Dear respected Shaykh, assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. What is the ruling of singling out the night of Decree (laylatul qadr) with some acts of worship? تخصيص ليلة القدر ببعض العبادات

Praise be to Allah, and may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family and his companions.   Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.   As to what follows:   In response to your question, we say:     Concerning laylatul qadr; what is legislated is what was transmitted in the Sunnah and that is standing the night in prayer. It has been transmitted in the Sahihayn from the hadith of Abu Hurairah (peace be upon him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “whoever spends the night of Laylat Al-Qadr in prayer out of faith and in the hope of reward, he will be forgiven his previous sins,” [al-Bukhari (2202) and Muslim (760)]. Standing up in prayer consists of a number of actions, and one of the most important, most prominent and greatest actions after the praise of Allah, revering Him, honoring Him, and reciting the Qur’an, is supplicating to Allah. This is one of  the most important actions to be performed on that night. This is why it has been transmitted in at-Tirmithi from the hadith of ‘Aishah (peace be upon her) that she said, “I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) ‘O Messenger of Allah peace be upon him, if I know what night the night of Qadr is, what should I say during it?’ He said, “Say: اَللَّهُمَّ إِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ تُحِبُّ اَلْعَفْوَ فَاعْفُ عَنِّي O Allah, You are the Pardoner and You love to pardon, so pardon me" [Ibn Majah (3850)].This hadith, even though its chain of narrators has been criticized, has no problem and can be validly used as proof. The hadith shows that the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to engage in supplication in that night because ‘Aisha understood that it was a special night which should be used for supplication.  That is why she said, “What should I say during it?’ He said, “SayO Allah, You are the Pardoner and You love to pardon, so pardon me".   Therefore what is legislated for this night is to strive in searching for it by performing prayer, revering Allah, glorifying Him and making many supplications, especially the supplication which the Prophet (peace be upon him) taught ‘Aisha because it combines the good of this world and the Hereafter, because if a servant attains forgiveness he would have  triumphed  with great favor and happiness in the world and the Hereafter,  because the evil that afflicts people in the world is a result of their sins, and if Allah the Exalted forgives  sins the servants would have been saved from many calamities. Allah the Exalted said, “And whatever of misfortune befalls you, it is because of what your hands have earned. And He pardons much” [Surah ash-Shura 42: 30]. As for the Hereafter, he whom Allah forgives he is the person who will be saved from the Hellfire and enter Paradise. Allah the Exalted said, “ And whoever is removed away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise, he indeed is successful” [Al-‘Imran 3: 185].   I ask Allah to make me and you reach this honorable night, and grant us  what satisfies us in the form of obedience, goodness, virtues, and blessings from the Generous Lord who gives much reward for little action.   Is there ‘umrah on this night? The answer is no. Do not single out this night for performing ‘umrah. Similarly this night should not be singled out for sacrificing animals, or other actions like vowing to sacrifice animals and so on, because this was not transmitted by the pious predecessors. However, the night is an occasion for every act of worship and obedience. Thus whoever strives in that by engaging in different acts of worship, he is upon goodness and it is hoped that his actions will be accepted. However, he should not believe that specific good deeds on this night have  specific virtues. If a person says, “On that night I had the desire to give charity”, we will say, “That is good.” If he says, “On that night I had the desire to perform a specific type of action,” we will say, “That is good”. What is prohibited is singling out the night of laylatul qadr for specific actions. That is why it has be transmitted in the Sahihayn from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah that he narrated  that the Messenger of Allah said, “Do not single out the night (preceding) Friday among the nights for prayer and do not single out Friday among days for fasting” [Muslim (1144)]. Thus the Prophet (peace be upon him) prohibited singling out the day for worship, and that is when a person believes that a specific action when performed on a particular night has specific virtue. This sort of belief need proof, and I have explained what is legislated for laylatul qadr.