Ramadan

“Read! In the Name of your Lord Who created.
He has created man from a clot.
Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous.
Who has taught by the pen.
He has taught man that which he knew not.” Qur’an 96 v 1- 5

The countdown began last night (March 20, 2025). And the reality that Ramadan 2025 (1446 AH) is winding down has dawned on Muslims all over the world as the sacred month of obligatory fasting enters its last ten days beginning from today (March 21).

Indeed, this last part of Ramadan has always been the most critical for harbouring what has come to be known in human history as Laylatul Qadri (Night of Majesty), which Allah (SWT) describes, in Qur’an 97, as “better than a thousand months” spent in worshipping the Almighty.

Significantly, the Night of Majesty derives its essence from the twin-event of the commissioning of Muhammad’s prophethood as well as the beginning of the revelation of the Holy Qur’an. History documented this spectacular event to have happened about one thousand, four hundred and fifty-nine years ago.

The true nature of this event wasn’t only the activation of a night of perfect communion between the terrestrial and celestial worlds, it also signposted the exceptional honour bestowed on humanity as reflected in the prophethood of Muhammad as the bearer of Allah’s final testament – the Qur’an and the guardian of His wisdom.

Instructively, Chapters 96 (verses 1- 5 quoted above) and 97 of the holy Qur’an captured, vividly, the twin-event whose immense impact on humanity has continued till today.

Muslims, globally, look forward to the yearly commemoration of this 7th century divine occurrence that changed the course of humanity for good permanently, within the last ten days of Ramadan.

The reverence and awe with which the Night of Majesty is observed point to the deep understanding of what the Night stands for as encapsulated in the Qur’an (chapter 97) when Allah (SWT) says, “the Night of Majesty is better than one thousand nights.” This is meant to call Muslims’ attention to the fact that the night is equal in importance to 30,000 days of worship; it is equivalent to 83 years of complete devotion to the Almighty. To hold the night sacred, to consecrate the night to the worship of the Almighty, therefore, is to partake in such rare divine blessings as would not be seen again until next year.

Besides, the Night of Majesty is that in which the affairs of the universe undergo review. As a matter of inference, the Night of Majesty is the night in which your destiny and mine could be re-written for the better provided we avail ourselves of the opportunity therein. Chapter 44 verses 1-5 of the Quran makes this point clear when Allah (SWT) says: “Ha M’im! By the manifest Book that makes things clear. We sent it down on a blessed night (Layla-tul Qadr); for We wanted to forewarn mankind; In that night every matter is decided wisely by a command from us…”

These verses, when studied meticulously, appear to give some clues to some of the vexed issues which have constantly bothered humanity: the issue of destiny, the challenge of knowing the unknowable. Here, as one scholar argues, “the Almighty unveils part of the hidden to us all; we are being summoned to partake in divine politics if as such it may be described.

“When the Almighty says ‘In that night every matter is decided wisely by a command from us…’, it is like an invitation from His Majesty to humanity to actively partake in a process which will ultimately lead to the distribution of divine blessings; the blessings of life, of wealth and health, of terrestrial and celestial successes.

“Unlike our experience on earth where government officials appropriate the national resources at the beginning of each year by giving sole consideration to their prosperity, the Night of Majesty opens the celestial space to the poor and the rich, the mighty and the lowly to present their ‘proposals’ to the Almighty. It is a night in which we are ‘invited to join’ the angels in the process of ‘appropriating’ earthly fortune; you are being asked, on the night of majesty, to have a say in how your future is going to look like.”

In a statement credited to Prophet Muhammad (upon him be peace), he is reported to have said that on the Night of Majesty “the number of Angels who will descend to the earth will be greater than the number of pebbles on the whole planet”!

But why would the earth play host to such an innumerable number of angels? Angels of the Almighty, it should be noted, are luminous creatures; they are entities created by the Almighty from light; some of them bear two wings, others three, yet others four wings. The wings of the angels are signifiers, the signified being divine authorities; the wings of the angels are metaphors for the unknowable features of those divine messengers. Again, angels are entities without freewill; they are incapable of rebelling, like humans, against the Almighty’s plans and will. Thus, they would descend in abundance during the Night of Al-Qadr, in obeisance to the Almighty’s command and in celebration of the abundant blessings of the night; the same way they descend each time the Qur’an is being recited.

But how should Muslims go about partaking in their own destiny during this night? This question was also posed by Aishah (upon her be peace) to Muhammad (upon him be peace and blessings of the Almighty). She said: “I said ‘O Messenger of the Almighty, if I know which night is Laylat al-Qadr, what should I say on that night?’ The Prophet then replied: ‘Say: Allahuma innaka ‘afuwwun tuhibbu al-’afwa fa’affu ‘anni’ meaning, ‘O the Almighty, you are oft-forgiving and You love forgiveness, so forgive me’.”

Another historical fact well-connected to the last ten days of Ramadan is that the Prophet (SAW) used to embark on I’tikaaf (assiduous devotion) with the primary aim of searching for the Night of Majesty. During the last ten days of Ramadan, the Prophet used to worship the Almighty more than the previous nights. He would forsake the bed of his wives, and resort to the hallowed precincts of the mosque in order to do I’tikaaf. It was reported that the Prophet embarked on I’tikaaf every year, except once, throughout his sojourn in Madinah, thus, the practice is recommended for all Muslims, male and female.

Indeed, Muslim women are not exempted from this spiritual engagement. A woman, having obtained the permission of her husband could also do I’tikaaf in a central mosque which has facilities that would protect her chastity and guarantee her spirituality. Women in their monthly cycles may not embark on seclusion. They are however, encouraged to engage in series of invocation and litanies. She could recite the supplication recommended by the Prophet to Aishah.

Most importantly, there are series of devotional activities such as nawafil (supererogatory prayers), constant recitation of the Qur’an, charity and alms given and other humanitarian services Muslims are encouraged to do in order to reap the bounties of the last ten days of Ramadan.

By and large, as the faithful set to commune with the Almighty more closely during the last ten days of Ramadan, ask yourself what you really want from the Almighty. Make a list of each and everything, no matter how small or how big it is, whether it deals with this world or not. The Almighty loves to hear from us. Once this list is ready, you can do three things: Ask the Almighty to give you those things; think about what actions you have taken to get those things; develop a work plan to get those things in future. May Allah (SWT) accept all our acts of ibaadaat. Aameen