Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Why do Bohras pray lailatul Kadar on the night of 22 whereas the sunnis say Quran came down somewhere from the 20 to the 30.

Are the bohras special ? are theey the original descendants of the Prophet? Do they always do the rright thing 

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Answer:

Bohra Night of Power

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Dear and Beloved Sister in Islam, obviously the best people who would be able to address the questions you have asked are our Bohra brethren. All we can do is provide you evidence and try to guide you in light of what has been revealed by the Majestic Lord in His Glorious Quran and from the noble practice of the Messenger of Allah (saws).

Your Question: Why do Bohras pray lailatul Kadar on the night of 22 whereas the sunnis say Quran came down somewhere from the 20 to the 30.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 185:

185 Ramadan is the (month) in which was sent down the Qur'an as a guide to mankind, and also as a clear (Sign) for guidance, and the Criterion (between right and wrong).

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 97 Surah Qadr verse 1:

1 We have indeed revealed this (Quran) in the ‘Laylatul Qadr’ (Night of Power).

Thus in light of the above clear guidance of the Quran, all of the Muslim Ummah is unanimous in their belief that the Quran was revealed in the ‘Laylatul Qadr’, which is in the blessed month of Ramadan.

The Quran is silent on the exact date or night, thus to determine the exact night we must refer to the authentic Sunnah of the person who was sent as a Guide and a Messenger unto all mankind by the Lord Most Gracious, Prophet Mohamed ar-Rasool Allah (saws).

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 3.252 Narrated by Abu Salama bin Abdur Rahman

The Messenger of Allah (saws) delivered a sermon on the 20th (of Ramadan) and said, 'I was informed (of the date) of the Night of Qadr (in my dream) but have been made to forget it. So, look for it in the odd nights of the last ten nights of the month of Ramadan.’

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 3.235 Narrated by Abu Said Al Khudri

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: ‘I have verily been shown (the date of) this Night (of Qadr), but I have been made to forget it. So search for it in the odd nights of the last ten days (of this month of Ramadan).’

The believers who refer and look only towards the Quran and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws) for guidance thus search for the blessed Night of Qadr in the odd nights of the last ten nights of Ramadan. Thus they strive to worship their Lord in all of the blessed month of Ramadan, and as commanded by their Prophet (saws), strive to strengthen and increase their worship in each of the odd nights of the last ten days; thereby regardless of which of the odd nights happens to be the Laylatul-Qadr, it would have found them in the worship of their Lord Most Gracious.

Our Bohra brethren on the other hand look towards their self-declared ‘high priests’ for their guidance, and Allah Alone knows best how the ‘high priest’ has determined and declared the 23^rd night as the Night of Qadr.

Thus statistically, because the believers strive to worship their Lord in all the odd nights of the last ten days of Ramadan, regardless of which night is the Night of Qadr, they have a 100% chance of gaining the blessings and rewards of this magnificent Night, which the Lord has declared as ‘better than a thousand months’; while our Bohra brethren have only a 20% chance of success because of their pre-determination of the 23^rd night being the Night of Qadr.

Your Question: Are the bohras special ?

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 49 Surah Hujuraat verse 13:

13 O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female (Adam and Hawwa), and made you into nations and tribes that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise each other). Verily the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).

Allah Subhanah declares in His Glorious Quran that all mankind were created from one single pair of common parents, Hadrat Adam (a.s.) and Hawwa; thus in that respect, all are equal in the sight of the Lord. In the same verse the All-Knowing, All-Wise Lord Declares the criteria for one being ‘special’ or ‘honorable’ in His Sight: and that criteria is based on ‘taqwa’ (piety, righteousness, God-consciousness, etc.).

Thus in light of the guidance of the Holy Quran, all of the children of Adam are equal in the Sight of Allah, except the Righteous; the more righteous one is, the more honorable is he in the Sight of Allah Subhanah, the Lord of the Worlds.

Are the bohras special?

From their beliefs and their actions and even from their own recorded sayings, it would sure seem that, regardless of the criteria the Quran declares for being ‘special’, they definitely ‘believe’ that they are special simply because they were born into the Bohra sect! Or at least, so they are told time and time again by their self-declared ‘high priest’ who declares unashamedly that he will himself hold their hands and lead them unto Paradise!!!

Thus instead of unconditionally declaring obedience to Allah and His Messenger (saws); our Bohra brethren declare unconditional obedience to their self-declared ‘high-priest’! And instead of submitting their will to the Will of the Lord of the Worlds, they submit their will to the will of their ‘high-priest’! And instead of being proud to recognized as ‘Abd-Allah’ (slaves of Allah), they consider it an honor to be recognized as ‘Abde-syedna’ (slaves of their high priest, the Syedna)! As if that was not enough to incur the Wrath of their Creator, they even bow down in the Islamic state of ‘sajdah’ to their ‘high-priest’ in their display of absolute and total obedience to him!

Thus from their beliefs and their actions, it does indeed seem that they ‘believe’ they are ‘special’!

Your Question: are theey the original descendants of the Prophet?

To the best of my limited knowledge, our Bohra brethren neither claim nor believe that they are the original or direct descendants of the Prophet (saws).

Your Question: Do they always do the rright thing 

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 185:

185 Ramadan is the (month) in which was sent down the Qur'an as a guide to mankind, and also as a clear (Sign) for guidance, and the Criterion (between right and wrong).

The Lord of the Worlds has Himself declared that the Glorious Quran is The Criterion between the ‘right’ and the ‘wrong’. Thus, it is the belief of the true believers in Allah and the Last Day that ‘right’ is only right if the guidance of the Quran declares it as right!

Do they always do the rright thing 

Allah is my witness, if one wanted to list the things which our Bohra brethren believe and do in their deen which is absolutely against the guidance of the Glorious Quran, I would not be able to do so!

Because their criterion of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ is what is declared by their ‘high-priest’, more often than not, what is declared ‘right’ in the Quran does not always agree with what is declared as ‘right’ by their ‘high-priest’!

Because I am a revert from the Bohra belief myself (Alhamdolillah, thumma Alhamdolillah), I know for a fact that when amongst themselves the Bohras constantly whine and complain of the oppression and wrongs they have suffered at the hands of their priests, and aamils, and bhai-sahebs, etc.; but when they are asked or confronted by those who are non-Bohras, they will defend each and every one of their beliefs and actions as ‘absolutely right’!!!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 29 Surah Ankaboot verse 38:

Shaitaan made their deeds fair-seeming to them and misled them from the Right Path, although they were sensible people.

Allah is my witness sister, I believe the vast majority of our Bohra brethren are amongst the most sensible, humble, devoted and obedient human beings on the planet; but unfortunately their humility, devotion and obedience is directed towards their ‘high-priests’ instead of their Creator!

If I were to pin-point one reason as the source of their colossal misguidance, then without an iota of a doubt it would be their abject and utter refusal to try to understand even the basics of the Glorious Quran! And the root of this refusal to read the Glorious Quran even once with understanding is that they have been absolutely forbidden to do so by their same self-declared ‘high priest’! And without the clear guidance of the Glorious Quran, they unconditionally believe, obey, and follow whatever they are told by their priests! Allah is my witness, had they read the Quran with understanding even only once, and had they known even the basic guidance of the Glorious Message of their Lord, never ever would they have unconditionally submitted their will to anyone except the One and Only Lord of the Worlds!

It is our ardent and heartfelt prayer that the Lord Most Merciful guide them to the Truth of the Quran before they meet with their appointment of death; for then, the Truth as related in the Quran would be absolutely evident, but unfortunately it would be too late! Allah is our witness, if they only knew what the Lord Most Supreme has Declared in His Glorious Quran, they would never ever have taken the words of a mere ‘high-priest’ above the Words of the Lord of the Worlds!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 9 Surah Taubah verse 31:

They have made their scholars and their monks as their Rabbs besides Allah!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 39 Surah Zumur verse 2-3:

So worship Allah Alone, making your religion His exclusively. Beware! Religion is the exclusive Right of Allah. As for those who have taken other ‘auliyas’ (guardians) with Allah (and justify their this conduct by saying): “We serve them only that they may bring us closer to Allah.” Allah will surely judge between them concerning all that in which they differ. Allah does not show guidance to any liar and denier of the Truth.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 10 Surah Yunus verse 18:

These people serve beside Allah those which can neither harm nor benefit them, and say, “These are our ‘shofa’a’ (intercessors) with Allah!” (O Mohammed), tell them, “Do you wish to inform Allah of that thing which He knows not in the heavens, or in the earth?” He is absolutely free from, and exalted above the shirk that they commit.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah Ahzab verse 66-68:

On the Day their faces are rolled about on the Fire, they will say, “Would that we had obeyed Allah and His Messenger!” And they will say, “O our Lord, we obeyed our CHIEFS and our GREAT MEN, and they led us astray from the Right Path. O our Lord, give them a double chastisment and curse them severely”.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anam verse 94:

(And Allah will say), “So, you have come before Us all alone, as We created you at first. Now, you have left behind all that We gave you in the world. Now We do not see with you those ‘shufa’a’(intercessors), who, you believed, had a share in moulding your destinies! All the relations between you and them have been cut off, and all those, in whom you trusted, have left you in the lurch.”

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 10 Surah Yunus verses 28-30:

On the Day when We will muster them together, We shall say to those who committed ‘shirk’, “Stay where you are, you and those whom you set up as partners with Us.” Then We shall remove the state of strangeness from among them, and the partners they had set up will say, “You did not worship us! Allah suffices as a witness between you and us, and (even if you worshipped us), we were utterly unaware of your worship!” At that time everyone will taste of what he did. All shall be brought back to Allah, their real Lord, and all the lies they had invented will vanish from them!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 19 Surah Maryam verses 81-82:

These people have set up other gods with Allah, so that they may become their supporters! There will be no supporters! They will not only disown your worship, but also become their opponents.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 35 Surah Fatir verses 40:

Say, “Have you ever seen those associates of yours whom you invoke besides Allah? Tell me: What have they created in the earth, or what is their share in the heavens? Have We given them a Book, from which they derive a clear sanction (for their shirk)”. Nay! These wicked people are only beguiling one another with nothing, but delusion.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 25 Surah Furqan verses 17-19:

And on that Day, (Your Lord) will gather all these people together as well as those whom they used to invoke besides Allah and ask them, “Did you mislead these servants of Mine, or did they themselves go astray?” Those associate-deities will answer, “Glory be to You! We dared not take any ‘auliya’ besides You. You did give them and their forefathers all the good things of life till they forgot the Admonition, and incurred the punishment.” Thus will your deities deny all that you are professing today! Then you shall neither be able to repel your punishment, nor shall you be able to get any help from anywhere. And whoever is guilty of iniquity among you, We shall make him taste a severe torment!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 40 Surah Mumin verse 47-48:

Then imagine the time when these people will be disputing with one another in Hell. The weak ones will say to the haughty ones, “We were your followers! Now, can you save us from some part of our punishment in Hell?” The haughty ones will say, “We are all in the same state here, and Allah has already passed judgment between His servants.”

My dear and beloved sister in Islam, I am extremely sorry for writing such a lengthy answer for your supposedly innocent and straight-forward questions; but sister, your questions were so profound and its effects so far-reaching, that even if this message helps one amongst our beloved Bohra brethren to pick up the Quran and read it with understanding, it would bring one soul away from the darkness of misguidance and guaranteed Hell Fire to the light of Guidance and the Mercy of their Lord Most Merciful. Beloved sister in Islam, I humbly and sincerely seek your forgiveness and your understanding for my short-coming of loving our misguided brethren.

If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of being led astray.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan

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