The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Dhaka

Muslims across the country are to observe today the holy Lailatul Qadr, the night when the first verses of the holy Quran were revealed to the Greatest Prophet, Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH).

According to the Holy Quran, the night is better than 1,000 months as the angels and the spirit descend therein, by the permission of Almighty Allah with all decrees. This is one of the holiest and most blessed nights, which is likely to occur on one of the odd nights in the last ten days of Ramzan and most likely to be the 27th of the holy month.

President Professor Dr Iajuddin Ahmed and Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed issued statements, greeting the nation and Muslims across the world and seeking eternal blessings for the peace and progress of the country on the occasion.

"On this holy night, we seek the blessings of Almighty Allah and pray for the peace in our life in this world and life thereafter," the president said.

The chief adviser in his statement said the Holy Quran was revealed on this night to show the mankind the path of worldly and eternal emancipation.

"I pray to Almighty Allah for the overall welfare of the country, nation and the Muslim Ummah on the occasion of the Lailatul Qadr. Let this night brings for us fortune, undisrupted peace and prosperity," he said.

The devout Muslims traditionally observe the occasion though nightlong special prayers, milad, Quran Khwani, religious discussion at Mosques and in their houses on this holy night.

Thousands of Muslim devotees also visit graveyards to seek eternal blessings for the departed souls of their near and dear ones.

The day is a national holiday. Newspapers publish special articles while the state-run Bangladesh Betar, Bangladesh Television and also private television channels put on air special programmes highlighting the significance of Lailatul Qadr.

Although the literal translation of the word "Qadr" is "measure", the day is popularly referred as Night of Power. It is also the anniversary of the night when the Quran is believed by Muslims to have been revealed in its entirety.

The Muslims also believe that this is the night when their fate in the following year is decided and hence they pray to Allah throughout the night for mercy and salvation.

To the Muslims, the entire month of Ramzan is a period of spiritual training wherein the believers devote to fasting, praying, recitation from the holy Quran and offering charity.