Day 27

The Night of Power

BEHOLD, from on high have We bestowed this [divine writ] on Night of Destiny.

And what could make thee conceive what it is, that Night of Destiny?

The Night of Destiny is better than a thousand months:

in hosts descend in it the angels, bearing divine inspiration by their Sustainer’s leave; from all [evil] that may happen

does it make secure, until the rise of

dawn.

(Sura Al-Qadr, Asad translation)

I am sitting on a bench here in Manhattan before going into my dergah. After another unexpected flare up of an ongoing health issue I was overcome with sadness this morning and wanting to wallow. Wallowing would mean not making the trip to New York for tonight’s celebration on The Night of Power. And what a night it is! Some describe it a equal to a thousand months of prayer. It offers absolution for all that has come before. A few Ramadans ago, I’d been coming to dergah every night for a while and thought to give a particular night a miss. So powerful was the pull of the night that my Shayka came to me in a dream.

“you could miss this night,” she said, “but it is better for you to come.” Little did I know that it was the Night. I came and all of us there were transported deep into the realm of love.

What does it mean to have such an opportunity? The chance to offer our hearts in adoration, witnessed by angelic hosts for the equivalent of over 90 years of prayer! For me, Laylat-ul-Qadr is about exceeding myself. It’s about exceeding sadness, fatigue, and whatever else of the dunya that wants to keep me in the space of “It would be nice but…” Shayka didn’t come to me in a dream this time but Allah encouraged me and made it possible to be here on this bench, waiting for sunset through the care of F.

What would/does it take for you to exceed yourself for the sake of love?

O Allah, help is to remember You in all things, in all experiences and to exceed ourselves in adoration of You! Amin.