From the Qur'an
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
"Moment of Enlightenment"
"The month of Ramadan in which the Qur'an was sent down as a guidance
for mankind and self-evident proofs of that guidance and as a standard by
which to descern the true from the false."(Qur'an 2:185)
Commemorating the beginning of the Qur'anic revelation, which took
place in the month of Ramadan about thirteen years before the emigration
of the Propher SAAS to Madinah, has as one of its aims the provision of an
exacting excercise of self-discipline, and to make everyone realise how it
feels to be hungry and thirsty if only for a short time, and thus to gain
a true appreciation of the needs of the poor, in addition to the general
aim of spiritual purification.
"We sent it down during a blessed night, for We have always been
warning(man)."
The revelation of the Qur'an is a continuation and, indeed, the
climax of all divine revelation, which has been going on since the very dawn
of human consciousness. One of its innermost purposes has always been the
warning extended by Allah(swt) to man not to abandon himself to mere material
ambitions and pursuits and thus to lose sight of spiritual values. On the
basis of several traditions it is assumed that this blessed night is in the
month of Ramadan, one of the odd numbered nights during the last ten days of
that month, often thought to be the 27th. In Surah 97, it is referred to as the
Night of Power or of the Decree.
"We have indeed revealed it (the Qur'an) on the Night of Power (or the
Decree)."
It may be that it is the same night which is referred to as the Blessed
Night in Surah 44 ad-Dukhan, ayat 3. Therefore, it is widely held that
Laylah Mubarakah(A Blessed Night) and Laylatu'l Qadr are one
and the same. Some commentators are of the opinion that the revelation of
Qur'an began during that night, others think that the whole of the Qur'an
was transferred from the Lawh Mahfoudh (the Preserved Tablet) or the Umm al-Kitab
and entrusted to the bearer of revelation (the angel), and then it was revealed
to the Prophet (SAAS) as and when required, over a period of twenty-three
years. As to what actually happened, Allah knows best.
"The Night of Power is better than a thousand months."
In this one night a task was accomplished for the welfare of mankind
the like of which had not been accomplished even during an indefinitely
long period of history. One moment of enlightenment by Allah's light is better
than a thousand months or even years of animal life, and it is said better
than a thousand months of ordinary worship, i.e. an entire lifetime. Such
a moment converts the night of darkness into a period of spiritual glory.