Night of Power marked with prayer as Ramadan end draws near

Members of the public flowed out into the streets on their way to mosques last night in the hope of gaining entrance through the doors of divine forgiveness on the occasion of Laylat al-Qadr -- the Night of Power and the anniversary of the beginning of the revelation of the Holy Quran to the Prophet Muhammad by God through the Angel Gabriel. From the young to the old, men and women from every social class and background turned out for the night that comes only once a year.

Large historic mosques were magnets for the Night of Power -- in Turkish, Kadir Gecesi – with worshippers in İstanbul crowding the Sultanahmet, Eyüp Sultan and Yavuz Sultan Selim mosques as well as the Yeni Camii (New Mosque) in Eminönü. People prayed the night prayer, followed by the terawih prayer that is performed in congregation in the mosque during Ramadan. After this, however, many mosques were open all night for Laylat al-Qadr, giving the opportunity for Muslims to spend the night in the mosque, passing their time in prayer, supplication, Quran recitation and reflection.

For those who stayed at home, many channels broadcast the prayer services going on at some of the larger mosques live. Laylat al-Qadr programs were broadcast on Mehtap TV, Kanal A, Star TV, Kanal 7 and TRT Avaz. An innovation this year was the broadcast by Dünya TV -- Turkey’s first private Kurdish-language television station, which began broadcasting on July 1. Dünya TV broadcast live the prayer happenings at the Rıdvaniye Mosque in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa. As part of the show -- called in Kurdish “Şeva Leyletu’l Qedre Taybet” (May you have a blessed Night of Power) -- scholar İbrahim Öztürk gave a talk in Kurdish on the importance of the night for Muslims.

What is the Night of Power?

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.”

It is not certain when the Night of Power occurs. Muslims are encouraged to seek out the night -- and the message of mercy found in it -- during the last 10 days of Ramadan. However, many Muslim countries, including Turkey, designate a set night as Laylat al-Qadr, usually Ramadan 27. 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 supplication, 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)

Honey sorbet flows from historic fountain

On the occasion of Laylat al-Qadr (Night of Power, Kadir Gecesi), the taps of the historic German Fountain in Sultanahmet overflowed not with water, but with honey sorbet. Long lines formed from the fountain as members of the public enthusiastically responded to the opportunity to drink the special beverage from the very special fountain. Through the night, nearly 10,000 cups of the drink were distributed. The activity was organized by the Fatih Municipality, and involved the procurement and distribution of about 1 ton of sorbet. Along with the drink, traditional lokum (Turkish delight) was also passed out to the public -- to the tune of a total 10,000 pieces. If you would like to make your own honey sorbet it’s easy.

Beware of cheap Eid al-Fitr candies 

Vedat Dikgitmez, president of the Confectioners and Bakers’ Commission of the Craftsman and Artisans Association (ESDER) has issued a warning to consumers regarding candies and chocolates ahead of the three-day Eid al-Fitr holiday, which begins on Wednesday night, marking the end of Ramadan. Manufacturers of candies -- Turkish delight, chocolates and particularly chocolate-covered nuts -- may resort to certain tricks in order to bring down their production costs, thus dramatically decreasing the quality of the finished product. “In order to decrease costs, glucose and fructose are used in place of sugar, as this decreases production costs. These cheap and low quality products are being sold in stores,” Dikgitmez said.