In the book Iqbal al-A'mal, it has been narrated from Muhammad ibn 'Ali al-Tarazi from Imam al-Jawad (peace be upon him) that the Imam (peace be upon him) said:

"In the month of Rajab, there is a night which is better for the people than the sun and all that it shines upon and this night is the 27th on which the Prophet (blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny), on the morning of this day was officially chosen as the Prophet (Bi'thah). If any of my Shi'a perform the (recommended) acts during this night, it will be written in his record as if he had performed these good acts for 60 years - may Allah give you goodness.

The companion asked the Imam, 'What acts should be done on this night?'

The Imam replied, 'After you have finished your Salat al-'Isha, go to sleep. Then, wake up in the middle of the night - before half of the night has passed by and perform twelve Rak'at of Salat - in sets of two Rak'at each. In these Salat recite (any) Surah (the second Surah) from the short Surahs of the Qur'an (from Surah Muhammad till the end of the Qur'an) and when you are finished these twelve Rak'at of Salat, recite Surah al-Fatha seven times; the Ma'udhatain (Surah al-Falaq and Surah an-Nas) seven times; Surah al-Ikhlas seven times; Surah al-Kafirun seven times; Surah al-Qadr seven times; Ayatul Kursi seven times and then this supplication once:

After this, ask Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) for whatever you wish and desire - since there is nothing that you ask for except that it will be granted to you apart from asking for something which is a sin (to have), or for cutting off relations (with family members) or for the death and destruction of a group of Believers. You must also fast on the following day since the fast on that day is equal to fasting one entire year.''

Truly Understanding the Night and the Day of Mab'ath

The most important thing that can be done on this day is to understand the greatness of the night and day of the 27th of Rajab.

There is no person greater or higher in rank than the Messenger of Allah (blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny). He is the leader of all of the creations and the noblest and closest of all of them to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) and the most beloved of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He)!

It is the Prophet Muhammad (blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny) who is: The First Nur, The Closest I:Iijab (to Allah), The Greatest Name (of Allah) and there is not a single Prophet or Angel who can even come close to this station. He is also the Mercy to all the Worlds. Therefore, if we see the greatness of an individual and his nobility then we can realize the importance of the day of his official appointment. It is because of this reason that the importance of giving the Prophet (blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny) his right is even more important for the Ummah and the Shi'a - just as our intelligence dictates.

Just think about what has been said - do we accept this? If we accept it then we must take this day seriously and there is nothing else that needs to be said to encourage anyone about this day. Since goodness - in itself - should pull and attract one to that which is recommended to be done on this day. If what has been said is not accepted, then either we are out of the folds of Islam or our hearts must be corrected so that we can permit Iman (true faith) to enter it.

However, we suspect that the majority of Muslims who fall short and do not recognize the importance and greatness of this day is not because they do not have faith - may Allah protect us from this - rather, it is due to being immersed and engrossed in the beauties and attractions of this despicable world and being deluded by it.

We are so busy in competing with one another to gain material pleasures that we are completely oblivious of everything else and when the time comes that we see our grave in front of us, will we remain in this state of heedlessness! The remembrance of this world has caused the hearts of such people to be negligent of the remembrance of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) and to forget their creation and their eventual end.

In summary, the Salik (the one who is spiritually traveling towards Allah) must sincerely try to consider this day as something great and seek to understand and appreciate the blessings of the official appointment and the blessing of the divine light (nur) and all the blessings that the Prophet of Islam (blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny) has brought including the happiness and goodness - just as he deserves to be understood and appreciated.

We must all look into ourselves and gauge our own happiness on this day. If we see that our happiness and pleasure is the same on this day or more as it is on other days for worldly events and pleasures, then we know that our soul is polluted and we must try to correct it and strive to remove the animalistic traits in us - we must try to distance ourselves from the natural world and its pleasures and move closer to the spiritual world and its divine light (nur).

In closing we mention one final point in regards to this day and that is that after these supplications are finished, we should sit back and think about the days of Ignorance before the Bi'that of the Prophet and see what a state mankind had reached to.

A group of people were Jews; another group Christians; and yet others were idol worshippers. The laws of Islam had been forgotten; people had lost the etiquette of humanity and acted as wild animals. The people had reached to such a low state that they used to bury their new born daughters alive. They took pride in vain talk and activities; did not practice justice in the least and took the rights of other people around them. The strong were subjecting the weak to oppression such that they destroyed the worth and dignity of a person. They hated Scholars and were weary of intelligent people. They took pride in keeping slaves. The broke off all family relations, were busy in gambling and drinking alcohol and were constantly at war with one another. Self-gratification and pride were their characteristics and they boasted of being impatient people!

Cursing and evil words were common place and vain talk, including lies, back biting, etc. were the norm. They killed the Prophets and their successors and helpers, and in their place they permitted the lowest amongst themselves to lead the society!

In such an environment did Allah raise a Prophet for the task of, as it is mentioned in the Qur'an: It is He who has sent to the illiterate a Messenger from among their own people to recite to them His revelations and purify them. He will teach the Book to them Wisdom even though before this they were in manifest error.

Insha-Allah, may Allah accept all of our acts of worship on this day and all days of the months of Rajab, Sha'ban and the Blessed month of Ramadhan.