علي بن أبي حمزة الثمالي

“Once I was in the presence of abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.), when abu Basir asked him, ‘May I be sacrificed for you, when is the night during which one may hope that his wishes will come true?’ He (the Imam) replied, ‘It is in the twenty-first or twenty-third nights.’ He (abu Basir) then asked, ‘What happens if I cannot (stay awake) on both nights?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘(Remaining awake for) just two nights is easy with a view to realizing your wishes.’ I (the narrator) then said, ‘We may see the new moon on a certain time and then receive information that people have seen the new moon on a different day at another place.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘Remaining awake for four nights is easy with a view to realizing your wishes.’ I then said, ‘May I be sacrificed for you, the twenty-third night is the night of al-Juhaniy.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘That is what it is called.’ I then said, ‘May I be sacrificed for you, Sulayman ibn Khalid narrates that during the nineteenth night, the list of people (honored to) perform Hajj is written.’ He (the Imam) said to me, ‘O abu Muhammad, the list of people for Hajj is written during the night of destiny; so also are deaths, trials, sustenance and things that have to happen until the next night of destiny. You should try to pray for the realization of your wishes during the twenty-first or twenty-third nights. You should perform one hundred Rak‘at salat (prayer) during each of these two nights and remain awake if you can, up to daylight, and take a ghusl (shower) during both nights.’ I (the narrator) then asked, ‘What should I do if I cannot do this in a standing position?’ He (the Imam) replied, ‘Pray in a sitting position.’ I then asked, ‘What should I do if I cannot do this either?’ He said, ‘(Do it) while on your bed. It does not matter if you just slept very lightly at the beginning of the night. The doors of the sky remain open during Ramadan, and devils are nailed down, and the deeds of believing people are accepted. What a good month is Ramadan! During the time of the Messenger of Allah (sw), it was called al-Marzuq (the provider of sustenance).”’