BB00176: Prayer for Laylatu’l-Qadr

In the Name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate

All praise be to Him Who sendeth down whatsoever He willeth through His command, and createth at every moment whatsoever He pleaseth in His dominion. Glorified and exalted be He above all that they ascribe unto Him.

O my God! How can I extol Thine Essence or recount the glory of Thy Being, when the Countenance of Thy Self transcendeth all praise of the essential realities, and the Presence of Thy Identity is beyond all glorification by material things? How can I fail to thank Thy Self for Thy bounties, or neglect to praise Thy Court for Thy grandeur, when the very essence of all created things beareth witness to their origination, and the reality of all contingent beings, in its entirety, testifieth to their predestination?

O my God! Inasmuch as Thou hast ordained supplication for all that existeth in creation, and whereas I am but an atom, with no atom more abject or needy than I, I commune with Thee, O my God, with the reality of my heart, that Thou art God, the Beloved of the mystics, that Thou art God, the Companion of them that profess Thy unity, that Thou art God, the Desire of them that yearn after Thee, that Thou art God, the Lord of them that tread Thy path, and that Thou art God Who hath created creation through Thy Will and established all things upon the path of Thy Purpose.

Thou hast made known to contingent beings the way to know Thee and hast inspired all created things with the station of Thy love, that those who are perplexed might find repose in the reeds of the thickets of might through the manifestation of Thy holy and eternal sovereignty, that those who seek certainty might attain unto reality in the kingdom of dominion and behind the veil of might through the realization of the grandeur of Thy glory and mercy, that those who are radiant might shine forth in the manifestations of the depths of the mysteries of the conditions of the human realm through the effulgence of the splendor of the remembrance of Thy oneness, and that those who strive might reach unto the sacred depths of the ascent of names and attributes in the stations of might, even as fragments of ruby tablets reflect the light of the sun in the midst of darkness upon the wasteland, until all might recognize the Countenance of Thy Will made manifest in the stations of Command and Creation within the essence of all created things.

Nothing in the kingdom of earth and heaven can veil them from Thy Countenance, and all behold Thy manifestation apparent in creation and invention, even as the manifestation of Thy Self in the countenance of names and attributes. Thus do they describe Thy power with Thine own description in the Book, where Thou hast said—and Thy Word is the Truth in utterance:

“They measure not God with His true measure. The whole earth will be His handful on the Day of Resurrection, and the heavens will be rolled in His right hand. Glory be to Him! High be He exalted above the partners they attribute to Him!”

Glorified art Thou, glorified art Thou, O my God! When Thy power was made manifest in the essence of contingent beings, all imagined they could describe Thee through their own descriptions. Therefore do all describe Thee with that which they know not of Thee, and were they to know Thee, they would not describe Thee. Hence, O my God, do they proclaim Thy unity, for Thou hast ever been while naught else existed, and Thou wilt ever be even as Thou wert in the eternity of eternities. Nothing hath ever been of Thy rank, for Thine Essence transcendeth all essences from mention of essences, and Thy Being is sanctified above all beings from reference to names and attributes.

Glorified art Thou, O my God! If I say “Thou art Thou,” then similitude hath been likened unto similitude, and Thou shalt never be known thereby. If I say “He is He,” then unity pointeth to the station of creation and oneness to the condition of invention, while Thou hast ever been and wilt ever be beyond description by the praise of contingent beings or recognition through the essential realities of existing things. Verily, O my God, Thou hast never been and wilt never be described by power and beauty, nor by grandeur and similitudes, for Thou art God, the Beloved, in the depths of the spheres of names and attributes, and nothing among signs and tokens can be compared unto Thee.

Glorified art Thou, O Lord of the Throne and of air, then of water and earth, that I should describe Thee with the description of the highest essences or characterize Thee with the characteristics of the ultimate attainment of realities, for Thou shalt never be known through comparisons or described through similitudes! Even if Thou shouldst chastise me by making mention of Thyself with all Thy retribution and might throughout all eternity, with the everlastingness of Thy Essence, I would deserve it. Verily, Thou art praiseworthy in Thy deeds and obeyed in Thy judgment. Indeed, I am deserving of this, for my very existence before the sovereignty of Thy Self-Subsistence is the greatest sin, whereby fire converseth with fire in the worlds of creation and command.

I beseech Thee, O my God, in this darkest night, the sun of nights in the most enduring months, to send Thy blessings upon Muhammad, the Blessed Tree in the realm of divinity, the Holy Leaf in the thicket of omnipotence, the Blessed Branches in the stations of sovereignty and dominion, the Goodly Fruits in the trees of the earthly realm, and the Manifest Lights in the fragments of the tablets of ruby—the Chosen, the Beloved, the Elected, the Sent One, the Mighty, the Appointed, and the Outpoured Water. Him Whom Thou didst single out from the innermost eternity at the station of Thy manifestation, Whom Thou didst choose before nothingness for the appearance of Thy authority, Whom Thou didst elect at the station of greatness for the conditions of Thy mercy, and Whom Thou didst select through innate generosity at the station of Thy bountiful grace above all nations, from the kingdom of the throne to beneath the impenetrable darkness.

He Who standeth alone among humankind, sanctified from all likeness and similitude in what was and what shall be in the scriptures, as though He were unique in the greatest perspective. The Hour drew nigh on that night and the moon was cleft asunder—the Bearer of Glad-Tidings, the Warner, Whom Thou didst establish as the station of Thy Self in being known and in explanation, in being described and in manifestation, in being witnessed and in elucidation, in being sought and in expression, for all who desire Thy unity in the depths of attributes and the vast ocean of contingent existence.

He Who standeth in Thy stead in fulfillment, Who appeareth with Thy grandeur in glory, Who speaketh of Thine eternity in praise, Who is manifest upon the first Mount Sinai in primary revelation—Ahmad, sent unto the people of creation and origination, Whose mission Thou didst manifest on that blessed night with hosts of angels and the descent of the Spirit with the Book. Thou didst honor Him with what Thou didst reveal concerning Him in the Book, where Thou didst say—and Thy word is the truth in the Qur’an:

“By the star when it setteth, your companion erreth not, nor is he deceived; nor doth he speak of his own desire. It is naught but revelation revealed, taught him by one mighty in power, endued with wisdom: for he appeared in the highest part of the horizon. Then he drew nigh and came down till he was at the distance of two bow-lengths or even nearer. So did God reveal to His Servant what He revealed. The heart lied not in what it saw. Will ye then dispute with him concerning what he saw? For indeed he saw him at a second descent, near the Lote-tree beyond which none may pass: near it is the Garden of Abode. When that which shroudeth did enshroud the Lote-tree, the eye turned not aside, nor did it wander. Verily he saw one of the greatest signs of his Lord.”

Therefore, glory be unto Thee, O my God! On this night wherein the moon riseth not as it riseth on other nights, send Thy blessings upon the Tree of the Desired One in the temple of Ahmad, and the Praised Master in the most radiant form—He Who delivered what He was charged with from Thee and bore harm in Thy path, such that He recited the verses of Thy Book for ten years while none believed in Him save Ali, the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, His successor, the bearer of His knowledge, the inheritor of His wisdom, and He Who standeth in His station throughout all manifestations. Therefore reward Him, O my God, for what He delivered and for His patience in what befell Him, and for bearing what was unworthy for Him to hear, for when He was sent forth by Thy command, He delivered Thy Message, and thereafter said what He said, and was wronged and accused of falsehood in Thy path, until He perfected the religion for its people and ascended to the station of meeting Thee, with His good-pleasure.

Wherefore, O my God, send down Thy blessings upon Him and upon His chosen successors, the pillars of Thy unity and the signs of Thy sanctification, through that which Thou possessest of majesty, power, glory and grandeur. Verily Thou art God, the Lord of the mighty throne, Who hath made His bounty to exceed all that Thou hast created, through the bounty of Thine own Self towards all created things. Verily, Thou art the Lord of glory over all creation. Glorified be God, the Lord of the Throne, above that which they describe. And peace be upon the Messengers, and praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds.