Transcription
This great night is hidden, like some of the things that competition seeks, such as the middle prayer, which Allah commanded to be preserved. He said: "Guard strictly over the prayers, and over the middle prayer, and stand up to Allah in devotion." Allah hid it in the prayers. And the hour of Friday, in which Allah does not reject a supplicant's request, Allah hid it in the hours of this day. And the Greatest Name of Allah's names, Allah hid it among His names. And the Night of Decree (Laylat al-Qadr) in Ramadan, or in the last ten nights, Allah hid it therein. But from the mercy of Allah, the Exalted, is that He has made for us three matters. The first matter is that He reveals it to some of His servants as an honor. The second matter is that He has made for it some signs. The third matter is that He has limited its seeking and eagerness for it to a specific period that a person can observe.
So, what is most likely is that it fluctuates and moves within these ten nights, from its beginning to its end. This movement also involves movement according to locations. The crescent moon may be sighted in a certain country and not sighted in another. Or, a country may be behind another in sunset by hours, so the time difference is significant. In that case, the people of each country, even if the countries are close, each has its own Night of Decree. And Allah is not incapable of that. And Allah, Glorified be His Majesty, nothing is beyond His capability from His creation. Therefore, just as He distributes provisions among them, and distributes rain among them, and distributes seasons among them, and distributes the alternation of night and day among them, so you say, "This time now is night for us, but it is day in America." And so on. Therefore, this distribution is a divine distribution that we cannot interfere with.
But the Night of Decree comes. Imagine it to be, for example, a light. This light comes from the east, because the sun rises from the east. It travels with the night hours until it encompasses the entire globe. And according to this, every 113 kilometers will have a four-minute difference, because this is one of the stations of astronomical knowledge. Every 113 kilometers to the west will have a four-minute time difference. And so on. Thus, this fluctuation is out of Allah's mercy to His servants.
So, we have three matters. The first matter is what Allah honors His servants with, and this is a gift. And your Lord's gift is not prevented. We have no input in it; it is a gift from Allah. The second matter is the signs, and we will address some of these signs now. The third matter is limiting it to these ten nights, and the odd nights. But if the month is complete, then all ten nights are odd, because the nights are counted from the beginning. The 21st night is odd, the 23rd night is odd, the 25th night is odd, the 27th night is odd, the 29th night is odd. This is if you count from the beginning. If you count from the end, the 30th night is odd, because it is the first one you count. The 28th night is odd, the 26th night is odd, the 24th night is odd, the 22nd night is odd, because you are counting from the end. And all of that is narrated from the Prophet, peace be upon him, that he used to count by it, saying, "When seven remain," and "When three remain," meaning he looks and counts from the end. Therefore, all the nights are hoped for.
And the signs are looked at. Some of these signs occur after the end of the Night of Decree, such as the sun on that day rising without any rays. Because every day the sun rises between the horns of Satan, and its rays are reflected upon the universe. And these rays contain what is harmful and what is beneficial. But on the day of the Night of Decree, it has no rays on that day, because it does not rise between the horns of Satan. And this will not take a long time. When the sun rises the length of a spear and the redness is removed from it. And this also varies by country. Its rays return to it. But people will notice that it has no rays, and this is not due to dust, nor rain, nor anything like that. Rather, it rises by itself without rays. And a person knows this about the Night of Decree after it has passed. And this is also part of the hiddenness.
Also, among them is that Allah said: "Peace it is until the emergence of dawn." And this has been interpreted in several ways. One of them is that there are no shooting stars in it. The stars are shot at every night to repel devils, but on the Night of Decree, devils do not move, so there is no shooting of stars in it. Therefore, it is not permissible for shooting stars to move in it. Also, it is neither hot nor cold, and it is a night of clarity, meaning illuminated without moonlight. Of course, if it is in the last ten nights, it is rare for the moon to be bright in them. And the Prophet, peace be upon him, gave his companions some signs for it. But the most likely view is that it was specific to that particular night, such as the descent of rain. He saw that he was prostrating in water and mud. But this does not mean that the Night of Decree always has rain in all parts of the world or specifically in Medina. It might be in a season that is not a rainy season and rain does not come in it. So, it was that year, that night, which he designated for them. Therefore, some of the companions were guided to it on the 27th night, and some were guided to it on the 23rd night, and he gave them a sign, and they saw it. So, that companion, Ubay ibn Ka'b, swore it was the 27th night, and Jabir ibn Abdullah swore it was the 23rd night. But the intention is that in that year, when the Prophet, peace be upon him, showed them the Night of Decree, it was the 23rd night, and the other was the 27th night. But this is not a contradiction or a difference in the hadiths at all. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, is the truthful and trustworthy. And he would have told people about it with certainty, but Allah's mercy caused Him to hide it and not tell them. For if it were fixed, it would have been a problem for people, because the difference in sighting now, the dispute over it splits the world. Some consider calculation, and some consider sighting only. And the people of one country have a different calculation than the people of another country, and their sighting is different from the sighting of another country. And the great jurisprudential dispute is: do the people of each country have their own sighting, or does the sighting differ with the difference in horizons if the countries are very far apart, like Khurasan from Andalusia, and so on? Therefore, Allah's mercy is that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, did not tell us definitively which night is always the Night of Decree, but it remained in this hiddenness and fluctuation.
On one occasion, the companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him, were discussing the Night of Decree. He asked them, "Who among you was awake when the moon rose like the curve of a bowl?" The bowl in which food is placed, when it is broken, or half of its shape is formed. So, the time of the moonrise is of this size. And this moon only appears like the curve of a bowl in the first nights of the ten: the 21st, 22nd, 23rd, and 24th nights. Otherwise, it is smaller because it will now decrease, like an old date stalk, after it has receded. Therefore, I believe that this hadith was only to explain the Night of Decree in a specific year in a specific month, and not as a permanent characteristic.
Similarly, a group said that "Peace it is until the emergence of dawn" means that the angels greet the believers in it until the emergence of dawn. And some righteous people may hear this greeting as a special honor. Also, among the signs mentioned in it is the happiness of the believing souls and their tranquility on this night. So, a person becomes happy on it and feels comfort and tranquility. They do not feel cold or heat or fatigue, and their heart is at ease due to the abundance of mercies that descend on this night and the angels that descend in it, and the Spirit. The angels and the Spirit descend in it. So, this descent brings great blessings. And Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, mentioned that Allah may reveal it to some people, either through a dream or through wakefulness, by revelation. So, they see some signs, or they experience happiness, or they see this light, and it becomes clear to them that this is the Night of Decree. But it is not possible to be certain that it is the Night of Decree for the entire world, but rather the Night of Decree in the place where they are. And if the horizons differ, then it will be different on different nights.
We ask Allah, the Exalted, to guide us to the Night of Decree and to write us among those who stood in prayer during it, with faith and seeking reward, so that He may forgive them. And may He make us all among the successful. And may Allah's peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and companions, all of them.
O people of good in Europe and the Arab countries, this is a message to you. Listen to it for your parents and for those you wish to give ongoing charity to. Look at these clips. O Allah! [Music] O Allah!
These Afghan migrants have left Afghanistan, a saving migration from oppression and war. They fled from America and Russia to preserve their religion and their souls. They have been in Pakistan for 44 years, and today the Pakistani government is demolishing their homes and telling them, "Get out of our country and go to Afghanistan." They have no homes in Afghanistan, and homes are very expensive, estimated at $10,000 and sometimes reaching $1,000. And they have no money to go to Afghanistan and live in it. Therefore, we ask you, O you who are in Europe, and O you who are in the Arab countries, O generous person, and O you who desires ongoing charity, come and contribute with us to build a home for them, or to allocate a part of it, or to help them in their lives. The digital methods and ways of contribution are shown on the screen and in the description box to facilitate your communication and the allocation of your contribution. And listen to the words of Sheikh Al-Daw in the end. Yes.