Ramadhan, the Month of God (22)
May 28, 2019 03:58 UTC
Welcome to the 22nd episode of “Ramadhan, the Month of God”.
Let us start with the special supplication of the day:
“O Allah, open for me this in day the doors of Your grace; send down to me therein Your bounties; enable me therein to obtain the means of Your good pleasure; and settle me therein in the midst of Your paradise; O Answerer of the calls of the distressed!”
We are in the last nine days or the last week of the blessed month of Ramadhan. According to a statement from Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny), the first part of the month of fasting is mercy, the second part is forgiveness and the third and last part is freedom from the fire of hell.
Certain days and nights are of special importance due to the events that they are associated with. The 23rd eve of Ramadhan is one such night. It is Grandest Night of Qadr on which the fate of mankind is determined in the Divine Court for the whole year. The Night of Qadr is so important that God has revealed a surah by the same name of Qadr.
God the All-Merciful, in order to provide opportunity for forgiveness and reaping the rewards of afterlife to His creatures by not specifying which of the first three alternate nights of the last ten days of Ramadhan is the Night Qadr, all indicators point towards the 23rd eve, but we shouldn’t act arbitrarily and select one single night, for this might deprive us of Divine Bounties.
The Prophet’s 6th Infallible Successor, Imam Ja’far Sadeq (AS) was asked as which of the three nights of 19, 21 and 23 of Ramadhan could exactly be considered the Night of Qadr. The Imam replied the 23rd night. He elaborated: On the 23rd eve of the month of Ramadhan, according to Divine Wisdom, every affair is determined and registered, such as death, lifespan, sustenance, and whatever is to occur till next Ramadhan the next year. So, good for the servant who keeps night long vigil in genuflection and prostration on this night.
On the Night of Qadr, we are recommended to scrutinize past actions and try to compensate for the sins, appeal to God for a better year and covering the path that he pleases.
The Night of Qadr is a night that surpasses all nights of the year in merit, and devotions performed during it are considered to have a merit greater than that of a thousand months. The affairs and events of the year are ordained on that night, and the angels and the Spirit—the greatest of angels—descend to the earth with God’s leave and arrive in the presence of the Imam of the Age and inform him about matters that have been ordained for every person.
The Prophet of Islam put emphasis on two invaluable things, the Book of God and his Ahl al-Bayt for guidance of mankind and said that adhering to them will guarantee guidance in life and salvation in afterlife. This hadith, quoted widely by both Shi’a and Sunni Muslims, is famous Thaqalayn or Two Invaluable Things. That's why it is highly recommended to place the holy Qur'an on the head while beseeching God by reciting the names of the 14 Infallible Figures, that is, the Prophet of Islam, his Immaculate Daughter Hazrat Fatema Zahra, her husband Imam Ali and the 11 Imams of their descent, the last being the Imam of the Age, who by the Will of God is in the state of occultation and will reappear in the end times to establish the global government of peace, prosperity and justice by ridding Planet Earth of the vestiges of corruption and oppression.
This manifestly shows that the Qur'an and Ahl al-Bayt are inseparable just as the Prophet had said. These two are our means of intercession with God. Through them we seek proximity of God. Helping the poor and the oppressed is also recommended on this night.
The Messenger of Mercy, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) said: Five things have been granted to my Ummah in the month of Ramadhan which have not been given to any messenger before me. First: When the first eve of the month of Ramadhan comes, God pays attention to His servants and whomever God pays attention to will never be punished. Second: The smell of the mouths of those who keep vigil with God will be more flagrant than musk. Three: The angels will seek forgiveness for them night and day. Four: Indeed, God Almighty will command His paradise to seek forgiveness and be decorated for the servants. So, it will soon be that the hardships of the world will overwhelm them and they will go toward my paradise and munificence. Five: So, when the last night comes, God forgives all servants.
A man asked the Prophet: O Messenger of God! Will it be on the night of Qadr?"
The Prophet said: Do you not know that workers of any workshop will be paid their wages when their work is finished?
Once Prophet Moses asked on this night: O God! I want to have your proximity. God said, "My proximity is for him who is awake on the Night of Qadr." He said: O God! I want your mercy. God said, "My mercy is for he who has mercy on the destitute." He said: O God! I seek safety for crossing the Bridge of Sirat (leading to paradise over the rim of hell on the Day of Judgment). God said, "It is for he who gives alms on the Night of Qadr."
Moses said: O God! I want the trees and fruits of paradise. God said, "They are for he who remembers me with purity on the Night of Qadr."
Moses said: O God! I want immunity from the fire of hell. God said, "It is for he who seeks forgiveness in the Night of Qadr."
Prophet Moses said: O God! I want Your pleasure. God said, "It is for he who performs (at least) two rak'at prayer on the Night of Qadr."
RM/AS/MG
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