Mufti of Komotini İbrahim Şerif publishes a message for Berat Night
Mufti İbrahim Şerif stated the following in his messages that included important information about the blessed night to be realized on Monday, March 6, 2023:
“Monday, March 6, 2023, is the fifteenth night of the Month of Saban, and it is Berat Night. Berat Night is a blessed night, the herald of the month of Ramadan, adorned with Allah's vast forgiveness and mercy.
The word "Berat", which is the abbreviated form of the word "Beraet" and is also used in our language [Turkish], in the dictionary; It means getting rid of debt, sickness, crime, and punishment.
As a religious term; It means to be purified from sins, to be cleansed, to receive divine forgiveness and mercy.
This night is called "Night of Berat" in the sense of "night of salvation" because it is hoped that many believers, who attain the spiritual pleasure of being a servant of Allah, confess their mistakes and faults, realize their sins and ask for forgiveness, will attain divine mercy and get rid of their sins.
Berat Night has been considered sacred by Muslims for a long time, and it has become a custom to spend this night differently from other nights, especially among our minority, to pray and pray more on this night.
"Worship at night in the middle of the month of Sha'ban and fast during the day. Allah manifests in the sky of the world with the sunset that night and says, "Isn't there anyone who asks for forgiveness from me, let me give him sustenance, who is afflicted? Let me give him an appetizer, isn't it like this, isn't it like that!" he says. (Ibn-i Mâce, İkâme, 191)
Hz. Aisha (r.a.) narrates: "One night, our Prophet got up and prayed. He prostrated himself so long that I thought he died while prostrating. When I touched his foot with my hand, he moved. I was happy and went back to my place." I heard him praying in prostration:
"O Allah, I seek refuge in your forgiveness from your torment and in your consent from your wrath. I seek refuge in you again. Your glory is great. I do not find the praise I have done for you equal to the praise you have done for yourself. I am incapable of praising you properly." When he raises his head from prostration and finishes the prayer:
- O Aisha, did you think that the Messenger of Allah would act unjustly?
- No, O Messenger of Allah! I swear to God I didn't think so. But I thought you were dead because you stayed in prostration for a long time, I said. Thereupon, The Prophet said:
- Do you know what night is tonight?:
I said, 'Allah and His Messenger know better. Our Prophet:
- Tonight is the fifteenth night of Shaban. Almighty Allah, manifesting His mercy on His servants this night, forgives those who ask for forgiveness, shows mercy to those who ask for mercy, and leaves those who are filled with hatred to their own devices. (Münzirî, Et-Terğîb vet-Terhîb, Beirut, 1968, II, 119).
The fact that some scholars accept that the turning of the qibla from Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem to the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca took place on the Night of Berat, in the second year of the Hijra, has added a special importance to the night.
Considering the hadiths mentioned above, Islamic scholars have stated that spending the Night of Berat by praying, reading the Qur'an, asking for forgiveness and praying will lead to rewards and forgiveness of sins. Because the Night of Berat is the night of forgiveness and forgiveness.
Islam is a religion of nature. It has been accepted that the human being, created with the characteristics of sin and good deeds, will commit sin, and ways to get rid of it and reduce its effect have been shown. In a hadith that describes human nature in the best way; "If you had not sinned, Allah would have destroyed you and created servants for you who sinned and then repented." (Muslim, Tawba, 9, 10, 11)
Almighty Allah "... O Believers, repent together so that you may be successful..." (Nur, 24/31) "O you who believe! Repent to Allah sincerely. Maybe your Lord will cover your evil deeds." (Tahrim, 66/8).
Hz. The Prophet said; He called us to repentance by saying, "O people, repent to Allah..." (Bukhari, Deavât, 3; Muslim, Zikr, 42), and he set an example for people in this regard. Our Prophet stated that he repented to Allah 70 times (see Bukhari, Deavât, 3; İbn-i Mâce, Adab, 59) or 100 (See Muslim, Zikr, 42) times a day. These expressions, It shows that even the Prophet could not remain independent of repentance. Because even though he was innocent, he repented, as he himself stated (see Muslim, Zikr, 41), both because of some things that came to the heart and to set an example for his ummah.
We know that all people can commit sins, but that virtue and goodness are in repentance (See Ibn-i Mâce, Zühd, 30; Ahmed b. Hanbal, Musnad, III, 198). While introducing himself, Almighty Allah stated his feature of accepting repentance as follows: "He is the one who accepts repentance from His servants, forgives evil and knows what you do." (Shura, 42/25)
In addition, Allah's praising those who repent (See Tawba, 9/112) and expressing that He loves His servants who knock on the door of repentance (See Bakara, 2/222) are proofs that repentance will be accepted.
-The joy of Allah Almighty because of the repentance of the Prophet's servants; It informs that there is more joy than the person who lost his camel in the desolate desert and found it again. (See Bukhari, Deavât, 4; Muslim, Tawba, 3)
Our religion sees repentance and forgiveness as an event that takes place between Allah and the servant. When a Muslim asks Allah for forgiveness, he can fulfill his duty without the need for another helper or intermediary. In this respect, we should frequently knock on the door of repentance that Almighty Allah has opened for us, ask forgiveness of our sins, and know that true peace lies in this.
A person who believes in the principles of faith should never despair because of the sins he has committed and should not lose hope in divine mercy. For, the following is stated in the Qur'an: "O My servants who go to extremes against themselves! Do not despair of Allah's mercy. Surely, Allah forgives all sins. For He is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful." (Zumer, 39/53) Therefore, a sinful person should look at the breadth of Allah's mercy, not the magnitude of his sins.
Berat Night, which we will realize, is the best opportunity to review ourselves, to evaluate our relations with the beings around us, to determine the status of our duties towards Allah, and to make an account of our attitudes and actions that we do not notice in the very fast flow of our lives.
Taking advantage of the brightness of these lamps, we must first cleanse our hearts, which have been stained for various reasons, with repentance and forgiveness; then we should strive to be a good servant and a mature believer by filling it with love of God, love of people and love of country. We should stay away from evils that make us enemies to each other, such as sedition, malice, backbiting and slander, embrace it by eliminating resentment and resentment, and try to be united and alive.
Again in the light of these lamps, "Believers are only brothers." (Hujurât, 49/10), "Do not be divided." (Al-i Imran, 3/103), we should reinforce our unity and solidarity by rethinking the recommendations in the verses, and we should not give an opportunity to those who want to disrupt our order and peace.
As in previous years, this year, the Quran and the mawlid-i sharif will be recited in the mosques of many cities and villages on the occasion of the oil lamp, and these nights will be revived. On this blessed night, we recommend you to perform our accidental prayers, if we do not have it, to perform nafilah prayers, to read the Qur'an, to seek forgiveness, and to pray for humanity and ourselves. May Allah accept our prayers that we have done and will do.
As it is known, the aid campaign launched for earthquake victims in our motherland Türkiye continues. Let's continue to extend our helping hand, as we have done our best to heal the wounds of earthquake victims.
On this occasion, I wish God's mercy on those who lost their lives in the earthquake, a speedy recovery to the injured, and patience for the survivors. Condolences to the Turkish Nation.
I pray to Allah Almighty that Berat Kandili will be a blessing.”
