Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Laylat ul Bara'ah / Shab-e-Baraat

Q: Laylat ul Bara'ah Islamic holy day..err night?

A: Peace and Blessings.
In the original Islamic practice, that is if we look at the Prophet and the Quran, there is no authentic tradition of any importance of this date, day or night. Over the years, different sects have come to believe different things regarding this date. Some researchers have also commented that it is basically the same pagan concept of Halloween, as practiced by various names and variations by various cults, introduced in Islam at a much later time by people who wanted to assimilate/find a common path/ or whatever the reasons… only Allah knows.

If we look at the practice of the Prophet, he did not do anything special on this night. There are some reports that he visited the graveyard on this date, but then it was the common practice of our dear Prophet to visit the graveyard often, as a reminder of the final destiny, and he encouraged people to visit the graveyard often so as to help keep focused on the true reality of this life… a temporary abode where the only certainity is the final departure: death! Eternal life is on the other side of death, one must go, thus one must work and prepare for a bright eternal future, rather than put all efforts in the pursuit of the temporal. The Prophet did not prescribe any special practice or prayers for the people on this date.

As far as the Quran is concerned, Allah tells us of ‘layla-tul-Qadar’ the night better than a thousand months, because it is the night when the Quran was sent down for the guidance of mankind, and it falls in the month of Ramadhan, the month of fasting for muslims all over the world.


Last edited: July 2, 2016

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