Night of Power
Laylat Al Qadr known as the “Night of Power” is the holiest night of the year for Muslims. Most Islamic scholars believe it falls on one of the odd-numbered nights of the final ten days of Ramadan. Typically it is celebrated on the 27th day of Ramadan, which is today, July 2, 2016. It commemorates the night that Muslims believe the Prophet Muhammad received the first revelations of the Qur’an, which are recorded in Sura 96.
The Night of Power is described in Sura 97: “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!”
The Hadith also describes the Night of Power and says that anyone that prays on this night out of sincere faith will have all his past sins forgiven. (Bukhari Vol. 1, Book 2, Number 35).
Arab News claims Muhammad intentionally did not give an exact night for the celebration of Laylat Al Qadr, because of the importance of the night. Muslims are encouraged to “seek” the Night of Power in the last ten days of Ramadan. This way Muslims believe Allah can give something worthwhile to the deserving person while “denying the hypocritical and lackadaisical ones.”
Imam Khalid Latif, from the Islamic Center at New York University, reveals that what a Muslim does to seek out the Night of Power will vary from person to person. Some will pray the regular prayers at the ascribed times and then stand for hours in ritual prayer. Others will read or listen to the Qur’an.
Some Muslims participate in what is called “itikaf” which in Islam means to stay in a mosque for a particular period of time for the purpose of worshiping Allah. In order to receive the blessing of itikaf the person participating must be mentally stable, a true Muslim, and seek to perform itikaf to seek closeness with Allah, not to please another person or to show off. They must fast and stay inside the mosque for the entire period of the itikaf which is for a minimum of three days. Muslims are encouraged to spend their time reading the Qur’an, performing prayers and seeking blessings from Allah during the itikaf.
From the Qur’anic passage, Muslims believe angels come and perform special purposes including granting requests and bringing proclamations of the coming year. Many Muslims pray all night, and believe the angels will shower down blessings and peace if they remain awake. It is a time when Muslims are open to dreams and visions as they seek guidance and revelation for the coming year.
All Muslims consider themselves the spiritual descendants of Ishmael, Abraham’s son. Ishmael was the first person in the Bible that God named before his birth and his name means “God hears.”
Sura 1 in the Qur’an is considered to be one of its most important passages. A devout Muslim will pray this sura as many as 18 times a day – during their regular prayers, when he gets up, when he goes to bed and before meals. In this sura, Muslims ask Allah to guide them to the right path.
So many times a day for the past 1,400 years devout Muslims have prayed Sura 1. The spiritual descendants of Ishmael, the one whose very name means “God hears,” have been crying out to know the right path.
In Luke 1:78-79 (NLT) we read:
“Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”
God hears the cries of Ishmael’s descendants who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death today. They ask daily to be guided to the right path, let us cry out that they will indeed be guided to the true right path – the path to peace, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Prayer Points:
God hears the prayers of the Muslim people around the world – pray that their hearts will be open to His truth as He reveals Himself to them.
Pray that Jesus Christ, the Son of the true and living God will appear to Muslims during this time through dreams and visions.
Since this is a time of heightened spiritual activity, pray that Spirit-filled Christians around the world will be quickened by the Holy Spirit to pray and contend for the Muslim people.
Night of Power
The Night of Power ( in Arabic) is the holiest night of the year in Islam. It commemorates the night that Muslims believe Muhammad received the first revelations of the Qur’an, which are recorded in the first five verses of Sura 96. Sura 97:3 describes the Laylat Al Qadr as “better than a thousand months.”
Sahbir Ally, President of the Islamic Information Center in Toronto, Canada explains the significance, “The very fact that the Quran states that this night is better than a thousand months is an added incentive for Muslims to worship on this night because the traditions further expound on this to say that worshipping on this night is better than worshipping for a thousand months, and a thousand months as you know is translated to 83 years and four months, that’s a lifetime for many people. …So if a person worships on the Night of Power, then we believe that he or she gets the reward as worshipping for a whole lifetime.”
Tradition says that anyone that prays on the Night of Power out of sincere faith in hopes of attaining Allah’s rewards will have all of his past sins forgiven.
Muslims also believe angels and a special spirit descend from God on the Night of Power. The angels come down to grant requests and bring proclamations about the coming year.
The Night of Power is a time when Muslims are open to receiving dreams and visions as they seek guidance. Many will pray throughout the night believing that those who remain awake all night will be blessed with peace and the blessings of God.
Dr. Ally explains, “It is also narrated in some traditions that the angels tour the world looking for those people who are engaged in the worship of God on that night, and they, according to the tradition, shake hands with the person.. …Human beings do not actually experience the angels in their presence, but generally the idea that the angels do come down on this night inspires Muslims to worship.”
Prayer Points:
Worship for Muslims on the Night of Power becomes an obligation in order to receive a reward – how different from those of us who are honored to worship our God – not in order to receive a reward, but simply because He alone is worthy of all worship, honor and praise. Take time out today to worship God – lift His name on high and thank Him for His abundant blessings.
As we “Contend For the Captives” of Islam – pray that they will long for the true and living God, hunger for His truth, desire a deeper relation with Him and have visions and dreams in the days ahead of Jesus Christ as the living Son of God!
Muslims are taught that believing Jesus is the Son of God is blasphemy and will send a Muslim (and all others) to hell. Ask God to give a true revelation of Jesus to Muslims, giving them understanding and strength to push past false teaching and fear and have the courage to receive Christ as Lord.
May heaven be abundantly populated with the souls of “former Muslims” as a result of the prayers of God’s people on the Night of Power!
Ramadan 2013 – Day 25 – Laylat Al Qadr – Insight Into Islam’s “Night of Power”
Laylat Al Qadr known as the “Night of Power” is the holiest night of the year for Muslims. Most Islamic scholars believe it falls on one of the odd-numbered nights of the final ten days of Ramadan so it could fall on the 19th, 21st, 23rd, 25th or 27th days. Typically it is celebrated on the 27th day. It commemorates the night that Muslims believe the Prophet Muhammad received the first revelations of the Qur’an, which are recorded in Sura 96.
The Night of Power is described in Sura 97: “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!” The Hadith also describes the Night of Power and says that anyone that prays on this night out of sincere faith will have all his past sins forgiven. (Bukhari Vol. 1, Book 2, Number 35).
Arab News claims Muhammad intentionally did not give an exact night for the celebration of Laylat Al Qadr, because of the importance of the night. Muslims are encouraged to “seek” the Night of Power in the last ten days of Ramadan. This way Muslims believe Allah can give something worthwhile to the deserving person while “denying the hypocritical and lackadaisical ones.”
Imam Khalid Latif, from the Islamic Center at New York University reveals that what a Muslim does to seek out the Night of Power will vary from person to person. Some will pray the regular prayers at the ascribed times and then stand for hours in ritual prayer. Others will read or listen to the Qur’an.
Some Muslims participate in what is called “itikaf” which in Islam means to stay in a mosque for a particular period of time for the purpose of worshiping Allah. In order to receive the blessing of itikaf the person participating must be mentally stable, a true Muslim, and seek to perform itikaf to seek closeness with Allah, not to please another person or to show off. They must fast and stay inside the mosque for the entire period of the itikaf which is for a minimum of three days. Muslims are encouraged to spend their time reading the Qur’an, performing prayers and seeking blessings from Allah during the itikaf.
From the Qur’anic passage, Muslims believe angels come and perform special purposes including granting requests and bringing proclamations of the coming year. Many Muslims pray all night, and believe the angels will shower down blessings and peace if they remain awake. It is a time when Muslims are open to dreams and visions as they seek guidance and revelation for the coming year.
All Muslims consider themselves the spiritual descendants of Ishmael, Abraham’s son. Ishmael was the first person in the Bible that God named before his birth and his name means “God hears.”
Sura 1 in the Qur’an is considered to be one of its most important passages. A devout Muslim will pray this sura as many as 18 times a day – during their regular prayers, when he gets up, when he goes to bed and before meals. In this sura Muslims ask Allah to guide them to the right path.
So many times a day for the past 1,400 years devout Muslims have prayed Sura 1. The spiritual descendants of Ishmael, the one whose very name means “God hears,” have been crying out to know the right path.
In Luke 1:78-79 (NLT) we read:
“Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”
God hears the cries of Ishmael’s descendants who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death today. They ask daily to be guided to the right path, let us cry out that they will indeed be guided to the true right path – the path to peace, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Prayer Points:
God hears the prayers of the Muslim people around the world – pray that their hearts will be open to His truth as He reveals Himself to them.
Pray that Jesus Christ, the Son of the true and living God will appear to Muslims during this time through dreams and visions.
Since this is a time of heightened spiritual activity, pray that Spirit filled Christians around the world will be quickened by the Holy Spirit to pray and contend for the Muslim people.