A NIGHT BETTER THAN A THOUSAND MONTHS

Bismillah ir-rahman ir-rahim

Assalam alaikum warahmatullah wabarakatu 

Lecture by Shaykh Yasir Qadhi | Transcribed by Zara T.

[The following is the video and transcript of Shaykh Yasir Qadhi's Ramadhan khatirah. The transcript includes slight modifications for the sake of readability and clarity.]

Tonight's khatirah is about the last ten nights. The last ayah of Surah Luqman is that famous verse that our Prophet (ṣallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) commented on when he said, “There are 5 things that no one knows other than Allah (subḥanahu wa ta'ala).” This is from 'ilm'l-ghayb that not even the angels, not anyone, knows these five things and they are, as Allah says in the Qur'an:

• Allah has the knowledge of the Day of Judgment, and

• Allah has the knowledge of when the rain will come down, and

• Allah knows what is in the wombs of those who are about to give birth. Allah knows not just whether it's male or female but what is the qadr of this child. Is this child going to be a successful child or not? Is this child going to be righteous or not? Is this child going to be a millionaire or going to be a pauper?

• No one knows what will happen tomorrow.

• No one knows in which country, in which land, he or she will die.

All of this has to do with the knowledge of Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) and Allah is saying no one knows this other than Allah and therefore, the topic tonight, which is of course about Laylat'l-Qadr, fits in perfectly because what is laylat'l-qadr? Allah mentions that laylat'l-qadr is the most blessed night of the year. There is no other night about which Allah has revealed a whole Surah. Allah has revealed a whole Surah that we call the Surah of qadr. Allah Subhanahu wa'taala emphasizes this Surah. In every single verse in this Surah, Allah emphasizes laylat'l-qadr.

Allah is saying Inna anzalnahu fi laylat'l-qadr . Allah has revealed the Qur'an on laylat'l-qadr. In another khatirah we mentioned that it is as if Ramadhan has been made holy because of the Qur'an. It is as if the primary reason that Ramadhan is special is because of the Qur'an. “The month of Ramadhan is the month that the Qur'an came down. Therefore, if you are not traveling, fast.” We said it is as if fasting is secondary, Qur'an is primary. And this Surah of Qadr also emphasizes the same point. Why is laylat'l-qadr so blessed? That Inna anzalnahu fi laylat'l-qadr – “We revealed it on laylat'l-qadr.” The Qur'an came down on laylat'l-qadr. And iqra bisma Rabbik occurred on the day of qadr. Jibril and the Prophet (allallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam)'s encounter happened in the month of Ramadhan. And Jibril said “iqra” on the day that was going to be the night of qadr.

Wa maa adraaka ma laylat'l-qadr? ” this is a rhetorical question, and the purpose of a rhetorical question is to emphasize the obvious. “What will make you understand what is laylat'l-qadr?”Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) is emphasizing. What will make you understand? How will you understand? It's too beyond your understanding. You'll never truly appreciate laylat'l-qadr. 

Wa maa adraka. How can you expect to understand what is laylat'l-qadr? To make us understand, Allah gave us only one dimension that perhaps our limited minds can encompass, and that is, “This one night is better than a thousand months in which there is no laylat'l-qadr.” And of course 1,000 months, as well all know, translates into around 83 years and four months. And this shows us that laylat'l-qadr is more blessed than multiple lifetimes. Not even one lifetime because even if one of us lives for 83 years, in reality how much do we worship in those 83 years? Think about it. How much do we actually worship? Suppose even that they have been righteous and practicing since they were children, praying regularly, and giving zakat and going regularly for the ibadaah. How many years do you actually worship of your life? Think about it. 24 hours of the day. At least 15 to 20 hours are gone for the dunya: sleeping, eating, drinking, going to work. How much do you actually worship in that 24 hours? Wallāhi, even a righteous person, with difficulty, will be no more than 2 hours of that 24. Allah is saying, on this laylat'l-qadr, if you worship Allah for this one night, you will get the ajr of worshipping Allah for 83.33 years. And that is more than multiple lifetimes than any one of us can ever have.

And then Allah tells us another blessing. Laylat'l-qadr is too magnificent for us to truly understand. Allah just gave us some tidbits, that perhaps, we'll understand and appreciate some elements of laylat'l-qadr. Tanazzalul malaaikah – Tanazzal is a very interesting verb. Nazzala is not anzala . Nazzala and anzala are two different verbs. Tanazzala is yet a third form, tafa'ala , which basically means batches upon batches keep on coming down. Tanzzala means one batch, and then another batch, and then another batch and it keeps on happening. They don't all come down together. Rather, throughout the whole night they're coming down.

Warruhu feehaa. And the Ruh, which is of course a reference to Jibril, Jibril himself comes down. Bi idhnee rabbihim. They come down with the decree, with the command of their Lord. And this is why laylat'l-qadr fits into the last verse as well of Surah Luqman that Allah knows all of this 'ilm'l-ghayb. But He tells partially, some of this to the angels for a period of time, because the main meaning of laylat'l-qadr is that on this night, Allah's qadr is announced to the angels. On this night, Allah's decree is announced only for this one year. For this one year. And so in this year, whosoever's death has been ordained, the angels will be told on laylat'l-qadr that so and so will die on this day. Whosoever's rizq has been increased, whosoever's parcel of land has been said that it's going to wither and dry or it will be giving fruit; every single element of the person's decree, only for that year, shall be announced on laylat'l-qadr. Why? Because the angels execute the commandments of Allah.

As we learn from our traditions, so much so that every drop of rain, Allah has assigned an angel to deliver it to where Allah has said it should go. Nothing happens except by the decree of Allah. La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah . Everything that happens, Allah has willed it. So the angels are given a roster. They're given, just like in any corporation you have your annual meetings, just like in any group, you will be told, “These are the goals, this is what needs to be done.” And so Allah ('azza wa jall) informs the angels what will be happening for the next year. Births, lives, deaths, happinesses, accidents, problems, every qadr will be told to the angels that “you are assigned to this person to do this on this day,” and that's what Allah says in the Qur'an, “feeha yufraqu kullu amrin hakeem.” That on that night, fee haa, on laylat'l-qadr, yufraqu kullu amrin hakeem. Every single decree of Allah is decided. Now this does not mean that, astaghfirullah, Allah doesn't know what's going to happen until laylat'l-qadr. It means Allah announces it to the angels on laylat'l-qadr. Not that Allah doesn't know, but rather that the angels are told what is happening for the next year on laylat'l-qadr.

And therefore we are told that on this night, we should be found praying and prostrating and pleaing to Allah and begging because those who pray to Allah on laylat'l-qadr, their chances of a better qadr are increased. Those who pray to Allah on laylat'l-qadr, their blessings become much more than otherwise imaginable, 83.33 years. And therefore the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) strongly encouraged us, almost bordering on a command, but it is not a command, because Allah has made our religion easy. But it is a very strong encouragement, and that is why in the famous hadith, three things forgive one in Ramadhan. Number one is fasting the whole month, number two is praying every night, and number three: praying that one night of laylat'l-qadr, just that one night will forgive all of your sins.

As our Prophet said, “Whoever fasts all of Ramadhan will have his sins forgiven.” “Whoever prays all of Ramadhan will have all of his sins forgiven.” And “Whoever prays on laylat'l-qadr will have all of his previous sins forgiven.” And 'Ā'ishah narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), when the ten final nights came, he would tighten his belt (the lower garment).

This has two meanings, and both of them are valid.

• The first of them, even we have the expression in English, that when you tighten your belt, what does it mean? You're going to have determination; you're going to have perseverance. This is a time of stamina, this is a time he needs to have his energy and so 'he's tightening his belt' means he's going to be serious now. That there's no playing around, this is a time of seriousness, a time of ibaadah.

• And there is a beautiful secondary meaning that our mother 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) hinted at in a very beautiful manner and that is that he didn't care about the sensual pleasures that were Halal for him, he did not care about that aspect of marriage that is perfectly Halal in the nights of Ramadhan, but in these ten nights he would tighten his belt because he has far more important things to concentrate on. Not that it is ḥHaram to enjoy one's spouse on these nights, but our Prophet being the perfect man, these are the ten days of 'Ibaadah. They're not even the days of permissible pleasures for the Prophet. Even that which is Halal, he would avoid it because there are more important things to do, and so our mother 'Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), she hinted at this in this beautiful delicate language, that he would tighten his belt, as ibn Hajar says, it means he would avoid his wives in that manner for those ten nights. Once again, not that it is not allowed, but that this is the perfection of one's Imaan.

And he would stay awake for the whole night. And it is not reported that our Prophet ever spent the entire night in worship other than these ten nights. Never did our Prophet as far as we know, spend the whole night in non-stop worship other than these ten nights and that is why when he heard of some of the Sahabas who were worshipping all night outside of Ramadhan, he criticized this. And he said “your body has a right over you, your wife has a right over you, your Lord has a right over you, so give everyone their right.” Pray one third, sleep one third, but don't pray the whole night (this is outside of Ramadhan). But these last ten nights, wa ahya laylatahu. He would spend the whole night awake. And notice the verb is also ' ihya , which is: he would give life to the night. Not just he would stay awake, wa ahya lalatahu; he would enlighten, he would enliven the night, meaning he would be active in worship, he would be active in Ibaadah, in tahajjud, in all of these good deeds.

• And he would awaken his wives, his family; in other words, not just him. His wives and his servants and what not, his daughters, it is even reported he would knock on Fatimah and 'Ali's house (his daughter and son-in-law), he would knock on the door and tell them to wake up. So he would awaken his family as well to pray the night. And 'Umar b. Al-Khattab as well, he would go awaken his wives and his children and he would recite the verse from the Qur'ān: Command your family to pray and be patient in commanding them.” And therefore, its not just the man prays, but that he encourages his wife, he encourages his children to spend the whole night in prayer as well.

Aishah also reports that the Prophet never exerted himself as much as he did in these last ten nights. He never exerted himself as much as he did in these last ten nights of Ramadhan. And the Messenger of Allah in the beginning of the Madinan years, he would exert himself in the first ten of Ramadhan, then in the middle ten he would, and then towards the last few years he said that Allah (subhānahu wa ta'āla) has informed me that laylat'l-qadr is in the final ten nights. So utlubuuhaa : Go seek it in the final ten nights of the month. And so in the beginning it was as if he wasn't fully sure, he might have thought it's in the middle of in the beginning, but then towards the end of the Madinan phase in the last few years he said, “Allah (subhanahu wa ta'āla) has told me that laylat'l-qadr is in the last ten nights, so utlubuuhaa fil ashril awaakhir. Find it in the last ten nights of Ramadhan.” And he said especially fil witr, in the odd nights. And in one Hadith he actually said “in the 21 , and the 23 , and the 25 , and the 27 and the 29 .” He specifically mentioned the odd nights.

Pretty much all of the scholars have unanimously agreed that laylat'l-qadr is in one of the last ten nights of Ramaḍān, and especially one of the odd nights. And the strongest position, which Ibn Tayymiyyah and others gave forth, and Allāh knows best, this appears to be the strongest, is that every year laylat'l-qadr changes from night to night. It's not one night for the rest of eternity. But rather, that Allah changes it every year. Why? So that people exert themselves every single year. And it's only ten nights, and of those ten, five with extra importance. And the reward is so great, so who amongst us would be lazy when the reward is 83 years of worship, when the reward is to be blessed on laylat'l-qadr. Allah has made it only a few nights. 

Wal fajri wa layaalin 'ashr. Allah swears by the oath of the layaalin ashr. Ibn Abbās said layaalin 'ashr are the last ten nights of Ramadhan. Wal fajri wa layaalin 'ashr. There are only ten nights, and of these ten, five are especially encouraged.

Our beloved Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would spend the whole ten in Itikaf in the masjid and he did this every single year of his life, as we said in the beginning, it was the first ten then the middle ten and then towards the last few years of his life when Allah told him that laylat'l-qadr is the last ten, so he would literally cut himself off from his family and he would live inside the masjid for ten days and the last year he passed away, he in fact did Itikaf for twenty days to be even longer in the masjid. And of course Itikaf is a very well known Sunnah and it helps us to find laylat'l-qadr. Why? Because in Itikaf you are supposed to do nothing other than worship. You are supposed to pray and fast and do dhikr and do du'a you are cut off from the world around you. You are not even supposed to leave the masjid unless you have to get food or you have a necessary emergency. Otherwise, you stick to the masjid for those ten days. This is the sunnah of the Prophet.

For those who cannot do Itikaf, they should at least come and pray as much as possible, and if they don't pray in the masjid, at least they should pray at home, they should do something extra. If you are able to only choose one of these two, either taraweeh or the qiyam, there is no question that the qiyam is more rewarding. Because the later one prays in the night, the more blessed it is and our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) especially encouraged praying in the last third of the night. So if you have to choose between the two, then come to the later one. However, having said that, please realize that praying the fard prayers in the masjid is the most blessed of all blessings that you can do. To miss 'Isha' to pray at night is not good. You should pray 'Isha and if you need to go to sleep and then come back, then that is good to do.

You should pray 'Isha and pray Fajr because the Prophet said “Whoever prays 'Ishā'a in jamaa'h it is as if he has prayed half of the night and whoever prays Fajr in jamaah it is as if he has prayed all of the night.” So especially 'Isha and Fajr in these ten days, you should make a point to try to come. And especially if you cannot do qiyam in the masjid, then do it at home. If you wake up 4:30 for suhoor, wake up at 4, at 3:30. We realize we're living in circumstances and times 99% of us have to go to work at 7, 8 AM. We realize it's not possible for every one of us to worship the whole night. Allah knows your situation, so do what you can. Laa yukallifullahu nafsan illa wus'aha. I understand perhaps me and you, we cannot spend the whole night awake if we have to go to work at 7 AM. But these are the nights of sacrifice so if you can get by with four hours of sleep, three hours of sleep, take a nap when you get back home. Where there's a will, there's a way. Every single one of us needs to see: what can I do on these nights? And Allāh knows your situation. If you can't pray the whole night, pray half the night, pray two hours, pray one hour. Do something that you usually do not do.

And one of the scholars of the tabiun , the students of the ṣSahabah, he said “I seek Allah's refuge that Jibril comes down to this earth and he finds me asleep in bed.” And who is Jibril? Jibril is that being that has communicated with every single Prophet of Allah . Jibril is that being that Allah has mentioned by name in the Qur'an, one of only two angels that Allah has mentioned by name (some have said 3, 4, 5, but the 2 main are JibrI and Meekaeel that Allah has mentioned by name). And Allah said, “Whoever hates Jibril he has taken me as an enemy.” This is Jibril. And Jibril ('alayhi'l-salām), he only comes down, after the going of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), on laylat'l-qadr. There is no other reason for him to come down. And the presence of the angels brings about barakah and mercy. Where there are angels, there is Allah's rahmah. Where there are angels, there is Allah's mercy. And that is why Allah said, “Salaam.” The whole world is in peace on this night.

Salaamun hiya hatta matla'il Fajr. There will be peace. What does it mean: there will be peace? Angelic peace, spiritual peace. It doesn't mean that people will still not commit crimes. People will be evil. They will be evil. But spiritually, there will be peace. Salaamun hiya hatta matla'il Fajr. And therefore when the angels are everywhere, then when you make dua', the angels will say 'ameen.' When the angels find you praying, they will pray for you. When you pray to Allah, the angels pray for you. When you make dua', the angels say “Ameen,” to your dua' and therefore being active on laylat'l-qadr, this is the night where we will get the rewards of 83 years of worship, this is the night where we will get our qadr decreed by Allah, so we ask Allah for a good decree on this night.

And one final ḥHadith: 'A'ishā'h  said “Oh messenger of Allāh, what should I say if I am praying on laylat'l-qadr?” and he said this du'ā', so this should be our main du'ā', but of course all du'ā's, but especially this du'ā', He said, say this du'ā', “Allāhuma innka 'affuwun tuhibul 'afwa fa'fu anna” Oh Allah, You are Al 'Afuw, and Al 'Afuw means the one who wipes away completely, the one who erases. 'Afaa means to erase as if it never existed. So Allah erases our sins, 'Afuw, literally as if it never happened, this is what 'Afuw means, and that's different than maghfirah, that's different than rahmah, each one has a connotation. And the scholars say the most powerful of all of these connotations is Al 'Afuw, because Al 'Afuw literally means to erase as if it never existed. So we ask Allah to completely wipe out our sins as if we never did them in the first place. Allāhuma innka 'affuwun. Oh Allāh, You are Al 'Afuw. Tuhibul 'afwa. You love to forgive and to erase. Fa'fu anna. So erase our sins away. Three times we mention: one as a proper noun. Allāhuma innka 'affuw. Then as a verb, Tuhibul 'afwa. Then as a command which is a request Fa'fu anna, that Oh Allah, make 'afw of our own sins. So this should be our most common du'ā'.

One final point I needed to mention as well, some basic fiqh that we need to know, because we're going to have two tarāwīhs and qiyāms basically every night..tarāwīh then qiyām, we're going to have two witrs (of course we're going to have to because some people can only attend one) So for those who are only praying tarāwīh, not a problem, you pray the witr and then you leave. If you wish to then join us again for qiyām or you pray qiyām at home, the Prophet of Allah said “Let no one pray two witrs in one night.” (this is a Hadīth) and in one Hadīth to Abu Hurayrah, he said, “Make the last Salāh that you pray at night, make it your witr.”

So what is to be done? If you know that you are going to pray at night as well, whether in the masjid or in your house, then you should still pray the witr with us but when the imam says salaam, you stand up, you don't say salaam. You stand up and you add one extra nafl rak'ah after the imam has finished. So you have not prayed witr, you have made your three into four. It doesn't count as witr because you have prayed four. Then you go home or you come here and you pray your witr.

Suppose you prayed witr with us, and then you go home and you decided you know what I'm energetic, I can come to the masjid, I'm energetic I can pray at home. Still, no problem, you have two options. The first option, which is the lesser rewarding, it's still permitted but it's not the most best, and that is that you pray your qiyām and you skip the witr. It's allowed to pray after the witr but it's not the best. The Sunnah is to pray witr at the very end. Suppose you prayed one witr in tarāwīh, you went home, then you woke up at 3, you said, “You know, I can pray extra.” You should pray. Don't let your witr stop you from extra Salāh, because it's not Harām, it's not sinful; it's very rewarding to pray extra. So you should pray and then you don't finish off with the witr you simply finish off 4 rak'ah, 6 rak'ah, 8 rak'ah, however many you pray.

Even better than this is the following: before you start your second set of Salaat, you quickly pray one rak'ah to even off your witr. Suppose you have one hour, you want to pray eight raka't. So you quickly pray one rak'ah, and that one rak'ah evens off your witr. And then you pray 4 rak'ah, 6 rak'ah, 8 rak'ah and then you pray your final witr for the night, and this is the ideal scenario and situation. Realize brothers and sisters, in nafl Salāh, the Sharī'ah is lax. In nafl Salāh, you don't have to be that strict and so we're allowed to pray one rak'ah or two rak'ah, it's easy going; not a problem.

May Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala) grant us the taufeeq to be able to pray on Laylatul Qadr.