Today is the 20th of Ramadan. But tonight will be the 21st night, You see, the day in the Islamic calendar begins at sundown instead of midnight. The last ten nights, especially the odd nights – the 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th and the 29th are the most auspicious nights of the month of Ramadan.
Muslims believe, according to what is in the Qur’an, that the first verses were sent down to the Prophet Muhammad in one of these (odd) nights. That night is called the Night of Power (Layl-at-al-Qadr).We don’t know what date that night falls on but instead we are asked to search for it through worship. Some scholars believe that it is the 27th night, but that is their opinion and I personally don’t take that seriously.
The Qur’an says (in chapter 97), that worshiping in the Night of Power is better than worshiping for a thousand months (approx. 83 years and 4 months). And any act of worship performed in this night solely to please God will be accepted and all prayers will be answered.
Muslims are thus encouraged to work harder in these nights than the rest of the year. Everybody does their part differently. Some stand in worship all night and some put more effort into reading the Qur’an but all ask and pray for their wants and desires to be fulfilled.
Mosques in the Saudi Arabia hold long prayers in the last ten nights of Ramadan. They usually start at 1:30 AM and finish at around 3:30 AM. With these extra prayers they also aim to complete the recitation of the Qur’an which began at the start of the month. I miss those days !
In India the nights are more quieter, as people prefer to worship privately in their homes. Except on the 27th, when every mosque in the country aims to finish the Qur’an that very night. The atmosphere is very festive in the mosque that night with lots of people and a ton of food ! And it lasts all night until dawn.I try to avoid these kinds of festivities because I believe that all odd nights are supposed to be given equal attention. Who can guarantee that the Night of Power will fall only on the 27th?
In the world though, it depends on which country ethnic group forms the majority in a mosque or what the majority agrees on doing. And not everybody is able to stay up all night – there’s work and school in the morning to think of !
The completion of the Qur’an is an emotional moment everywhere. It’s coupled with prayers for the community and the world at large for security, stability, sympathy, harmony and kindness.