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Laylatul Qadr (The Night of Decree)
Author : His Grace Shiekh Abdulkareem Al-Khasawneh
Date Added : 17-04-2023

Laylatul Qadr (The Night of Decree)

 

 

It is the blessed night at which the angels and the spirit come down. It is the night at which the Quran was sent down to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) from God through angel Gabriel.

The earth has never witnessed such a blessed night in terms of greatness, status and indications. The whole universe rejoices at it and whosoever performs acts of worship at this night, with Faith and in the hope of receiving Allah's reward, will have his/her past sins forgiven. In addition, worshipping Allah in that night is better than worshipping Him a thousand months.

During that night, Allah`s mercies and blessings come down on His believing servants who are offering different acts of worship to come closer to Him.

Al-Khalil Bin Ahmad said: "Laylatul Qadr: It is the night of restriction based on the verse, which reads: (and the man whose resources are restricted). It was called as such because the earth becomes so restricted/narrow by the huge numbers of angels coming down to it. However, their coming down brings goodness and blessings to the people of the earth. Allah Says {What means}: "Therein come down the angels and the Spirit by God’s permission, on every errand:" {Al-Qadr, 4}.

Abu Dawoud reported from Abu Hurayrah who said that the Prophet (PBUH) said: "And verily, the angels who are on the earth during that night are more numerous than the number of pebbles."

Ibn Abbas (May Allah be pleased with them) said  concerning the words “Therein (that night) is decreed every matter of ordainments”: There is written down from the Mother of the Book on Laylat al-Qadr what is to happen during the coming year of provision, death, life, or rain. Allah Says {What means}: "We sent it down during a Blessed Night: for We (ever) wish to warn (against Evil)."

Many Quran commentators said: "For its noble status and honor, the night of decree encompasses all these meanings."

The real preference for this night, is the descent of the Holy Quran, because Allah, The Most Exalted, Says {What means}: "We have indeed revealed this (Message) in the Night of Power:" In an authentic narration by Ibn Abbas (May Allah be pleased with them) as related by Ibn Hajar from Sahrih Al-Bukhari that it is either: "The whole Quran was sent down during the Laylatul Qadr from 'Al-Lawh Al-Mahfuz (the Preserved Tablet) to Baitul Izzah in the lower heaven, the night in which the Quran started coming down on the heart of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), Or, it is the night in which Allah ordered the angelic scribes to write the Quran on 'Al-Lawh Al-Mahfuz.

There is no iota of doubt that the Quran is the source of all goodness, guidance and light, and it guides to that, which is most right. This is why Allah Said about this blessed night (What means): "And what will explain to thee what the night of power is?"  This means that none can explain what Laylatul Qard is except Allah, The Knower of the unseen.

Is Laylatul Qadr fixed or does it change?

Ibn Hajar Al-Haithami (May Allah have mercy on him) said: "A group of scholars said that Laylatul Qadr doesn`t necessarily occur in a certain night of the last ten nights of Ramadan. Rather, it changes since in a year or in years, it is an odd night (i.e. 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th or 29th) while in a year or in years, it is an even night (i.e. 22nd, 24th and so on). It was reported that Ibn Qulaba said: "Lailatul Qadr changes in the last ten nights of Ramadan and many of the Salaf (righteous predecessors), such as Imam Malik, Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Abu Thawr, Muzni and others, have opted for this view."

However, Al-Shafie`I said that Lailatul Qadr is a fixed night that doesn`t change. He based this view on the following Hadith: Narrated 'Ubada bin As-Samit: "Allah's Messenger (PBUH) went out to inform the people about the (date of the) night of decree (Al-Qadr) but there happened a quarrel between two Muslim men. The Prophet (PBUH) said: "I came out to inform you about (the date of) the night of Al-Qadr, but as so and so and so and so quarreled, its knowledge was taken away (I forgot it) and maybe it was better for you. Now look for it in the 7th, the 9th and the 5th (of the last 10 nights of the month of Ramadan)."

The sign of Laylat al-Qadr: 

Ahmad, Al-Baihaqhi and others reported from 'Ubada bin As-Samit that the Messenger of Allah said: "The sign of the night of Al-Qadr is that it is bright and shining, as if there is in it a bright still moon without any cold or wind. The weather during this night is neither hot nor cold. In addition, there is no shooting of the stars until the morning. Its sign is that the sun in the morning after this night, rises up without beams exactly like the full moon and Satan does not come out with the sun on this morning."

May Allah make us witness Lailatul Qadr to offer acts of worship and may He accept our fast, night prayers and righteous good deeds.

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

Is Zakah (obligatory charity) due on the Zakah money received by a poor person, and reached a Nissab (minimum amount liable for Zakah), and a whole lunar year had lapsed over having it in his possession?

Yes, the poor who possessed a Nissab for a whole lunar year is obliged to pay the Zakah due on that money even if it was given to him as a Zakah money in the first place. And Allah Knows Best.

Is it permissible to include others in the reward of one`s sacrifice?

 

In the Name of Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
It is permissible for the person offering an Udhiyah (sacrificial offering) to include others in the spiritual reward of the sacrifice. However, it is not permissible for multiple people to jointly share the purchase price of a single sheep or goat, unless one person gifts the money to the other.
 
It is stated in Mughni al-Muhtaj (6/137) by Al-Khatib al-Shirbini:
 
"If a person includes someone else in the reward of his sacrifice and slaughters it on his own behalf, it is permissible."
 
It should be carefully noted that including someone else in the reward of one's sacrifice is completely distinct from offering a sacrifice on behalf of someone else. And Allah the Almighty Knows Best.

What is the wisdom behind the legislation of fasting?

Fasting is a divine school from which the believer learns much and trains in virtues that may be needed in life. Among these virtues is patience, as it is the month of patience. Fasting also teaches honesty and consciousness of Allah in both private and public, for there is no observer over the fasting person in abstaining from lawful pleasures except Allah alone.
Fasting strengthens willpower, sharpens determination, and nurtures mercy and compassion among the servants of Allah. It is a struggle against the self, a restraint of desires, a purification of the soul, and a cultivation of goodness.
The Prophetﷺ said: "Allah, the Almighty, said: ‘Every deed of the son of Adam is for him, except for fasting; it is for Me, and I shall reward for it. Fasting is a shield. So when one of you is fasting on a day, let him not engage in obscene speech or raise his voice in anger. If someone insults him or fights him, let him say: I am a fasting person. By Him in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, the breath of the fasting person is more pleasant to Allah than the fragrance of musk.’" [Bukhari and Muslim]
 

What is the ruling on swearing an oath by the Prophet ﷺ, and does such an oath take effect according to Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, requiring expiation upon its breach?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Swearing an oath by a created being is disliked (makrūh) in our Shāfiʿī school. Shaykh al-Islām Imām al-Nawawī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "Swearing by a created being is disliked — such as swearing by the Prophet, the Kaʿbah, Jibrīl, the Companions, or the Prophet's family. Al-Shāfiʿī, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: 'I fear that swearing by other than Allah the Almighty may constitute an act of disobedience.' The scholars of the school explained this to mean: that is, something forbidden and sinful — indicating that he had some hesitation in the matter. Al-Imām stated: the established position of the school is that it is categorically not forbidden, but rather disliked. Furthermore, whoever swears by a created being, his oath does not take effect and no expiation (kaffārah) is required if he breaks it." [Rawḍat al-Ṭālibīn wa ʿUmdat al-Muftīn, Vol. 11/P.6]
According to the Ḥanbalī school, however, expiation becomes obligatory upon one who swears by our master the Prophet ﷺ and then breaks his oath. Imām al-Bahūtī al-Ḥanbalī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "No expiation is required for swearing by other than Allah the Almighty, even if the oath is broken — because expiation was made obligatory for swearing by Allah and His attributes, out of reverence for His names, and nothing else is equal to Him in this regard... except in the case of swearing by our Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ, for expiation becomes obligatory when one swears by him and then breaks the oath. This was explicitly stated in the narration of Abū Ṭālib, because he is one of the two conditions of the two testimonies of faith by which a disbeliever becomes a Muslim. Ibn ʿAqīl held the view that swearing by any of the other prophets, peace and blessings be upon them all, carries the same ruling." [Sharḥ Muntahā al-Irādāt, Vol. 3/P.441]. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

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