Imam Khomeini, Who had well command over several discipline of knowledge, recommended faithful and believers to undertake serious efforts for a spiritual transformation during Laylat al-Qadr.
The holy night is also known as night of destiny or night of power during the blessed month of Ramadan.
Some traditions narrated by the holy prophet of Islam and his infallible successor says al-Qadr occurs in the last ten nights of the holy month of Ramadan during an odd night. The traditions also indicate that individual and collective destinies are decreed during this holy period.
The night commemorates the period when God the Almighty revealed the sacred scripture of holy Quran to honorable prophet of Islam.
The sacred night is described in the holy scripture of Quran as, "better than a thousand months".
God the merciful mentions virtues of this night and the Holy Scripture in another verse as following:
"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious Most Merciful. Verily, We have sent it (this Quran) down in the night of Al-Qadr"
There has been strongly recommended to stay awake to perform worship, reciting Quran and supplications narrated by the holy prophet of Islam and his infallible successors, and seeking forgiveness from God the Almighty.
Reciting Quran and comprehending its deep concept bears great divine rewards and bring about bounties and blessings.
It is worth mentioning that Imam Khomeini considered these sacred times as spring of the holy Quran.
He also used to recite the divine scripture too much during the holy month of Ramadan and
It is widely circulated trough memoirs by friends and relatives that Imam, the spiritual leader of the contemporary Muslim world, used to cancel his official meetings to concentrate on spiritual activities of observing fast and reciting the holy Quran during the days and nights of this holy month.
It is evident from holy verses of Quran that observing fast is of great significance in blessed month of Ramadan because it is a prelude to piousness. The observing fast has been an obligation for all divine religions including Islam.
The great Imam also recommended the youth to undertake serious efforts for purification of their hearts and souls during these sacred days and nights.
We bring some phrases from Imam’s messages regarding the blessed month of Ramadan and Laylat al-Qadr as following:
In the month of Ramadan, an event has taken place whose dimensions and essence is shrouded in ambiguity until eternity for the likes of us- and that event is the revelation of the Qur'an. Revelation of the Qur'an in the heart of the Prophet of God on the night of Ordainment; the manner of the descent of the Qur'an and how it happened and how the Trusted Holy Spirit revealed it in the heart of the Prophet while on the other hand God commands that," Verily, we have revealed the Qur'an on the night of Qadr." (The Holy Quran, 97:1) What was the manner of revelation in the heart of the Prophet on" Laylatul-Qadr"? I must say that except for the honorable Prophet himself and those that were reared in the bosom of the honorable Prophet and enjoyed the exclusive favors of the blessed and Almighty God, for others the question of its revelation is absolutely shrouded in ambiguity. What is revelation in the heart; what is the Holy Spirit; in what manner the Holy Spirit along with the Qur'an penetrated the heart of the Prophet of God; what is Laylatul-Qadr?
These are questions that on the surface appear easy and at times some statements are made but I tell you that the manner of the revelation of the Qur'an remains uncertain for the likes of us as does the manner of descent of the angels of God on Laylatul-Qadr and also the nature of Laylatul-Qadr.
Feast of the Prophet (PBUH) on the night of Qadr of the revelation of the Qur'an.
What was the invitation that the Almighty and Exalted God based on the narrative of the honorable Prophet that" You have been invited to the feast of God" and who accepted this feast? What were the preliminaries for its acceptance, this pilgrimage, this feast and what was the feast itself? I must say that except for the honorable Prophet- may God's peace be upon him and his household- no one has honored it like he had done.
An invitation has stages; its honoring also has stages. The sublime stage of its honoring is what culminated in the Blessed and Almighty God, after observance of preliminaries and undergoing self-abstinence that the Prophet of God- may God's peace be upon him- underwent, inviting him to the feast of revelation of the Qur'an.
Qur'an is that blessing of an invitation to the Prophet of God to a feast that is laid out from the beginning until eternity. The honorable Prophet benefited from it and its preliminaries are those for which he underwent long years of spiritual self-abstinence until he reached the point where he merited the feast- the important aspect being shunning the world.
The thing that admits a person to the place of feast of God is that he sets aside other than God and this is not possible for every person. It is possible only for a very limited number of individuals headed by the Prophet of God. That previous devotion to the Source of Light and avoidance of those besides Him has enabled him to merit the invitation to the Feast of God and to merit revelation of the Qur'an into his heart all at once and extensively. One of the probabilities of the blessed night is that it is the physical being of the honorable Prophet himself, which is the lamp of the Light of God while there are other possibilities, too. The important point is, understanding of this subject that the stages of perfection of human beings for admission to the Feast of God are many and one must start from the preliminaries. The preliminaries are that one should not be devoted to other than Him and not to see other than Him and to see Him alone and not focus on anything other than Him. Here I must say that this objective is required of all people and if they want admission to the Feast of God, they must shun the world to the extent of their ability and turn away their hearts from the material world. However, for the society of the clergy that also includes sermonizers, there is another requirement.
Sahifeh ye-Imam vol. 17, Page: 452-454
Speech, June 11, 1983
Read more: