In the Name of Allah, the
Gracious, the Merciful
During the prolonged and
often acrimonious discourse about ‘Word of Allah’, it was apparent that there
is confusion in our minds on Lailatul Qadr.
Chapter 97 of the Qur’aan
is entirely devoted to this lail
(night). My study note on this Chapter, as extracted from QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A
Modern Tafsir, is as under:
Laylatu alqadri – the
night that is described in this 97th Chapter of the Qur’aan – is one
of the mutashabihaat (parts of the
Holy Book that the human mind cannot clearly understand) in terms of Verse 3:7.
Therefore, in pursuance of divine directions in that Verse, we have to content
ourselves with what Allah Almighty was pleased to inform us about it in this
Chapter. But we are not content! We insist on giving our own error-prone
interpretations thereof or on searching for such interpretations in the books
of ahaadeeth. We are thus guilty of
seeking mischief as the Verse 3:7 tells us. According to that Verse no one but
Allah knows its correct interpretation.
What Allah is pleased to inform us is that the Qur’aan was sent down in
that Night. HE does not inform, as some people seem erroneously to believe,
that it was sent down on Prophet Muhammad (peace on him) entirely on that Night
itself. Only a divine decree was issued to the angels, that Night, for
revelation of the Qur’aan to the Prophet. This is what we can infer in the
light of Verse 97:4. An unknown – unknown to man – number of other matters were
decreed upon besides, that Night!
To illustrate this with an example, suppose, my Creator has issued a
decree, to the angels for my death, during the last Lailatul Qadr. It does not
mean that I die that night itself. My death could have been scheduled for a
particular date and time during the intervening period till the occurrence of
the next Lailatul Qadr.
Likewise, although the angels came down with a divine decree, for
revelation of the Qur’aan to the Prophet, that Lailatul Qadr, it does not mean the Holy Book was
revealed to him all at once (jumlatan
wahidatan) that night itself! The entire Qur’aanic text in itself provides
ample evidence that it was scheduled to be revealed, passage by passage, during
the course of Muhammad’s entire prophethood.
Another thing about this particular Night is that Allah Ta’ala has not
specified when it occurs. Nevertheless, going against divine admonition in
Verse 3:7, some people assume that it occurs on the 27th of Ramadan
every year. Some others believe it may occur on any of the odd dates after the
20th of Ramadan. All human conjectures, nothing else!
The Truth is: Allah Almighty has not deemed it necessary to let us
humans know when the Night occurs. So be it! We should stop celebrating any
night as that Night. It’s not a Night when any special duty is assigned for
mankind. It’s a Night when duties are assigned for angels to do till the
occurrence of the next Lailatul Qadr. Muslims should continue performing their
duties in accordance with the Qur’aan, throughout their lives.
Friday, the 4th of August 2017.
No comments:
Post a Comment