Laylat al-Raghaib

Laylat al-Raghaib or Regaip Kandili, also known as the "Night of Wishes", is one of the five blessed Kandil nights in Islam. Raghaib is derived from the root "ra-gha-ba" meaning "to desire" or "to tend toward".^[1] Laylat al-Raghaib marks the beginning of the "Three holy months" (Rajab, Sha'ban and leading to Ramazan) in the Hijri calendar.^[2] As Islamic holidays begin the night before, Laylat al-Raghaib is celebrated on the Thursday night preceding the first Friday of the month of Rajab.^[3] Followers of this tradition believe that if, on the first Thursday of Rajab, they recite a special set of prayers, they will be rewarded by the fulfillment of their wishes.^[4]

History[]

In the early 13th century, a public debate on the Raghaib prayers took place in Damascus between the two scholars ʿIzz ad-Dīn Ibn ʿAbd as-Salām (d. 1262) and Ibn as-Salāh (d. 1245), at which the former branded this custom as bidʿah, while the latter declared it permissible. Since most contemporary scholars agreed with ʿIzz ad-Dīn, the Aiyubid Sultan al-Malik al-Kamil forbade the performance of Raghaib prayer in the mosques.^[5] The 15th-century Ottoman scholar Molla Fenari (d. 1430) wrote a treatise defending Raghaib customs. Also, in the Ottoman Empire, the notion spread that on that night Amina bint Wahb, the Prophet's mother, realized that she was about to give birth to a Prophet.^[6] Furthermore, before 1588 it became a common custom to light up the minarets on Raghaib night.^[7] From the 18th century, special poems of praise to the Prophet were written for Raghaib night, which were recited with musical accompaniment.^[6] These praise poems were called Regaibiyye. The best-known Regaibiyye was the Masnawī Matlau'l-fecr written by Selahaddin Uşşakī (d. 1783).^[8]

In religious tradition[]

The tradition is based on the oft-quoted passage attributed to Muhammad:^[4]

It is most important, however, that none of you should neglect the first Thursday night in Rajab, for it is the night that the angels call the Night of Wishes. This is because, by the time the first third of the night has elapsed, there will not be a single angel still at large in the heavens, nor in any region of the earth bar one. They will all be gathered together in the Ka'ba and the area immediately surrounding it. Allah will condescend to notice that they have assembled there, and He will say: 'My angels, ask Me for whatever you wish!' Their response to this will be: 'Our Lord, the request we wish to make is that You grant forgiveness to those who faithfully keep the fast in Rajab,' whereupon Allah will tell them: 'That I have already done!'

It is believed, the name of the night was given by the angels. Accordingly, when one third of that night has passed, no angel remains in heaven or on the earth, they all gather around the Kaaba. At that moment, God spoke to them and asked them what they want. The angels answered, they wish that God forgives whose who fast on Raghaib. Whereupon God grands the wish. When one third of the first night of Rajab passed, the angels ask for forgiveness for those who fast on the month of Raghaib.^[9]

Practice[]

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It is recommended to fast on Thursday, which coincides with the first Friday night of the month of raghaib. This fasting will be held for 2 days, Thursday and Friday. There are also those who consider it appropriate to fast only on Friday.

It is recommended in this night that those who missed prayer should perform the correction prayers. In the book of Prayers and Dhikrs of Mahmud Sami Ramazanoglu, the nafilah prayer is to be performed on the night of Regaip, described as follows:

On the Thursday before Leyla-i Regâip, twelve rak'ats of supererogatory prayers will be performed to fast, break a few bites of iftar in the evening, and say the evening prayer, then salute every two rak'ahs.

In each rak'ah, after al-Fatiha, al-Qadr will be read three times and Ikhlas will be read twelve times. Alternatively surah al-Qadr is read once and surah "Ikhlas" three times.

After the prayers have been completed, one can then recite the following seventy times:

"Allahumme salli alâ seyyidinâ Muhammedinin nebiyyil ümmiyyi ve alâ âlihi ve sahbihi ve sellim."

“Allah’ım, ümmî nebî Efendimiz Muhammed’e, âline ve ashâbına salât u selâm eyle!” duâsı okunacakdır.

It is recommended to recite the Qur'an on the night of Reghaib. Based on what was narrated from Ibn Masud, Muhammad said:

“Whoever reads a letter from the Qur'an, there is a reward of goodness for him. The reward for each good deed is ten rewards. I am not saying that alif lam mim is a letter; On the contrary, alif is a letter, lam is a letter, and mim is a letter.” (Tirmidhi, Fezailu'l-Qur'an 16)

It is further recommanded to repent (Tawba) and asking for forgiveness: It is said, on this night, God has said, those who do not fall into polytheism, will be forgiven their major sins. (see Muslim, Iman, 279) Performing dua, and remembering to stay in praise and gratitude for the blessings given by God. God is said to sent salawat (greetings) on Muhammad. It is stated in hadiths that all the troubles of the one who sends salavat will be relieved, based on 33:56. Another recommanded practise is almsgiving (Zakat) in the way of God, and it would transfer the owner of charity to the love of God.^[10]

References[]

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