The Virtue of the Night of Decree and the Reason for Its Name
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The Shaykh:
May Allah greet you and bless you.
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh Salih, in the ten days of the last ten, the Night of Decree is expected. Will you speak at the beginning of this episode about this great night, its virtue, and the reason it is called the Night of Decree?
The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and all his Companions. Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Qadr 97:1-5].
Indeed, We sent it down on a blessed night, and it is the Night of Decree. Allah described this night as blessed, described it as the night in which He sent down the Qur'an, and described it as better than a thousand months. These are great attributes of this night. It is in Ramadan, but Allah has concealed it, so it is not known in which of its nights it is. This is so that the Muslim strives in all the nights of Ramadan, so that he may attain this night and, with it, the standing in prayer in the remaining nights, so that his reward is complete with Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He. It is a great night in which supplication is answered, by the permission of Allah, and it is better than a thousand months, meaning that righteous deeds in it are better than righteous deeds in a thousand months. A thousand months is eighty-three years and some months, and this is a long lifespan if a person were to fill it all with righteous deeds. This night is equivalent to this long lifespan, and this is a favor from Allah. It should be sought out and one should strive to attain it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sought it out and commanded its seeking. He would perform i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) in the middle ten days seeking the Night of Decree. When it became more likely to him that it was in the last ten days, he moved his i'tikaf from the middle ten days to the last ten days. He said, "Whoever seeks it, let him seek it in the last ten days." And when these blessed ten days entered, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would tighten his waistband, stay awake at night, and do all this to conclude the month with righteous deeds and to seek out this great night. Yes.
May Allah greet you and bless you.
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh Salih, in the ten days of the last ten, the Night of Decree is expected. Will you speak at the beginning of this episode about this great night, its virtue, and the reason it is called the Night of Decree?
The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and all his Companions. Allah the Exalted said:
(1) Indeed, We sent the Qur'an down during the Night of Decree. (2) And what can make you know what is the Night of Decree? (3) The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months. (4) The angels and the Spirit descend therein by permission of their Lord for every matter. (5) Peace it is until the emergence of dawn.
إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِ لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِ خَيْرٌ مِّنْ أَلْفِ شَهْرٍ تَنَزَّلُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ وَالرُّوحُ فِيهَا بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِم مِّن كُلِّ أَمْرٍ سَلَامٌ هِيَ حَتَّىٰ مَطْلَعِ الْفَجْرِIndeed, We sent it down on a blessed night, and it is the Night of Decree. Allah described this night as blessed, described it as the night in which He sent down the Qur'an, and described it as better than a thousand months. These are great attributes of this night. It is in Ramadan, but Allah has concealed it, so it is not known in which of its nights it is. This is so that the Muslim strives in all the nights of Ramadan, so that he may attain this night and, with it, the standing in prayer in the remaining nights, so that his reward is complete with Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He. It is a great night in which supplication is answered, by the permission of Allah, and it is better than a thousand months, meaning that righteous deeds in it are better than righteous deeds in a thousand months. A thousand months is eighty-three years and some months, and this is a long lifespan if a person were to fill it all with righteous deeds. This night is equivalent to this long lifespan, and this is a favor from Allah. It should be sought out and one should strive to attain it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sought it out and commanded its seeking. He would perform i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) in the middle ten days seeking the Night of Decree. When it became more likely to him that it was in the last ten days, he moved his i'tikaf from the middle ten days to the last ten days. He said, "Whoever seeks it, let him seek it in the last ten days." And when these blessed ten days entered, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would tighten his waistband, stay awake at night, and do all this to conclude the month with righteous deeds and to seek out this great night. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 20 من 28|من أحكام الصيام|فضل ليلة القدر وسبب تسميتها بهذا الاسم|صالح الفوزان|فقه|كبار العلماء — youtube.com (0:45)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.