Night of Qadr

A brief look at a speech of the belated Professor Tahaie.

Prepared by the group responsible to collect Professor Tahaie's works.

Ttanslated by: I.M.Gonzalez

Part 1: Dua (Supplication)

The Night of Qadr is a great and important night in the hearts of the faithful Muslims (مؤمن), who have gone to the house of Allah in supplication, repentance, and for the intercession of the mercy of Allah. Moreover, these supplications are of a high spiritual plane, with an elementary and final stage which has a purpose. When a faithful Muslim stands at the entryway of the Lord with all of his/her existence and supplicates, h/she will be able to truly reach his/her goal. This faithful Muslim will then feel admiration and his/her spirits will peak.

The Holy Quran says in this regard, “And when My servants ask you concerning Me, then surely I am very near; I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he calls on Me, so they should answer My call and believe in Me that they may walk in the right way.” (2:186, Shakir translation)

Conditions of Supplicating   

The foremost condition is that the supplicant must want with his/her (entire) existence. After all, at times supplications are just a slip of our tongue. Human beings have many notions that originate from their thoughts and worries and sometimes these slip out of their mouths, although their hearts are not in sync with their words.

The next condition is having faith and certainty in the never ending compassion of Allah. We say, “Oh, Allah, Whose compassion is vast!”

The Holy Quran also says, “… and My mercy encompasses all things…” (7:156, Shakir)

We must have faith that when we seek protection in Allah that we will be given it and that Allah will answer our supplications. In other words, the doors of Allah's mercy are open to everyone and it is the individual's own decision to enter.

The third condition is submission to Allah in every aspect. A condition of having our supplications answered is that other aspects of our life should be in sync with our supplications. If the lifestyle of the supplicant is not within the framework of Islam, for example h/she does not distinguish between halal and haram, and the ears, eyes and mouth commit sin, then it is natural that his/her supplication will have a reduced effect.

Imam Sadiq (PBUH) has said, "When you want your supplication to be answered, your earnings should be halal, and there must not be any injustices done to another hanging on your neck. And surely by Allah, the supplications of those who have earned their means by haram ways or have the weight of unjust acts around their necks will not have their supplications answered. " (Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 9, p. 321)

Part 2: Seeking Forgiveness ستغفار)) and Repentance توبه))

One of the most important elements of the Night of Qadr is seeking forgiveness and the reason for this is that sins take away the pleasure of supplicating.

اَستَغفُرو الله رَبي و اَتوبُ اليه اِنَّ رَبّي رَحيم وَدود، اَستَغفُرو الله رَبي و اَتوبُ اليه اِنَّ رَبّي قَريبٌ مُجيب، اَستَغفُرو الله رَبي و اَتوبُ اليه اِنّه كان توابا. 

This is a general and quick glance at the seeking of forgiveness and repentance.  However, in the Holy Quran the meanings of these two words are different although very close in meaning. The Holy Quran says, "And you that seek forgiveness of your Lord, then repent to Him…" (11:3)

Hence, one should seek forgiveness from one's sins and cleanse one's self from its polluted effects and acquire positive characteristics so as to go towards Allah; because purification from sins and making these characteristics to be a habit for us builds superior characters from the viewpoint of action.  Humans cannot arrive at the truth and repent until they have cleansed themselves from their sins. Therefore, simply wiping away our sins is not sufficient, we have to also move towards Allah (seek forgiveness and then repent).   

Repentance means return from the wrong path to the straight path. The Night of Qadr prepares a foundation for individuals to become awake and full of light so that they can see their negative points and seek a path to make up for their wrongs and correct themselves. All individuals have small and large sins in proportion to his/her beliefs. The Holy Quran has said, "O you who believe! Turn to Allah a sincere turning; maybe your Lord will remove from you your evil and cause you to enter gardens beneath which rivers flow…" (66:8)

This verse invites us to permanent repentance that includes sincerity of heart and this makes us closer to Allah and we, moreover, must not return to that sinful deed. When someone permanently repentance, what happens? Based on a narration from Imam Sadiq (PBUH), "When a servant permanently repents, Allah loves him/her and in this world and the next Allah will cover up his/her sin." The narrator asked Imam Sadiq (PBHU), "How does Allah cover up sins?" The Imam (PBUH) said, "Allah makes the two angles who are responsible to record sins to forget, as well as inspiring the body parts to cover up that person's sin and those parts of the earth that the sin was committed on. Then the person will meet Allah while there is nothing to testify against him/her."  (Osol Kafi, Vol. 4. Chap. Repentance, p. 163, Narration 1)

The opening of the door of repentance is by the mercy of Allah and it is the reflection of Allah's compassion. As Imam Sajjad (PBUH) has said in (Monajat-e-Ta'ebeen), "The One who I worship, You are the One that has opened a door towards forgiveness for Your servants and You have named it repentance. Then You have said to return towards Allah, a return without any impurity and for those who do not enter this door, what excuse do they have to be negligent?"

Oh my dears! Perseverance for repenting ensures human life until its end and anyone who receives more virtue in this regard will receive more kindness (from Allah).

Once humans become attached to this world, they will be in a continuous state of being lost. From birth, h/she enters into this state and little by little by way of playing and at home, school, then marriage and a career this state continues. However, there exists a thirst and hunger inside of us that only a connection with Allah can satisfy. Once Allah is found and a connection is established h/she will find peace.

Oh dear youths, who are at the beginning of your lives! Know that worries and stress play a significant role in our lives and in our society. The solution of the Holy Quran to overcome these issues is to always remember Allah, " O you who believe! Remember Allah, remembering frequently, and glorify Him morning and evening. " (33:41-42, Shakir)

Remembrance in abundance means complete attention to the existence of Allah, and not just by words. This remembrance also prevents us from sinning and forces us to be submissive (to Allah), wherein we will become worry and stress free and so bring us peace. As the Holy Quran has said, "…surely by Allah's remembrance are the hearts set at rest." (13:28, Shakir)

It is clear that all of the struggles of human beings are to reach prosperity in life and all of his/her fears are in confronting unfortunate situations and deprivation. Hence, those who know Allah and believe that all goodness is in His hands and that He is the one that takes responsibility for His faithful servants and will bless them, do not have any sadness or worries and their hearts and souls are in complete peace. There is no moment in the life of a faithful servant when the remembrance of Allah is absent. Imam Sadiq (PBUH) has described true remembrance as such, "A person who truly and from his/her heart thinks about Allah is a obedient servant of Allah and anyone who neglects Allah in all of his/her affairs is a servant of sin and obedience to Allah is a sign of guidance and sin is a sign of being astray and the principle of obedience is the remembrance of Allah and the root of sin is neglecting Allah." (Misbah al-Shariat, Chap. 5, p. 21, Narration 21)