Rabat – King Mohammed VI presided over Laylat Al Qadr taraweeh prayers tonight with a limited audience to respect social distancing.
Today marks the most sacred night of the holy month of Ramadan and Islam, Laylat Al Qadr, known in English as the Night of Decree.
Laylat Al Qadr marks the night when God revealed quran to Prophet Muhammad.
Tonight’s celebration took an unprecedented form due to COVID-19 preventive measures.
The King traditionally chairs a prayer-centered celebration of great magnitude.
Deputies, senior officials, and scholars traditionally take part in the event.
Tonight, only the King and a limited cohort, including Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan and Prince Moulay Rachid, performed the prayers.
Minister of Islamic Affairs Ahmed Toufiq also participated.
State media Maghreb Arab Press (MAP) posted photos showing King Mohammed VI and princes, along with the minister and other officials, all wearing face masks during prayers.
The King decided to preside over the prayers on a small scale, taking into account the state of emergency measures and preventive actions taken by the country to fight the pandemic.
Traditionally, mosques across the country are full of worshipers, given the importance of Laylat Al Qadr, a night which Islam regards as greater than 1,000 months.
“The Night of Power is better than a thousand months. The angels and the Spirit descend therein, by the leave of their Lord, with every command; peace it is until the break of dawn,” God says in Surah al Qadr, ayats 3 to 5.
The verses illustrate how God’s grace and mercy were multiplied on the night of the revelation.
Because Laylat al-Qadr marks the introduction of the Quran to mankind, a single good deed on this night brings the blessings of a thousand months.
