The call of Lailatul Baraat

MUSLIMS all across the world will observe Lailatul Baraat as the day draws to a close this evening. When night descends on the world, they will recall the Almighty and His munificence and will offer up prayers to Him in all their gratitude, seeking His blessings for the year ahead. Of much more importance, though, is that on this night Muslims will devote themselves to penance and a seeking of forgiveness from the Almighty for the sins they have committed, especially in the year gone by. It is this awareness of sin and the knowledge that such sin must not be committed anew that will drive souls tonight into a fresh consciousness of the role that spirituality can play in their lives. Beyond the temporal world, with all its mundane realities, among which come a sordid array of temptations, exists a world we know not and yet we understand that the idea of such a world all so often gives us a sense of it in our inner being.
But that feeling of the spiritual cannot be limited to the prayers of a single night. Lailatul Baraat is not merely about a nightlong remembrance of the Lord of the Universe to be followed by days of business as usual. Indeed, it is a reminder to people everywhere that truth and justice, a sense of fellow-feeling among people everywhere, and overall the acknowledgement of the conviction that we are all brothers on the earth together, brothers who know they are truly brothers, are what really matter. Lailatul Baraat is about recalling our ancestors who once walked the earth and praying for the salvation of their souls. It is a point in time when we need to help the poor. And as we help the poor, we also know in the core of our being that it remains the collective task of men and women to create for themselves a caring, well-meaning, purposeful and enlightened society. Each of us, as individuals, can complement another and thereby construct a chain that will lead to a wholesome human linkage attuned to the higher calling of the Almighty.
On this night, Muslims will also reflect on the challenges they face as a community across diverse regions of the globe. The negative connotations that have unfortunately and unjustifiably come to be associated with their faith as a result of the rise of fanaticism in their midst is a strong message that Islam needs to reassert itself as a religion of peace. In simple terms, the message ought to be without ambiguity -- that on Lailatul Baraat Muslims everywhere pledge to redeem themselves in line with the noble teachings of their faith and put themselves to a constant test through practising those teachings.