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Sleeping Before the Night Prayer Is Forbidden
One should not sleep before the night prayer, nor have discussions after it
NIGHT AS A SYMBOL:
79:29 - Its night doth He endow with darkness and its splendor doth He bring out (with light). 5936
5936 Its of course refers to the starry heaven. Both the Night and the Day have each its own beauty and its utility for man,
as has been frequently pointed out in the Qur-an. The night is a period of darkness, but it has also its splendours of
light in the moon, or the planets Jupiter or Venus, or stars like Sirius or the Milky Way. These countless lights of night
have their own beauty, and by day there is the splendour of the sun for us, which in Creation as a whole, is just one of
countless stars. (79.29)
91:4 - By the Night as it conceals it;
92:1 - By the Night as it conceals (the light); 6159
6159 The evidence of three things is invoked, viz., Night, Day, and Sex, and the conclusion is stated in verse 4, that men's
aims are diverse. But similarly there are contrasts in nature. What contrast can be greater than between Night and
Day? When the Night spreads her veil, the sun's light is hidden, but not lost. The sun is in his place all the time, and
will come forth in all his glory again in his own good time. Cf. xci. 3, 4, and n. 6149. Man pursuing diverse aims may
find, owing to his own position, Allah's light obscured from him for a time, but he must strive hard to put himself in a
position to reach it in all its glory. (92.1)
93:2 - And by the Night when it is still 6176
6176 Cf. xcii. 1-2. There Night is mentioned first, and Day second, to enforce the lesson of contrasts: the veil of the night
naturally comes first before the splendour of daylight is revealed. Here the argument is different: the growing hours of
morning light are the main things and are mentioned first; while the hours of preparation and quiescence, which are
subordinate, come second. (93.2)
NIGHT OF POWER:
97:1 - We have indeed revealed this (Message) in the night of Power: 6217
6217 Cf. xliv. 3 and n. 4690. The 23rd, 25th or 27th night of Ramadhan, as well as other nights, have been suggested as
the Night of Power. See, however, the Introduction to this Sura. It is best to take this in conjunction with verse 3 below,
which says that the Night of Power is better than a thousand Months. It transcends Time: for it is Allah's Power
dispelling the Darkness of Ignorance, by his Revelation, in every kind of affair. (97.1)
6218 "A thousand" must be taken in an indefinite sense; as denoting a very long period of time. Cf. notes 3632 and 3634 to
xxxii. 4-5, and n. 5678 to lxx. 4. 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. (97.3)
97:2 - And what will explain to thee what the Night of Power is?
97:3 - The Night of Power is better than a thousand Months. 6218
6218 "A thousand" must be taken in an indefinite sense; as denoting a very long period of time. Cf. notes 3632 and 3634 to
xxxii. 4-5, and n. 5678 to lxx. 4. 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. (97.3)
97:4 - Therein come down the angels and the Spirit by Allah's permission on every errand: 6219
6219 The Spirit: usually understood to be the angel Gabriel. (97.4)
Fiqh-us-Sunnah
Fiqh 3.144a
Night of Qadr, its virtue
The night of qadr is the most virtuous night of the year. Allah says in the Qur'an: "We revealed it on the night of power [that is,
qadr]. What will tell you what the night of power is? It is better than a thousand months." Any action therein, for example,
reciting the Qur'an, making remembrance of Allah, and so on, is better than acting for one thousand months which do not
contain the night of qadr.
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