The revelation process of the the Qur'an came in three stages. In the first stage, the whole content of the Qur’an was transferred, all at one time, to a place of ultimate custody of Almighty Allah called Al-Lauh Al-Mahfuz. The time of the transportation and the place it came from, only known to Allah, the Most High.
“Nay! This is a Glorious Qur’an, (inscribed) in Al-Lauh Al-Mahfuz.” [Translation of Surah Al-Buruj 85:21-22]
Then in the second stage, the entire content of the Qur’an was transferred down, all at one time, from Al-Lauh Al-Mahfuz to Baitul I’zzah (a place in the lowest heaven) during ''Lailat-ul-Qadr'' which literally means, ''The Night of Decree''. According to many schools of philosophy, ''Night” means darkness, emptiness, hollowness as well as nothingness and upon the dawn of the day, a light makes everything crystal-clear. In a similar way, humanity was in total darkness and the revelation of the Qur’an had changed this darkness into light through its clear-cut guidance that made absolute distinctions between the right and the wrong.
Indeed, the Qur’an had changed many lives and the first person to have his life changed was a man named Muhammad ibn Abdullah. After the first revelation of the Qur'an on this earth, he embarked into a journey of Prophethood to perform the duty in conveying the message of the Qur’an, not only to his own people but also to the whole of humanity. During the last twenty-three years of his life as the Seal Prophet of Almighty Allah, the Qur’an was revealed to him, piece-by-piece. This is the third and final stage of the process whereby the Qur’an was revealed into this world, on this earth, to the human race in which the first revelation took place in the cave Hira. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) was taught to recite the first revealed surah, Surah Al-’Alaq (The Clot), by Angel Gabriel who came down to this world to carry out the duty of bringing down this first revelation on this earth.
''Lailat-ul-Qadr'' is a Grandeur Night, a night better and more worthy than a thousand months deserves to be found and the only way to be certain of finding it is to spend all the ten nights in sincere worship of Allah, the Most High. Through his traditions, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him), the beloved Prophet of Islam, had shown Muslims the best way to utilize this great night.
Narrated Abu Hurairah (r.a.): The Prophet (s.a.w.) said, ''Whoever observed Sawn (fast) in the month of Ramadhan with sincere faith (i.e. belief) and hoping for a reward from Allah, than all his past sins will be forgiven, and whoever stood for the Salat (prayers) in the night of Qadr with sincere faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his past sins will be forgiven.'' [Reported by Imam Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari H 2014]
Narrated Aishah (r.a.): With the start the last ten days of Ramadhan, the Prophet (s.a.w.) used to tighten his waist belt (i.e. work hard) and used to keep awake all the night and perform Salat (prayer) and also used to keep his family awake for the Salat (prayer).'' [Reported by Imam Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari H.2024]
Clearly ''Lailat-ul-Qadr'' is a special gift from Almighty Allah to Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) and his followers. Hence, Muslims who did not celebrate Ramadhan to the fullest, particularly on the last ten nights, through constant performance of the daily sholat, proper fasting and performing other form of ibadah such as Sholat Taraweeh, Quran recitation, Dzikir, Qiyam-mul-lai, as well as giving Zakat and Charity, are among those who had given-up a valuable opportunity to perform good deeds -the savings for the life in the hereafter. These ibadah enable them to earn abundance of rewarding returns from Almighty Allah within thirty days i.e. in just a period of one month!
Indeed, ''Lailat-ul-Qadr'' is the unique characteristic of the Ummah of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him). Although the followers of the earlier prophets had fasting prescribed for them, only the Ummah of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) is granted the supreme distinction of having this Grandeur Night during Ramadhan, the fasting month of the Muslim Calendar.
No comments:
Post a Comment