Peace, one and all…
During the last few weeks before the beginning of Ramadan, I often feel as though I’m dragging my weary soul behind me: ‘just a few more miles and we’ll be there’ I seem to hear myself say. In that sense, Ramadan is like the end of a race, a place of safety from which to look, all Janus-like, both backwards and forwards.
But then, Ramadan is also the beginning of a race – a race against the selfish dictates of the soul and a race of endurance in the face of privation and quietude. The first two weeks of Ramadan find me energised and enthused. As with any race, fatigue begins to set in towards the end and I find myself flagging. In the past, I’ve either ignored my failing stamina (and thus exhausted myself to the point of illness) or else I’ve slowed down, at exactly the wrong time.
The last 10 days of Ramadan are, in many ways, the most important of the whole month. Tradition relates that hidden amongst the odd nights of these days is the Night of Power/Decree (Laylat al-Qadr). Although many believe that this falls on the 27th Ramadan, there are a number of prophetic traditions which suggest it could be either the 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th or 29th. Perhaps one possible reason for this indeterminacy is that it encourages us towards endurance, as if to say: ‘the finish line is close now – just this last sprint towards the finish line left’?
The 97th chapter of the Quran refers to Laylat al-Qadr. Here is an English language translation of the text:
We have indeed revealed this (Message) in the Night of Power. And what will explain to thee what the night of power is? The Night of Power is better than a thousand months. Therein come down the angels and the Spirit by Allah’s permission, on every errand; Peace!…This until the rise of morn!’ (Surah al-Qadr 97:1-5, trans. A Y Ali)
This night is connected with the original descent of revelation to the Prophet (alaihi al-salatu wa al-salam). It thus marks that time when Allah draws this world closer to the Eternal Realm, to the world beyond this one. Angels descend on missions of mercy: hearts are healed, souls refreshed and unhelpful deeds are forgiven. This might be one reason why it is explicitly said to be ‘better than a thousand months’ and that in it descends peace: the peace beyond understanding that heals all things.
How then can I find and experience this blessed night myself? This is the real question: how can I prepare myself to see it and witness it? I want to make the pursuit of laylat al-qadr my aim this Ramadan. I want to make it a time when I lay aside all thoughts of ‘I want’, to be solely in communion with God. To connect with God is to connect with the very ground of my (and all) being. It is to centre myself and then to use the energy from this moment to aid in the transformation of my heart, my life and my human relationships. Perhaps this is because laylat al-qadr offers me the opportunity to stand before God with all of my defences lowered, to stand completely naked before Hu – without turning or running away. By consciously and voluntarily revealing my dependence upon and vulnerability before God, I can (insha Allah) learn how to open myself to my human relationships. Thus, laylat al-qadr, as a time of communion, is also a time of sharing – of giving back to life all that I can, in honour of all that I have received from it. Ultimately, this is only race worth running!
Wa akhiru da’wana an il hamdu lillahi rabbil alameen.
Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman
