The Laylat al-Qadr is a blessed night in the Islamic calendar celebrated for honour, dignity and power. Every year this night comes towards the end of the fasting month of Ramzan and symbolizes the reward given by the Lord to the faithful for their steadfastness. On this night, they cuddle together in mosques seeking the blessing of the Lord, chanting his glory and ranting that their sins be forgiven. Has the kind Lord accepted their supplications?
Yes! The sign of the Lord’s mercy is manifest in the heavens. In the early hours of 30th September 2008 viewing from the holy city of Mecca towards the eastern horizon an unusual and magnificent alignment of stars and planets was observed. Five planets, namely Sun, Moon, Mars, Venus and Mercury are all posited in the Virgo Constellation, the second largest one in the known space. This alignment was set in two angles. Firstly a line started from Venus touching Mars and ending with the Sun on direct angle; secondly, from Mars another line branches off to the right touching Spica (Alpha Virginis) star, Mercury and then Moon. Effectively, this alignment places Spica on the right and the rest of the stars in the constellation Virgo including its famous galaxies to the left. What does this signify?
It signifies that the faithful during the month long fast passed the six stages of mental and spiritual purification to reach the seventh stage of being with the glory of the Lord represented by the great star Spica. I am listing below the stars and their signification.
1. Eta Virginis – Known as Zaniah ; a yellow star symbolizing amusement and enjoyment of life and its pleasures, making one to neglect his duty towards the Lord. Curtailing amusement and enjoyment is the first step towards the Lord
2. Gamma Virginis – Known as Poorima; A white colour star. Kazwini an Arab astronomer described as “angle”. Al-Biruni yet another Arab astronomer called it as a”turn”. This star denotes that the faithful make a turn from evil and Satan towards good and the Glory
3. Beta Virginis – Known as Zavijava from Arabic Al-Zaviyah; a small mosque; a pale yellow star signifying that the faithful stay inside the mosque in penitence and prayer to search and then choose their Sheik or spiritual guru.
4. Epsilon Virginis – Known as Vindermiatrix, grape gathering lady in Latin, a bright yellow star with remarkable beauty. In Arabic it is “Al-Mureedins” those who study under a Sheik or a spiritual guru whom they have chosen in order to learn to distinguish between right and wrong and thereafter go forth to install the right and abolish the falsity
5. Iota Virginis – Known as Syrma , a pale white star. Arab astronomers called it “Al-Ghafar” the covering. Ptolemy described it as “ train of virgin’s robe”. Kazwini was more elaborate. He said “ summer robe of splendour”. But the word Al-Ghafar relates to the act of forgiving of sins by the Lord. One who receives the forgiving from the Lord gets his Salvation
6. Lambda Virginis – Known as Khambalia, a Coptic word meaning “crooked & clawed”; In Arabic it relates to the word “Khamr” the wine. Mystics often describe the secrets of the Lord as wine which is drunk in the divine cup. Once the forgiving is received from the Lord the faithful understand the kind nature of the Lord and his manifestations
Having passed the six stages symbolized by the stars as per above the faithful reach the last station, which is the path of God and the path of Glory symbolised by Alpha Virginis known as Spica. A brilliant white star posited farther from the rest of the stars in the Virgo constellation. Al-Biruni described it as “bristle” with a connotation of sheaf of wheat. The native Arabs described it as a star with no other stars nearby, signifying loneliness. True indeed when the faithful journeys toward the Lord he is alone and bristle and he shall receive mercy and abundant blessing form the Lord in this life and the life hereafter.
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Muthu Ashraff
Cosmic Adviser