In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.
Now that Ramadan is coming to a close, you will notice more panda-looking Muslims around. Muslims believe that on one of the odd nights in the last ten nights of Ramadan, is a special blessed night. On that night, a single good deed bears rewards multiple times more than when it was carried out during any other times.
There is a chapter in the Quran that talks about that blessed night: Al-Qadr. It is a very short chapter. It consists of only five verses. It addressed our question as to what exactly is Laylatul Qadr, also known as The Night of Glory, The Night of Power, or The Night of Decree. The Night of Decree seems to be the most apt as the angels and the spirits descend many times with God’s permission to fulfil their task. Throughout that night, there is peace until the dawn breaks. That night is explicitly expressed in the Quran as being better than a thousand months. However, I personally like to call it the Night of Power as it is the night where you have the highest chances of having your prayers answered, which subsequently allows you to be empowered by your prayers. It’s like one of the best chances you can get to be close to the King of the dominions so you definitely want to offer the best worship you can muster to Him.
This is my form of worship for tonight; seeking and sharing knowledge. Worship is not necessarily ritualistic. It takes on many forms but the intention is the same: everything is done in the name of Allah and to solely please Him. Lillahi ta’ala. So even if a surgeon is performing a surgery while his Muslim brother and sisters are performing acts of worship on the prayer mat, his good deed of helping his patient for Allah’s sake is also considered an act of worship, only that it’s done on the operating table instead.
So I hope that those who find themselves in a situation where they can’t perform the usual prayers or touch the Quran, such as a woman in menstruation, will still strive to worship in a different manner such as giving praises to Allah or reading the translation of the Quran.
May Allah accept our deeds and may we get to experience the blessings of Laylatul Qadr.
And Allah is Ar-Rahim, The Most Merciful. -MM
Metropolitan Muslimah 