3 September 2010 / TODAY’S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL
As the final 10 days of Ramadan are well on their way, Muslims are taking extra strides to squeeze in voluntary acts of worship whenever they can, particularly during the night.
The reason for this is that the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad and the Holy Quran encourage Muslims to seek out God’s forgiveness on the night that is the anniversary of the start of the sacred text’s revelation. A companion of the Prophet Muhammad, Abu Hurayrah, related that the Messenger said, “Whoever stands [in prayer] in Laylat al-Qadr out of faith and in the hope of reward from God will have all of his previous sins forgiven.” [Recorded by Bukhari, Muslim) A special dua, or invocation, that the Prophet taught Muslims to use during the last 10 days of Ramadan -- as there is no exact date for the Night of Power and Muslims only know that it will occur during one of the odd-numbered nights in this timeframe -- is frequently recited, “O God, verily you are forgiving and love forgiveness, so forgive me.” (Recorded by Ahmad, Tirmidhi)The Quran’s 97th chapter treats the Night of Power exclusively: “In the name of God, the Beneficent the Merciful. Indeed, We sent it [the Holy Quran] down on the Night of Power. What will convey to you what the Night of Power is like! Better is the Night of Power than a thousand months; in that Night the angels and the Spirit descend; by the permission of their Lord for every affair. Peace it is, till the break of dawn.”
