The Night of Honour

"Quranic literature is so voluminous that no single man can compass a perusal of the whole. Besides the extent works, there were innumerable works written for special groups of people or form special points of view or for special purpose which have perished. And more works are being added everyday. The activity in this line has never been greater than it is now."

Thus observed the world renowned commentator and translator of the Holy Quran Allama Abdullah Yusuf Ali while translating this Holy Book some seventy years ago from now, that is, in the year 1934. So, this is the position of the greatest of all Holy Books including all Revealed Books. It may be stated here that our very existence as Muslim is directly linked with revelation of the Holy Quran on the Night of Honour or the Lailatul-Qadr. Al-Quran was revealed by Almighty Allah unto the holy Prophet (peace be upon him) on the 27th Ramadan night i.e. August 16, 610 AD when he was 40 years and six months of age. After the Messenger of Allah was honoured with Prophethood by the Lord Creator while meditating in a small cave called Hira at Mount An Noor he started preaching and propounding the principles of Islam, the chosen religion of Almighty Allah. Consequently, not only the people of Arabia entered the fold of Islam, gradually people of many other countries also embraced Islam. And there was a time when our revered forefathers too entered the fold of this religion of peace, and they accepted Islam. So, our embracing of Islam is very much connected with the Night of Honour or Lailatul-Qadr.

Now we may turn our undivided attention to all the five Ayats (Verses) of Sura Qadr of the Holy Quran in which Almighty Allah declares:

Ayat: 1 "We have indeed revealed this (Message) in the Night of Honour"
Ayat: 2 "And what will explain to thee what the Night of Honour is?"
Ayat: 3 "The Night of Honour is better than a thousand months."
Ayat: 4 "Therein come down the angels and the spirit by Allah's permission on every errand."
Ayat: 5 "Peace............ this until the rise of morn."

While commenting on Ayats 3 and 5 of the aforesaid Sura Night of Honour (i.e. Sura Qadr) of the Holy Qur-an the same commentator of international repute Allama Abdullah Yusuf Ali has aptly said:

"A thousand (nights) must be taken in indefinite sense, as denoting a very long period of time. This does not refer to our ideas of time, but to "timeless time". One moment of enlightenment under Allah's Light is better than thousands of months or years of animal life, and such a moment converts the night of darkness into a period of spiritual glory." (Commentation on Ayat 3).

"When the night of spiritual darkness is dissipated by the glory of Allah, a wonderful Peace and a sense of security arise in soul. And this lasts on until this life closes, and the glorious Day of the new spiritual world dawns, when everything will be on a different plane, and the chequered nights and days of this world will be even less than a dream."(Commentation on Ayat 5).

Again, according to Ayat 4 of Sura Sajda (Adoration) of the Holy Quran we further learn that "a Day does not mean a day as we recon it viz. one apparent course of the sun round the earth.........."

The term 'Lailatul-Qadr' or 'Shab-e-Qadr' is not only very known to and popular among the young and old, it is equally known to and popular among the small children also. The other day one of my grand children (a student of class II) told me eagerly and enthusiastically and also with all the emphasis at his command: 'Grandpa! 1 will observe fast on the following day of 27th Ramadan, that is, the day following Shab-e-Qadr." It is not only the case with my grandchild, millions and millions of such children living in the whole Muslim world beseech their affectionate mothers every year during the holy lunar month of Ramadan to allow them to observe fast at least on the day following the Night of Honour (Lailatul-Qadr).

This is the holy lunar month of Ramadan and we must not be oblivious of the great importance and significance of Lailatul-Qadr. Muslims all over the world will celebrate this auspicious Night with due solemnity and fervour. We in Bangladesh should also observe this sacred Night in a befitting manner.

We all know rose is a very beautiful flower and is liked by all and sundry. It is the queen of all flowers. In the sane way Night of Honour or the Lailatul-Qadr is the night of all nights. It is also the queen of all nights. Its direct association with Revelation of the Holy Quran, and Praises of Benign Allah showered on it, makes it glorious and sublime.