RAMADAN 27

The Night of Destiny (Laylat Al-Qadr)

One the 27th night of Ramadan, 13 B.H (before Hijrah), Prophet Muhammad's soul was summoned to the highest universe and the whole Quran was revealed to him. Subsequently, the Quran was released to Muhammad's memory a few verses at a time, with the assistance of angel Gabriel, over a period of some 23 years. Here are some related verses from the Quran:

We have sent it down in a blessed night, for we are to warn. In it (the scripture), every matter of wisdom is clarified. (44:3-4)

Ramadan is the month during which the Quran was revealed, providing guidance for the people, clear teachings, and the statute book. Those of you who witness this month shall fast therein. Those who are ill or traveling may substitute the same number of other days. GOD wishes for you convenience, not hardship, that you may fulfill your obligations, and to glorify GOD for guiding you, and to express your appreciation. (2:185)

Most glorified is the One who summoned His servant (Muhammad) during the night, from the Sacred Masjid (of Mecca) to the farthest place of prostration,* whose surroundings we have blessed, in order to show him some of our signs. He is the Hearer, the Seer. (17:1)

Say, "The Holy Spirit has brought it down from your Lord, truthfully, to assure those who believe, and to provide a beacon and good news for the submitters." (16:102)

Sura 97, titled Al-Qadr (Destiny), is one of the short chapters in the Quran and it deals exclusively with the subject of "night of destiny." The importance of this special Ramadan night is given by the full text of Sura 97 as follows:

We revealed it in the Night of Destiny. How awesome is the Night of Destiny! The Night of Destiny is better than a thousand months. The angels and the Spirit descend therein, by their Lord's leave, to carry out every command. Peaceful it is until the advent of the dawn. (97:1-5)

However, the exact date for this unique night has become a long-standing bone of contention within the Muslim communities. Just as they argue about when Ramadan starts and ends, they also disagree on the date of this night. To some, this night is so elusive that they try to stay up all nights during the last ten days of Ramadan so as not to "miss out" any chances of experiencing it. Others hold the opinion that the exact date of this night is the 27th of Ramadan. Many, if not all, of these varying opinions are based on the hadith or historical records dating back to early Islam

The following information pinpoints the date of this special night as the 27th night of Ramadan. The information is not completely new; part of it has been around among the traditional circles for

some time. What makes it interesting is that it is purely derived from the Quran, from the very sura that deals with this subject, namely Sura 97 quoted above.

Sura 97 (Al-Qadr) contains three occurrences of the phrase "laylat al-qadr" (the night of destiny). The Arabic phrase "laylat al-qadr" itself consists of nine letters. Therefore, within this sura, there are 27 (3 X 9) letters that participate in the proper name of this very special night.
"Peaceful IT is until the advent of the dawn" (Arabic: salamun HIYA hatta mathlail fajr). The word IT (HIYA) refers to the night in question. It is interesting that the location of this word is 27th out of the 30 total words that comprise this sura. [Note that 30 is the universally accepted number of days in a month. The plural forms of the Arabic word "days" ("YAWMAYN" and "AYYAM") mentioned in the Quran 30 times to give us an indication of the number of days in a month, just as the day in singular form (YWM) is mentioned in the Quran 365 times for the number of days in a year, another miraculous feature of the Quran.]

Hence, the exact time of "laylat al-qadr" is hinted at within the text of the Quranic chapter that deals with this very subject.

-- gadis