Salam Walekum, I had initially started drafting up posts on my two part series on Itikaaf but I got numerous replies to the Surah Al-Qadr - The Night of Decree post asking different questions, so i decided to postpone the Itikaaf post as to be able to answer a few of these questions. It would also be  two part series as one of the questions (How to prepare and benefit from Laylatul Qadr) in my opinion deserves a whole post to itself. So make sure you do not miss the posts over the next couple of days.

• When did Allah revealed the Qur'an?

To answer this question, all you need is your Quran and we are so lucky to have Qurans with indexes, glossories and appendixes which makes searching of particular subject matter rather easier than it used to be. I would highlight a couple of ayahs from various Surahs. In these ayahs of the Quran are the answers to this questions as well as answers to every question man can think of, such is the beauty and relevance of the Glorious Quran.

"Ha-Meem."

"By the manifest Book (this Qur'an) that makes things clear,"

"We sent it down on a blessed night. Verily, We are ever warning." (Q 44 V1-3)

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"The month of Ramadan in which was revealed Qur'an;" (Q2 V185)

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"Verily, We have sent it down in the 'Night of Al-Qadr'." (Q97 V1)

Hence, we can come to the conclusion that the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammed (SAW) in Ramadan on the blessed night of Laylatul Qadr.

• The Virtues of Laylatul Qadr

We all know the importance of this night and how much we should all strive to partake in it. My last post answers this question perfectly so i would suggest a detailed read of that post -  Surah Al-Qadr - The Night of Decree. Never the less, i would go through a couple of points to summarize it:

1. Worship during the Laylatul Qadr is equivalent to worship performed for a period of 1000 months.
2. Angels descend in abundance during the Laylatul Qadr due to its abundant blessings and mercy, just as they descend when the Qur'an is recited.
3. There is peace. The angels give the greetings of peace during the Laylatul Qadr to the people until coming of the dawn. It is security in which  Shaytan cannot do any evil or any harm.

• Are All Matters Decreed on the Night of Laylatul Qadr?

If we go through any Quran, Surah Al-Qadr is most likely translated to English as the Night of Decree, this translation almost answers the question but to put the answer beyond any doubt, i will provide two ayahs from Surah Ad-Dukham from which we had earlier used 3 ayahs to prove when the Quran was revealed. The next two ayahs will strike home only if you read the previous three ayahs as provided above (Q44 V1-3)

"Therein is decreed every matter of ordainments on the night of Al-Qadr,"

"As a command from Us. Verily, We are ever sending." (Q44 V4-5)

The matters are determined during this night, and the times of death and provisions are measured out during it. All the matters of ordainments for the matters of deaths, births, provisions, calamities and basically every detail in the world as we know it, for the whole coming year as decreed by Allah are put forward on this blessed night and handed over to the angels to be put into effect, as a command from Allah, the Almighty. Indeed, what a blessed and powerful night it is! As with alot of topics in Islam, there aare few muslims who believe that the Night of Decree is not on this date but on the 14th or 15th night of Shaban (the month before Ramadan). This is a sad trend as such muslims disregard the very ayahs quoted above. This act has no backing from the Quran or any Hadith and we should not take part in it.

• Are All Sins Forgiving on the Night of Laylatul Qadr?

The Night of Laylatul Qadr is a wonderful opportunity for Muslims to ask Allah for His mercy and forgiveness, for repentance and getting his/her sins forgiven. The following hadith confirms this:

Narrated Abu Hurairah (RA): The Prophet (SAW) said, "Whoever observed Saum (fast) in the month of Ramadan with sincere faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his past sins will be forgiven, and whoever stood for the Salat in the Night of Qadr with sincere faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his past sins will be forgiven."- (Hadith No. 2014, Book of Superiority of the 'Night of Qadr', Sahih Bukhari, Vol. 3)

We shall tomorrow answer a few more questions Insha Allah then move on to the importance of Itikaaf. Ma Salam. Please read my other posts and share the blog. Also subscribe for email alerts of new posts as i post daily. May Allah bless and reward you as you do so.