11 November 04
The Night of Destiny
A little while back, I don’t remember exactly when, Hanane informed me of a special night that we would be spending at her family’s house. Yesterday she reminded me of it again because tonight is the special night—The Night of Destiny.
The Night of Destiny is the single most significant night to Muslims, as it was supposedly the night during which the angel, Jibrail (Gabriel), commenced the revelation of the Qur’an to the prophet Mohammed (with the opening five verses of Surah al-Alaq).
As I understand it, the Night of Destiny always falls within the month of Ramadan; hence, there is never an exact date as Ramadan itself is not fixed to the calendar but rather occurs each year on a particular lunar cycle. There seems to be contraversy as to what day within Ramadan the Night of Destiny officially takes place, but it’s always accepted to be within the last ten days, and most Muslims seem to believe that it occurs on the 27th day. There’s even proposed mathematical confirmation suggesting the fact.
All I know is that tonight is the night, and I’ll be spending it with Hanane’s family (so that would make it the 27th day by our standpoint). I’m not sure yet what this will entirely involve, though it will certainly involve prayers, as prayer on this night is very significant. It will likely involve more eating as well. (For those who may be concerned about the idea of fasting, believe me, I am not losing any weight. In fact, this seems to be the time of year when Muslims really gain weight, if they’re not careful, because of all the rich, fatty foods (mainly breads and sweets) that are consumed before and after the day’s fasting takes place.) I suspect there will also be dedicated talk in general about the Night of Destiny in particular.
As you can see, I’ve provided a few links above that focus a little more on some of the concepts I mentioned. I do not claim that the information on those sites is accurate or truth, they were simply sites that make an attempt at informing people about the situation, and they seemed without intentional falsehood. Allow me to pass on a couple of notions in regard to learning about Islam, especially from online content: First of all, you can never be sure who it was that wrote the content, what their backgrounds are, or what the integrity of their sources were. Second, the Arabic language, in which the Qur’an is written, is extremely rich in meaning and interpretation, and translations of the Qur’an into other languages (such as English) can never be fully realized (and thus can go afoul in accuracy). Yes, even within Islam there are many Muslims who are ill-informed, thinking they are doing God’s will when they are not (as blatantly apparent on the evening news each day); though you could certainly say this about people in any religion or faith.
If one is trying to learn about Islam (such as myself as a new Muslim), it is very important to not take everything you see, hear, or read for face value. Even the Qur’an, which is the sole source of all information about Islam, is difficult to interpret. Ideally, people who have questions about Islam, or any matters therein should always consult with an Imam (an individual who speaks Arabic thoroughly, has dedicated the Qur’an to heart and understands Its nuances based on scholarly/historical investigation, and generally leads/directs the activities of a Mosque). Never for one minute think you know what is correct about Islam based on what you read on the internet, or for that matter, hear on television; that’s a good way to quickly become misinformed and wrongfully suspect of a beautiful and peaceful way of life. Go to the library, bookstore, or a local Mosque and pick up some unbiased information there.
It occurs to me that I should say this: It is not my intention for The Colloquial Tongue to turn into a platform for talking about Islam. Certainly not! If I really wanted to do that, which I don’t, I would start another Weblog solely for that purpose, and since I don’t even have enough time for this one, that will never happen. However, being that I am a new Muslim, it is only expected that aspects of such will be relevent to what I share here, even in seemingly everyday things, so from time to time, like now, I will make posts that have Islamic connections. I am saying this (and I may need to revise this later to be more prominant…a kind of clause to the Weblog, if you will) so people don’t think I’m being preachy—that is not what I’m about. I only share such insights so that people who know and care about me are informed of what I’m doing and learning. That is all. I would like to think that those people are genuinely interested and do in fact care, even if they don’t agree with everything I’m doing in life.
Nuff said!
