Meadows Al Qadr Notes

8/9/2019 Meadows Al Qadr Notes

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THE NIGHT OF POWER

Tafseer of Surah al Qadr

Teacher: Abdullah Hasan Venue: East London Mosque Date: 27 August 2010


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Meadows of Paradise: The Night of Power Tafseer of Surah al Qadr Abdullah Hasan ELM/IFE

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ARABIC &TRANSLATION

Indeed, We sent the Quran down during the Night of Power (Laylatul

Qadr). And what can make you know what the Night of Power is? The

Night of Power is better than a thousand months. The angels and the

Spirit descend therein by permission of their Lord for every matter.

Peace it is until the emergence of dawn.


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WORD FOR WORD ANALYSIS AND EXPLANATION:

Inna (): Inna is a particle of emphasis. Inna belongs to a group of words called Inna

and its sisters (literally: inna wa akhawaatuhaa). Inna changes the mubtada to ismu-inna, and the khabar to khabru-inna; grammatically, khabru-inna is mansoob (usuallywith fatha); this is how you know whats being emphasized.

This also highlights the importance of this night. It is Allah who is emphasising the

virtue of this night.

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Anzalnaa hu ( ): We revealed it. Anzalnaa comes from nazala, which means todescend or go down; anzalnaa is we sent down (the original is anzala). Hu, it, is themafool, the recipient of the anzalathe what we sent down. We know this because its

marfoo; its not huwa, its hu. And what is this it? Nothing less than Al-Quran Al-

Kaeem.

Ibn Abbas explains: "Allah sent the Qur'an down all at one time from the Preserved

Tablet to the House of Might (Bayt al-'Izzah), which is in the heaven of this world. Then

it came down in parts to the Messenger of Allah based upon the incidents that occurredover a period of twenty-three years.''

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Fiy (): In. Fiy is a prepositon (hafu-jarr); the thing it modifies becomes majroor,

usually with kasra. Prepositions change in meaning depending on context, but here, andgenerally, fiy means in.

Laylatul-Qadar ( ): Literally, the night of Al-Qadar. Scholars say it means that itmeans the night that Allah ordains the qadar of people for the next year. (Its a

mudaf/mudaf-ilayh combination; evidenced by the single tanween on layl, and the kasraon qadar).

Qadr in the Arabic language has a number of meanings: 1) Estimation/Determination

Allah determines the provisions of all the people in this night. 2) Noble / Honour because of the nobility and greatness of this night. 3) Appreciation to appreciate the

great number of Angels descending in this night. 4) Constriction /Congestion becauseof the great number of angels coming in this night. The hadith says the number will be


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the same as the number of pebbles on the earth. 5) Power the power of Allah and thepower of this night.

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Wa maa adaraaka, maa ( ): This phrase means, and what will make youknow, what [blank] is? maa is ismu-istifhaam, the interrogative particle (aka a

question-mark). This phrase, when it appears, means: And you will NEVER understandwhat [blank] is. But heres a taste so an explanation follows.

Khayrun ( ): Khayr means good; or it can be ism tafdeel, thecomparative/superlative; in this case, its the comparativebetter, not best. We know

this, since its used with min.

Min (): Mean usually means from. When used with ism tafdeel, it means than. i.e.x min y, x is better than y. Also, a tip from the realm of tajweed: notice the shaddah on

the meem? Thats because you use yarmaluwn when you recite khayrunnoon withdouble-tanween, followed by one of the letters of yarmaluwn. This is why I love the

Saudi mushafit gives you these helpful hints.

Alf (): Alif means 1000. Its majroor (with kasra), and it comes after min, so we knowits the majroor of min, and the thing were comparing to. Better than 1000 But wait.

Why does it have single tanween, not double (i.e. alfi, not alfin)? The answer is look atthe next word.

Shahr ( ): Shahr means month. Notice the double-tanween kasra here; combinedwith the single-kasra on alfi, makes us conclude that this is a mudaf/mudaf-ilayh pair(possessive case). But actually, its complicatedits how the number system works at

1000. The number digit is the possessor, and the thing were counting (months) is pluraland the possessed (mudaf), hence the kasra.

Tanazzalu ( :( You can see the root-word herenazala. Nazala means descend,nazzala (shaddah on the za) means a more intense form of descending. The ta hints thatit might be fil mudaari, the present-/future-tense. The ta also hints that the doer is

either you (second-preson) or she (third-person); lets see whos doing the descending.

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Al-Malaaikah ( ): The angels. It means, literally, it means the angel (malaikah issingle); but using alif-lam with a singular sometimes means the whole species ofsomething. Like An-Naas; naas is a singular word, but An-Naas means the human


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species. Its the faail (doer), because of the damma (its marfoo). Its the one doing thedescending.

Wa Ar-Ruh ( ): Ar-Ruh literally means, the spirit. Sometimes it refers to Jibreel(alayhi salaam). Its also marfoo, so its also the faail, and its descending.

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Fiyhaa (): Fiy, we know; haa, is the majroor/mansoob of hiya. It means here, in it.What it? Laylatul-Qadar. (Layl is also feminine; so we know its that.)

Bi (:( Another harfu-jarr. Usually means with.

Idhn ( ): Permission.Its majroor (with kasra) because of bi. The single tanween hintsat another idaafah (possessive) case; which is right. Its also the mudaaf.

Rabbihim ( ): Rabb means, Allah; Allah is Ar-Rab, the creator/owner/sustainer ofeverything; and also, in this case, the owner of idhn, the permission. Also, rabbihim is

itself an idaafah case; rabb has single tanween, and him is the mudaf. With the

permission of their lord. Or literally, with the permission of the lord of them.

Min (): Usually means From.

Imam Shawkani mentions three possible meanings of min in this verse. 1) Because of

every command, 2) Min with the meaning of lam for every command, 3) with themeaning of Ba with every command.

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Kulli ( ): Every. Its majroor because of min.Amr ( ): Command. Or, affair (as in, our matter). Root verb is amara, to command.Ibn Abbas, Ali, Ikrimah and Kalbi read amr as imriin person because of every

person. Kalbi explained because they angels descend and greet every person in thisnight. Amazing! (Imam Shawkani, Fathul Qadeer).

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Salaam ( ): Peace. Ikhtilaaf about what it refers to in this verse. Some say in thisnight the devils cannot harm a believer. Shabi, Allah calls it peace because the angels

are constantly giving salams to the believers in the mosques etc. It was also said that

peace here means that the angels greeting one another. Ata said that salam is given tothe close friends (awliya) and the people of obedience.

Its also the khabr. But then again, it isnt an indefinite khabar not allowed in Arabicgrammar? Well, Allah can do whatever He wants. Dont be too hardcore about

grammar.

Hiya ( ): She. Or it. Here, itlaylatul-qadar.Hatta ( ): Until. A particle of time. So it makes the thing its talking about, majroor.See next word.

Matla ( ): A noun of some sort. Im going to hypothesize here and say that the maimplies, as it sometimes does, the place of something (e.g. masjidthe place of sujood).

That would make the root verb would be talaa, which means to emerge, or to rise, orsomething along those lines. Again, notice the single tanweenidaafah. And why is it

majroor? Because of hatta.

Al-Fajr ( ): Al-Fajr refers to the time at which the darkness of night starts recedingdawn. Salat-ul-Fajr, therefore, is the salah of the time Al-Fajr. The root word is fajara,

which means to split open, break open, break though; because the dawn breaks

through the darkness of night.

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LAYLATUL QADR:STEP BY STEP GUIDE

1. Start preparing for it at Fajr time. After Fajr Salah make sure you do the morningdhikr especially La ilaa illahu wahdau la sharika lahu, lahul mulku walahul hamdwahuwa ala kulli shayin qadeer 100 times. The Prophet said whoever says it

100 times in the morning and evening, 100 good deeds will be recorded for you

and 100 evil deeds will be erased from your tab, and you will be protected from

the shaytan. Important issue here is that you will be free from the whisperings of

the shaytan to prepare for the Night of Power.

2. Treat Iftar to a fasting person, either by inviting him to your house, or by buyingthe food for him and sending it to him. The Prophet said that whoever breaks

another persons fast he will receive the same reward as the person without his

reward being diminished.

3. When the day breaks make as much dua as possible that Allah helps you andmakes it easy for you to worship Him during this night.

4. If you havent paid your Zakat money pay it this night as the rewards will bemagnified. If you have then prepare some sadaqa to give in the way of Allah.

Remember charity burns our sins as fire burns wood.

5. During the course of the day try and avoid people as much as possible (exceptthose who need your support). This way you will not be harmed nor will you

harm anyone. Thus entering the night with clean heart and mind.

6. Throughout the daytime make sure you perform the obligatory duties such asprayer on time with the sunnahs. Repeat after the mudhin and make the

necessary supplications. (see Hisnul Muslim).

7. When you break your fast, make sure youre mindful that Allah may not acceptyour fasting, so you should yearn for and anticipate His mercy and reward.

Supplicate also with the following dua allahumma ainni wa waffiqni li qiyami

Laylatul qadrO Allah help me and facilitate for me to worship you in this Night.

8. Constantly make the chosen dua for this night Allahumma inna afuwun tuhibbulafwa fafu anni O Allah you the Most Forgiving, and You love to forgive, so

forgive me

9. If you have parents, make sure you are dutiful towards them. Break Iftar withthem and fulfil all their needs.


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10.If you are not in good terms with a family member try and resolve it before thenight starts.

11.If you can, do a bath and perform wudhu like the Prophet.12.Put on clean clothes and put nice perfume on before going to the Mosque13.When you enter the Mosque perform all the etiquettes of the Mosque. Try not to

speak to people too much, just focus all your energy to be alone with Allah.

14.Pray the salahs with khushu and try to cry, if tears are not coming out try andmake them come out.

15.When you return home make sure you are still doing the dhikr of Allah.16.When you arrive at your house, eat and make dua, make wudhu and take some

rest (sleep) if you need to. Your sleep will be counted as ibadah.

17.Wake up in due time and pray Tahajjud, eat and then pray fajr. After fajr, read theQuran, make constant dua and plead to Allah to forgive you. Do that and the

morning dhikr until sunrise, all the while being mindful of the presence of the

angels.

18.Remember this is the night in which Allah decrees your rizq for the coming year,so implore Allah; cry your heart out as they say so that He may give you what you

desire. Dont think what youre asking for is too much for Allah, nothing you ask

will decrease His dominion. You want money ask Him, you want a wife/husband

ask Him, you want a job ask Him, you want children ask Him, you want peace of

heart ask Him, anything you desire ask. Remember that you must focus and

concentrate when you pray and make dua. Your knife needs to be sharp.

19.When you make dua remember that there certain etiquettes you have to follow.1) Praise Allah first, 2) then send salutations upon the Prophet, 3) then pray for

the Ummah and make dua for your parents, family etc, 4) and finally make dua

for yourself. Try and follow this order as much as you can.

20.And finallypleeeeeeeeese dont forget to make dua for me: Abdullah Hasan


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LAYLATUL QADR CHECKLIST

Required activities & deeds 21st 23rd 25th 27th 29th Comments

Woke up for Fajr and Pray the fard with its

sunnah

Made my morning Dhikr with the dua

mentioned above

Prayed all the 12 rakat of Sunnah during the

day

Avoided mixing with people too much

including facebook, twitter etc

Kiss * and made up with people who I am

not in good terms with

Helped doing the household chores

Helped my parents fulfilled their needs

Had a bath /shower

Made sure that I have clean clothes to wear

Treated another person to Iftari

Collected my Zakah /Sadaqa money to give

in the Mosque

Memorised the chosen dua/supplication

Made sure that I am psyched up for the

power of this night

Made sure that I do not twaddle or argue

with anyone in the Mosque

Made sure that I did not backbite anyone

*kiss is only for sisters, and its only on the cheeks

To print out more copies of the table please visit www.abdullahhasan.net

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