of his companions, on discovering the objective of the party, should be reluctant to continue with it, he should be permitted to return. Abdullah announced these directions to his companions and they all expressed their willingness cheerfully to carry out the directions. The party then proceeded towards Nakhlah. In the course of the journey the camel that S’ad bin Abi Waqqas and Utba bin Ghazwan had been riding strayed away and they went in search of it and were thus separated from their companions and were not able to rejoin them. The party arrived at Nakhlah and busied themselves as they had been directed. A few days later they encountered a small caravan of Quraish on its way from Taif to Mecca.

Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets (Regulation of Fighting II)

Muhammad Zafrulla Khan

Bokhari, Muslim and Abu Dawood have reported that the Holy Prophet directed: Do not be eager for confrontation with the enemy and seek peace and security from Allah. But when you happen to be confronted by the enemy, be steadfast.

4. When the Holy Prophet learnt that any tribe or clan was preparing to invade Medina, he would lead a force against it or dispatch a force under the leadership of someone else to take suitable action to put an end to their intended aggression. Muslim, Abu Dawood and Tirmidhi have reported on the authority of Bareedah: ‘The Holy Prophet’s directions to the leader of an expedition used to be: “When you are confronted with the enemy, offer them the choice of three conditions. If they accept, then refrain from taking any action against them. First, call on them to embrace Islam. Should they agree, accept their offer and hold your hand from them. Next, invite them to migrate to Medina and tell them that if they do so they shall enjoy the same rights as the Emigrants and will have the same obligations as those of the Emigrants. Should they not be willing to migrate, tell them that they would be treated as Muslims but would not have the rights of the Emigrants as those can be acquired only by striving in the cause of Allah. If they reject your invitation to embrace Islam, call on them to submit to the Islamic state and agree to pay the tax. Should they accept, hold your hand and do not fight them. If they reject all your offers, then fight them in the name of Allah.”’

Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets (Regulation of Fighting I)

Muhammad Zafrulla Khan  

In Medina the Muslims found themselves in a very precarious and unenviable situation. Their security was threatened not only by Quraish, who had put a price on the head of the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, and had followed this up by serving an ultimatum, through Abdullah bin Ubayy, that unless the Holy Prophet was expelled from Medina, they would invade Medina in full strength and slaughter all the men in it and enslave all the women; but they were not secure against the machinations of the disaffected in Medina, and had to be wary of the Jews. Quraish had declared war upon the Holy Prophet and the Muslims and all those who might support them. The state of war thus initiated continued over six years and was interrupted only by the Truce of Hudaibiyya in the sixth year. Less than two years later Quraish committed a glaring breach of the Truce and hostilities broke out again which were terminated only when the greater part of the peninsula had acknowledged the supremacy of the Islamic state and had submitted to it.

In view of the ultimatum of Quraish, the Muslims were accorded divine permission to take up arms in their defence and in the defence of their faith:

Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets (Migration III)

Muhammad Zafrulla Khan
The Salat had been made obligatory while the Holy Prophet was still in Mecca, but except in the case of the Maghrib prayer service, which comprised three raka’as, the other services comprised only two raka’as. After the Migration to Medina the Holy Prophet, under divine direction, prescribed four raka’as for the three services other than Fajr and Maghrib, except that the old system continue in respect of services during a journey.

The Holy Prophet, peace be on him, laid the greatest stress, of all forms of worship, on the Salat. He observed that during the Salat a worshipper is in communion with his Maker. In his own case he was so fond of Salat that in addition to the five prescribed services he stood in Prayer for a long time in Tahajjud, after midnight, so that sometimes his feet would become swollen. He often observed that the Salat was the greatest comfort of his soul.

Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets (Migration II)

Muhammad Zafrulla Khan

Shortly after parting from Suraqa, the party encountered Zubair bin Awam, who was returning to Mecca with a small party of Muslims after a trading journey to Syria. Zubair presented a suit of white garments to the Holy Prophet and another to Abu Bakr, and submitted that he would soon return from Mecca and join them in Yathrab. Of other people whom they encountered during the rest of their journey, many who knew Abu Bakr recognized him and inquired from him who was the person who was riding ahead of him. Abu Bakr would reply, ‘He is the one who shows me the way,’ meaning, that he was his spiritual preceptor, but the inquirers understood that he was some person whom Abu Bakr had taken with him as his guide.

After journeying for eight days the party approached Yathrab. The Muslims in Yathrab had learnt that the Holy Prophet had set out from Mecca on his way to Yathrab. For some days they had been coming out of Yathrab to welcome him, but after waiting for him through the forenoon they went back disappointed. On the day of his arrival, they had just returned to their homes when they heard a Jew, who was for some reason standing at a height, and who perceived the Holy Prophet and his companions approaching in the distance, call aloud, ‘O ye Arabs, the one you have been awaiting is approaching.’ On hearing this the Muslims were overjoyed, and, taking up their arms in a hurry, emerged from the city to welcome the illustrious traveller.

When Ansar had the first glimpse of the Holy Prophet, their joy knew no bounds. They felt that on them had been bestowed all the blessings of the here and the hereafter. Bokhari has reported Braa bin Aazib as saying that on no other occasion did he behold Ansar exhibiting such spontaneous joy as they did on the arrival of the Holy Prophet in Yathrab. Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah have reported Ans bin Malik as saying: ‘The day the Holy Prophet arrived in Medina we perceived as if the city had been illumined, and on the day that he died it seemed to us that we had never seen Medina so dark.’

Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets (Migration I)

Muhammad Zafrulla Khan
This was the turning point in the life of the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, and in the history of Islam and the world. The Holy Prophet was deeply attached to Mecca where he had been born and spent more than half a century of his life. Here he had married, and had children, and here he had received the divine command to wipe out idolatry and call mankind to the worship of One God. It is true that he and those who identified themselves with his cause had endured great hardships in Mecca for the sake of their faith. But they had been sustained by God’s repeated assurances of support and ultimate triumph. They bore the severest persecution cheerfully and with steadfastness, and for all of them who had been left in Mecca after the two migrations to Abyssinia, the final departure from Mecca was a wrench. But God’s will was their supreme law, and giving effect to it was their greatest pleasure.

Hitherto, the precepts of Islam had been few and simple but they had wrought a marvellous and mighty work. Never had man witnessed the like arousing of spiritual life, and faith that suffered sacrifice and took joyfully the sacrifice of all for the sake of conscience.

From time beyond memory, Mecca and the whole peninsula had been steeped in spiritual torpor. The people were sunk in superstition, cruelty and vice. It was common practice for the eldest son to take to wife his father’s widows, whom he inherited with the rest of the estate. Pride and poverty had introduced among them the crime of female infanticide. Their religion was a gross idolatry; and their faith the dark superstitious dread of unseen beings whose goodwill they sought to propitiate and whose displeasure to avert, rather than belief in an over-ruling Providence. The life to come, and retribution of good and evil as motives of action were practically unknown.

Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets (Steadfastness II)

 by: Muhammad Zafrulla Khan 

The situation of the Byzantines at the time when this revelation was received was considered so hopeless by Quraish that one of them laid a wager with Abu Bakr that this prophecy would not be fulfilled. But all expectations of Quraish, both with regard to the Byzantines and the Muslims, were frustrated and disappointed by the subsequent victory of the Byzantines, and the decisive and shattering defeat of Quraish in the battle of Badr.

About the same time, the Holy Prophet was vouchsafed a revelation that indicated that he would have to migrate from Mecca, but that God Almighty would restore him to Mecca in triumph. The words of the revelation were: ‘He Who has made the teaching of the Quran obligatory on thee, will most surely bring thee back to the place of resort’ (28:86). This also was a double prophecy of grand import, which was fulfilled in an extraordinary manner.

Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets (Steadfastness I)

 By: Muhammad Zafrulla Khan 

Having met with disappointment and frustration in every direction, the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, made up his mind to proceed to Taif and invite its people to Islam. Taif is a well-known city, distant about forty miles from Mecca to the southeast. It was the home of Banu Thaqeef. It was a rival city to Mecca and many influential and wealthy persons lived in it. Meccans also acknowledged its importance. This is affirmed by the Holy Quran, where it is said: ‘They ask: Why was not this Quran sent down to some great man of the two cities, meaning Mecca or Taif?’ (43:32)

Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets (Persecution II)

 By: Muhammad Zafrulla Khan 


Hamzah was an uncle of the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, and was very fond of him. He was accustomed to spending his day in hunting. On returning to Mecca in the late afternoon he would perform a circuit of the Ka’aba and would look in at the small parties of Quraish who generally met in the courtyard of the Ka’aba at that time of the day, and then return home. One day, on his return from hunting, one of his maids said to him, ‘Abul Hikam (Abu Jahl) has just been reviling your nephew Muhammad, who did not say a word in reply.’ Hamzah was greatly agitated on hearing this and, after performing a circuit of the Ka’aba, he advanced towards the party among whom Abu Jahl was seated, struck him with force on the head with his bow and said: ‘I have just heard that you have been reviling Muhammad. Now, listen. I also follow the religion of Muhammad, and say the same as he says. If you consider yourself a brave man, now is the time for you to speak up boldly.’ The companions of Abu Jahl stood up in his support and some grave incident might have ensued, but Abu Jahl was affected by the bravery and daring of Hamzah and restrained his companions, saying, ‘There is reason for Hamzah to be upset, for I have indeed been at fault.’ Thus the matter went no further.

Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets (Persecution I)

 By: Muhammad Zafrulla Khan

When the sufferings and tribulations of the Muslims at the hands of Quraish reached their limit, the Holy Prophet directed that those of them who could afford it should migrate to Abyssinia across the Red Sea. He observed that the ruler of Abyssinia was just and did not permit anyone being wronged in his dominions. The title of the ruler of Abyssinia was Najashi. The capital of the country was Axum, which was close to modern Adowa. The Najashi of the time, whose name was As-hama, was a just, intelligent and powerful ruler. He was a Christian by faith and ruled over a vast domain. Under the direction of the Holy Prophet, eleven men and four women from among the Muslims migrated to Abyssinia. The better-known ones of them were: Usman bin Affan and his wife Ruqayya, daughter of the Holy Prophet; Abdul Rahman bin Auf; Zubair bin Awam; Abu Huzaifah bin Utba; Uthman bin Maz’un; Musa’b bin Umair; Abu Salama bin Abdul Asad and his wife Um Salama. All these were connected with powerful tribes of Quraish, which is an indication that even such people were not secure against the persecution of Quraish; and also that the weaker ones among the Muslims were so helpless that they could not undertake the journey.

Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets (The Divine Call II)

 By: Muhammad Zafrulla Khan

Shortly after, the Holy Prophet directed Ali to prepare another meal and invited his relatives to it. On this occasion, he addressed them as follows: ‘Descendants of Abdul Muttalib, I have brought you something, better than which no one has brought for his people. I call you to God. If you respond to my call, you will become the recipients of the best bounties of this life and the next. Which of you will be my helper in this enterprise?’ There was dead silence, when suddenly Ali stood up and said: though I am the weakest and the youngest of all those who are present here, I shall support you.’ Thereupon, the Holy Prophet, addressing his guests, said: ‘If you will hear and follow what this young one has said, you would do well.’ On this there was general laughter and Abu Lahab said to his elder brother, Abu Talib: ‘Now Muhammad directs you to follow your son.’ The guests departed deriding and laughing at the Holy Prophet.

About this time the Holy Prophet felt the need of some place where the Muslims could gather together without hindrance, join together in divine worship and convey the message of Islam to whoever might come to them to learn about it. For this purpose, he chose the house of Arqam, an early convert to Islam, which was situated a short distance from the Holy Prophet’s own dwelling, upon the gentle rise of Safa. Fronting the Ka’aba to the east, it was situated in a frequented position and pilgrims, in the prescribed course, must needed to pass often by it. Thither were conducted any who exhibited an interest in Islam and there the Holy Prophet expounded to them his way more perfectly. On this account it became known among Muslims as the House of Islam. The Holy Prophet used this house as his centre for nearly three years. Umar was the last one to embrace Islam in this house. His adherence to Islam brought great strength to the Muslims, and thereafter they began to propagate their faith openly.

Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets (The Divine Call I)

 By: Muhammad Zafrulla Khan

Muhammad was now approaching his fortieth year. Always pensive, he had of late become even more thoughtful and retiring. Contemplation and reflection engaged his mind, and the moral debasement of his people pressed heavily on him. His soul was perplexed with uncertainty as to what was the right path to follow. Thus burdened, he frequently retired to seek relief in meditation amongst the solitary valleys and rocks near Mecca. His favourite resort was a cave in Mount Hira, a lofty conical hill two or three miles north of Mecca. Thither he would retire for days at a time, and Khadija sometimes accompanied him.

During this period he began to see dreams, which were fulfilled according to their true import. This was an indication that he had now come up to the standard mentioned in 20:41 with reference to Moses. It was on a Monday in the last ten days of the blessed month of Ramadhan when he was occupied in worship in the cave that he suddenly perceived an unfamiliar presence before him. It addressed him and said, ‘Recite’, to which he replied: ‘I am not able to recite’. Thereupon the presence seized him and, clasping him to its bosom, squeezed him hard and then, releasing him, directed him again, ‘Recite’, and received the same reply as the first time. This was repeated once more, as if the embrace had been intended each time to influence Muhammad’s heart and to prepare him for the message that was to be delivered to him. After the third embrace, the presence released Muhammad and directed him: ‘Recite in the name of thy Lord Who created. He created man from a clot of blood. Recite, for thy Lord is Most Beneficent, Who has taught by the pen, taught man that which he knew not’ (96:2-6).

Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets (Early Years II)

 By: Muhammad Zafrulla Khan

A confederacy for the suppression of violence and injustice, formed at Mecca shortly after the restoration of peace, aroused an enthusiasm in the mind of Muhammad, which the martial exploits of the Sacrilegious War had failed to kindle. The honour of originating the movement is ascribed to Zubair, son of Abdul Muttalib. The descendants of Hashim and kindred families assembled together and took an oath that they would take the part of one oppressed and see his claim fulfilled so long as a drop of water remained in the ocean, or would satisfy it from their own resources. The league was useful, both as a restraint upon injustice, and, on some occasions, as a means of enforcing restitution. Muhammad used to say in later years: ‘I would not exchange for the choicest camel in all Arabia the remembrance of being present at the oath which we took that we would stand by the oppressed.’

At one period of his youth Muhammad was employed, like other young men of his age, in tending the sheep and goats of Mecca upon the neighbouring hills and valleys. The hire received for this duty would, no doubt, have contributed to the support of his uncle, Abu Talib, and the occupation itself was congenial to his thoughtful and meditative character.

Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets (Early Years I)

 By: Muhammad Zafrulla Khan

Abdul Muttalib, the son of Hashim, grandson of Abd Manaf, father of Abdullah and grandfather of Muhammad, was, in his time, the foremost chief of Mecca. In the year 570, occurred the memorable invasion of Mecca by Abraha, the Abyssinian viceroy of the Yemen. He had built a magnificent cathedral at Sana’a whither he sought to attract the worship of Arabia; and, thwarted in the attempt, vented his displeasure in organizing an attack on Mecca with the purpose of destroying the Ka’aba. Upon this enterprise he set out with a considerable army. In its train was an elephant; a circumstance so singular for Arabia that the commander, his host, the invasion and the year, are still called by the epithet of the elephant. Arriving in the vicinity of Mecca, Abraha sent forward a body of troops to scour the valley and carry off what cattle they could find. They were successful in the raid, and, among the plunder, secured 200 camels belonging to Abdul Muttalib.

Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets (Introduction)

 By: Muhammad Zafrulla Khan

The study of a prophet’s life is necessarily concerned not only with the physical but also with the moral and the spiritual; indeed, primarily with the moral and the spiritual as illustrated in the physical and the material.

Muhammad was a human being like the rest of us. He was commanded in the Holy Quran (18:111):

Tell them: I am but a man like unto you; it is revealed to me that your God is One God. So let him who hopes to meet his Lord work righteousness and let him associate no one in the worship of his Lord.

An exemplar must be a man in all respects like his fellow men. A superhuman being cannot be an exemplar for human beings. His faculties, capacities, sentiments, reactions, reflexes, and all his values would be different from those of men. Even if he could understand men in every respect, men would not be able to understand, appraise and assess him completely. Thus, being a man like unto other men, Muhammad fulfilled the first and most essential condition of being an exemplar for other men. He was no different from them; he had similar faculties and capacities and he could understand them perfectly. So would they, if they tried being able to understand him.

Moral Qualities Related to the Doing of Good

The second types of moral qualities are those that are related to doing good. The first of these is forbearance or forgiveness. He who commits an offence against another causes him pain or harm and deserves to be punished either through the process of the law, with imprisonment or fine, or directly by the person offended. To forgive him, if forgiveness be appropriate, would be to do good unto him. In this context the teaching of the Holy Qur’an is:

That is, good men are those who control their tempers when they are roused and who overlook people’s faults when that is appropriate.1 The recompense of an injury is a penalty in proportion thereto; but whoso forgives and effects thereby a reform in the offender, and no harm is apprehended, that is to say, exercises forgiveness on its appropriate occasion, will have his reward with Allah.2

Steadfastness, Sympathy for Mankind and Search for an Exalted Being

Truthfulness

One of the natural qualities of man is truthfulness. Normally, unless a person is moved by some selfish motive, he does not wish to lie. He is averse to falsehood and is reluctant to have recourse to it. He is displeased with a person who is proved to have told a lie, and looks down upon him. But this natural inclination cannot be accounted a moral quality. Even children and the insane exhibit it. Unless a person discards those purposes that lead him away from telling the truth, he cannot be considered truthful. If a person tells the truth when no personal interest is involved, but is ready to have recourse to lying where his honour or property or life is concerned, and fails to tell the truth, he is no better than a child or an insane person. Do not the insane and minors speak such truth? There is scarcely anyone in the world who would lie without any purpose. The truth that might be abandoned in order to escape some loss that threatens is not a moral quality. The proper occasion of telling the truth is when one apprehends loss of life or property or honour. In this context the Divine teaching is:

Shun the abomination of idols, and shun all words of falsehood This shows that falsehood is also an idol and he who relies upon it ceases to trust in God. Thus, by uttering a lie one loses God.

When you are called upon to testify to the truth, do not fail to do so; and do not conceal true testimony; he who conceals it is sinful at heart.

When you speak, tell the truth and hold the scales even, though the person concerned be your kinsman.

Be strict in observing justice and bear witness only for the sake of Allah, even if it should occasion loss to you or your parents, kinsmen or sons, etc. Let not the enmity of a people towards you incite you to injustice or falsehood. Truthful men and truthful women will have a great reward from Allah.They exhort one another to hold fast to the truth. Those who do not keep company with the untruthful.

LAYLATUL QADR

By Adam Walker, UK

ﹺﻢﻴِﺣﱠﺮﻟﺍ ﹺﻦَـﻤْﺣﱠﺮﻟﺍ ِﻪﹼﻠﻟﺍ ﹺﻢْﺴﹺﺑ
ﹺﺭْﺪﹶﻘﹾﻟﺍ ِﺔﹶﻠْﻴﹶﻟ ﻲِﻓ ُﻩﺎَﻨﹾﻟَﺰﻧﹶﺃ ﺎﱠﻧﹺﺇ
ﹺﺭْﺪﹶﻘﹾﻟﺍ ﹸﺔﹶﻠْﻴﹶﻟ ﺎَﻣ َﻙﺍَﺭْﺩﹶﺃ ﺎَﻣَﻭ
ﹴﺮْﻬَﺷ ِﻒﹾﻟﹶﺃ ْﻦﱢﻣ ٌﺮْﻴَﺧ ﹺﺭْﺪﹶﻘﹾﻟﺍ ﹸﺔﹶﻠْﻴﹶﻟ
ْﻣﹶﺃ ﱢﻞﹸﻛ ﻦﱢﻣ ﻢﹺﻬﱢﺑَﺭ ِﻥﹾﺫﹺﺈﹺﺑ ﺎَﻬﻴِﻓ ُﺡﻭﱡﺮﻟﺍَﻭ ﹸﺔﹶﻜِﺋﺎﹶﻠَﻤﹾﻟﺍ ﹸﻝﱠﺰَﻨَﺗ ﹴﺮ  

ﹺﺮْﺠﹶﻔﹾﻟﺍ ﹺﻊﹶﻠﹾﻄَﻣ ﻰﱠﺘَﺣ َﻲِﻫ ٌﻡﺎﹶﻠَﺳ

[97:1] In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful. [97:2] Surely, We sent it down
during the Night of Decree. [97:3] And what shall make thee know what the Night of
Decree is? [97:4] The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months. [97:5] Therein
descend angels and the Spirit by the command of their Lord with Divine decree concerning
every matter. [97:6] It is all peace till the rising of the dawn.

Laylatul Qadar is a night of great blessing in which Allah (swt) showers His Mercy upon those of His believers whom sincerely and faithfully love and obey His Will. It is a night which is commonly associated with the revelation of the Holy Qur’an but also has other meanings which are all deeply rooted in Allah’s attribute of Rahmaniyyat.

From the above verses of the Holy Qur’an (97:1-6) we are made to understand that Laylatul Qadr literally means the ‘Night of Decree/Power’. It is a night which is of greater value than a thousand months (1000 being the highest numerical figure in Arabic) and in which the angels descend upon the Earth and help to breath a new life into mankind. We also know from another place in the Holy Qur’an (44:4) that it is a ‘Blessed Night’ (ٍﺔﹶﻛَﺭﺎَﺒﱡﻣ ٍﺔﹶﻠْﻴﹶﻟ),