Night of salvation

The auspicious night of the 15th of Sha'ban, known as Lailat-ul-Baraat, and popularly known as Shab-e-Baraat in this sub-continent, is indeed a glorious and important occasion in the life of every God-fearing Muslim. Both the words, Lailat in Arabic and Shab in Persian, mean night, and Baraat means salvation or privilege. It is on this auspicious night of privilege or night of salvation that benign providence, in His infinite mercy, blesses each and every human being with a unique opportunity to receive the most coveted divine mercy.
Lailat-ul-Baraat has not been mentioned directly or specifically in the Holy Quran, but that does not, in any way, empower any Muslim to ignore or make little of the divine excellence of the night of salvation, simply because there are numerous authentic hadith and evidence which testify so eloquently to the fact that the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) himself used to say special prayers on this holy night.
What is more, the Holy Prophet used to offer this prayer with inimitable dedication and unfathomable concentration. There are many hadith which very clearly indicate that the Holy Prophet not only said special prayers in this sacred night but also visited the graveyards and prayed for the departed souls. He also instructed his wives to honour the sanctity and divine majesty of this blessed night.
It is not only the renowned traditionalists who champion the sacredness and excellence of the night of privilege, even a great and universally respected saint and scholar like Hazrat Syed Abdul Quader Jilani (RA), popularly known as Hazrat Bara Pir Sahib, testifies in his "Guniatut Talebin" that Bibi Ayesha Siddiqa (RA) herself heard the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) saying: "Allah opens the doors of mercy and grace for mankind on four nights -- the two nights of Eids, the night of the 15th of Sha'ban, and the night of Arafat. The doors remain open throughout the nights, till the fajr prayers."
Glorious incidents like these testify so brilliantly to the Holy Prophet's belief in the importance, sanctity, serenity and divine excellence of the auspicious night of privilege.
It is claimed that on the holy night of privilege the heavenly tree, Sidrat-ul-Muntaha, specifically mentioned in the Holy Quran (LIII:4), is shaken to decide who shall die in the following year. "According to popular belief," says the Encyclopaedia of Islam, "in the night preceding the 15th of Sha'ban the tree of life on whose leaves are written the names of the living is shaken. The names written on the leaves which fall down indicate those who are to die in the coming year."
Lailat-ul-Baraat, the night of quittancy, is indeed a solemn and sacred occasion of divine excellence, which has to be celebrated in a befitting way, not through candles and crackers, not through mere halwa and roti, not through extravagance and merry-making, but through prayers and penance, as was done by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
It is true that hundreds and thousands of Muslims in Bangladesh celebrate this night through zealous and active participation in private and congregational prayers held in mosques. Unfortunately, however, there are many among us who, through sheer ignorance or utter carelessness, turn this auspicious night into a mere occasion of merry-making and gaiety, fun and frolic, forgetting the very essence of this glorious night.
There are some who think that crackers and candles are part and parcel of Shab-e-Baraat. Nothing can be farther from the truth. This awful custom, introduced by the Barmecides in Baghdad, simply because they were fireworshippers and loved fire even after they accepted Islam, not only disturbs the namazis and meditators on this auspicious night, but also leads to unnecessary wastage and prodigality, which are forbidden in Islam.
There are also some who try to equate halwa and roti with the sacred night of privilege, claiming that the Holy Prophet lost a few teeth in the Battle of Ohud on the 15th of Sha'ban and, hence, people should not cook anything hard as a mark of respect to that historic incident. Some also claim that Hazrat Amir Hamza (RA) embraced martyrdom on the 15th of Sha'ban.
Both these claims are totally baseless, as both the incidents occurred in the month of Shawal and had simply nothing to do with the 15th or any other day of the month of Sha'ban. There is no harm if delicious halwas and other sweetmeats are cooked on this occasion, but let these be prepared only to be shared with the poor and the have-nots. The very spirit of such a noble and auspicious occasion will be lost if those who are affluent fail to share their good fortune with those who are less privileged.
Our duty on this night of privilege, or night of salvation, is not only to seek divine mercy but also to seek the path of goodness, kindness, upright conduct, and charity -- to be always on our toes to respond to the cry of the neediest, to stand by the word that is pledged, to bear true witness, to remove all artificial differences between man and man, and all causes of misunderstanding in our dealings with our fellow brethren in every sphere of activity, in every domain of thought.

Syed Ashraf Ali is former DG of Islamic Foundation Bangladesh.