Islam In Practice

The Meaning of Qadr

Ibn Hajar said in ‘Fath al-Bari’ (4/323-324): “There are various explanations of the meaning of the qadr that this night is ascribed to.

Praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and blessings be upon the Trustworthy Prophet Muhammad and upon all his family and companions.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to strive hard (in worship) during the last ten days of Ramadaan in a way that he did not strive at any other times.

We must be conscious of Allaah and thank Him for making His religion, clear to us. We must follow in the footsteps of the Prophets and messengers, may Allaah exalt their mention, in the way they obeyed Allaah and were conscious of Him. Allaah has commanded things so should not neglect or waste them. He also defined limits and borders so we should not transgress them.

Among the boundaries that Allaah has set and clarified is that of fasting. In the Noble Quran, He, The Most Exalted, made it very clear when fasting starts and when it ends, both in terms of the month in which it starts and in terms of what time of the day it is to start and end. Regarding this blessed month, Allaah Says (what means): “...So whoever sights [the new moon of] the month, let him fast it.”[Quran 2: 185]

Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “If you see it (the new- moon of Ramadhaan) then fast and if you see it (appearing again marking the end of the month) then break your fast. If you could not see it because of clouds, then count the month as having thirty days”.[Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]

One of the Names of Allaah is Al-Hakeem (The All-Wise), Allaah is All-Wise in what He decrees, what He commands, what He prohibits, what He predestines and what He legislates. Allaah may make people aware of the wisdom behind certain matters or He may conceal it, or may make only some people realize the wisdom and not all people.