Night of power

Night of power

I been hearing alot from people telling me about laylatul qadr or the night of power. Its a holy night which muslims seek to gain them forgiveness for all their sins. After hearing these things , I felt I would write out my thoughts on the matter.

First of all, the majority of muslims are taught that its in the last ten days of ramadaan, the fasting month, and in one of the odd days. Nobody really knows for sure. I did some research on the matter, and theres so many different opinions. Some say its in ramadaan, they differ on the dates, from the last ten days, to any time in the month. Other scholars, (most notable for me Ibn Arabi ) says it could be any time in the year. Ibn Arabi, and Im sure some of the other scholars who came to this conclusion will not be highly regarded by some, while really revered by others. Ive read a little on his work, and to me its clear he was a genius.

http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=1&ID=336&CATE=6

Ive linked to a site which gives different ideas on when it is.

Many people seem to think its on the 27th, and so its become cultural for many to pray alot on this night. A local mosque has a huge function, complete with lots of food. It was fun going as a kid, youd normally catch on all soughts of nonsense.

I have always someone who believes in the process of things , I dont think anything flies out of the sky. So what are the things that I feel people miss about this night?

First of all there’s apparently signs. Ive heard of there will be light rain, to it will be neither hot nor cold, and even the sea will taste sweet. When we were younger, some enterprising friends felt maybe someone should drive to the beach, taste the water and then theyd know lol.

Then theres the problem of timing. Since the moon is sighted differently througout the world, one country may have an odd night before another, or when another country has an even night. So is there one night, for the whole world, or is for each country, or does it even move?

For me I rationalise it like this. The night of power is not one specific night, its a personal night for you. In ramadaan, the majority of people would be striving, reflecting, thinking about getting closer to god. They would be trying to refrain from bad habits, and purifying themselves, physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. If one does this for some amount of time, it becomes a part of you, like a habit, and your night of power is basically a transformation, when it becomes your character. The saving from the fire is basically indicative of how you now are, and of your future actions.

The night being still and peaceful, represents the turbulent times in your life, your issues, all becoming still. You become at peace about your life and issues. The way you now see things is completely different, and it will be as if everything in your life has changed, as if the “the ocean water tastes sweet”.

Im sure such an idea must be difficult to attach to , the majority of us see religion as a banking system. Do this get reward, do that get punished, and hopefully end up with a positive balance.

This makes little sense to me, but I guess to each his own :)