The Secret of the Night of Lailatul Qadar

 

The Secret of the Night of Lailatul Qadar

One of the special nights in Ramadan is Lailatul Qadr. A night where the Qur'an as a final holy book that was revealed to the final prophet was first sent down to the sky of the world. This is as Allah SWT said:

Verily, I have sent down (the Quran) on the night of lailatul qadar. Do you know what the night of lailatul qadar is? That is a night better than a thousand months. On that night the angels descended and the angel Gabriel with the permission of his Lord managed all affairs. The night was full of prosperity until dawn. (Surat al-Qadar, 1-4).

The verse above provides a clear explanation that the night of lailatur qadar is a very special night. One of the purposes or goals of prioritizing the night, among others, is also to glorify the time and place where the Qur'an was revealed. And lailatul qadar did not happen only once at the time this verse was revealed.

As stated by the majority of scholars who state that the night of lailatul qadar continues to occur every year in the month of Ramadan. Unlike Imam Khalil's opinion, who said lailatul qadar only once and will not be repeated.

Therefore, it is not difficult if Muslims in every month of Ramadan compete to get that blessed night. Some scholars try to make a rule or way to know the night of Laylatul Qadr. One of them is the hujjatul Islam of Imam al-Ghazali (W. 505 H). According to him, the night of Lailatul Qadr can be known by looking at the first day of the fasting month. Then he summed it up like this:

If the first day or night of Ramadan falls on a Sunday or Wednesday night then Lailatul Qadr falls on the night of the 29th of Ramadan

If the first day or night falls on a Monday then Lailatul Qadr falls on the night of the 21st of Ramadan

If the first day or night falls on a Thursday then Lailatul Qadr falls on the night of the 25th of Ramadan

If the first day or night falls on Saturday night then Lailatul Qadr falls on the night of the 23rd of Ramadan

If the first day or night falls on Tuesday or Friday then Lailatul Qadar falls on the 27th night of Ramadan.

Formulations presented by a number of scholars including Imam al-Ghazali above based on their personal experiences which aim to make it easier for the public to find the night of Lailatul Qadr.

It is different with the Sufis. Abu Talib al-Makki for example, he said that for a 'arif (one who has reached the stage of makrifat to Allah) every night (throughout the year) is the night of lailatul qadar.

Wisdom of the night of Lailatul Qadr

The question is, why is the Night of Qadr not explained exactly when it occurs? Answering the question, Imam Fakhr ar-Razi in his monumental interpretation, Tafsir Mafatih al-Ghaib or better known as Tafsir al-Kabir , explained the hidden wisdom of the Night of Qadr. Ar-Razi said:

"Allah keeps the night of lailatul qadar a secret as He keeps other matters (such as fortune, birth and death) a secret, among others, is that He keeps his pleasure in the obedience of Muslims a secret so that they are steadfast in worshiping for a whole month to get a night whose virtue exceeds a thousand months. Allah also hides the times when prayers are answered so that His servants do not stop praying.”