Rita Farhat Mukand

“No one on Earth will ever see a night like this 2024 Shab-e-Qadr. The three most extraordinary celestial events are anticipated to happen on the 27th night of Ramadan! Firstly, Shab-e-Qadr, the most powerful night equating to thousands of months of prayers is happening, secondly, there will be a unique lunar eclipse that only occurs once in thousands of years, and the third is the expectation that the Jews will be sacrificing the red heifer on this very night too,” says Tasneem Kausar, former Doordarshan anchor. 

Tasneem lives with her husband, who is a retired professor, in their native place of Purnia in Bihar. She started as an Urdu news anchor in Doordarshan Patna in 1992. Three years later she was working with All India Radio, Patna. She worked with Doordarshan as a news anchor later. 

“I owned a Hindi monthly magazine named Asian Reporter Mail, but it was a costly affair and after the 12th issue, I suspended its publication.” Says Tasneem. She also founded an organisation of women Urdu writers Banat (daughters) with 125 women Urdu writers as its members. While she is active with Banat as its general secretary, she also started an elementary school at Purnia to address the rampant backwardness of the area.

On Shab-e-Qadr, Tasneem says, "It is deeply revered as a holy night in a personal connection between us and our Creator. Traditionally, prayer on this night is much better than prayer every night for 1000 months because this is the amazing night when Allah pours His blessings on mankind, and it is believed the Holy Quran was given to us on this night, the angels were also made on this night as well as the gardens made in Paradise. The angels also come down on Earth to meet those praying on this sacred night which fills each devotee with special joy. Allah said, “On the night of Shab-e-Qadr, read as much namaz as possible and pray for all mankind.”

Tasneem Kausar at  her home in Purnia, Bihar<

Tasneem Kausar said, “We start our prayers at 11:30 night and continue until 3:30 a.m. We may eat before we pray and take a bath before praying. We women gather together in a room perhaps in a neighbour's home to recite our prayers with our focus on only Allah and we pray that He will grant us good in this world and good in the life to come and keep us safe from the punishment of Hellfire. During the last ten days of Ramadan, there are five holy nights and it is for us to discover which is the Laylat al-Qadr, which commemorates the night on which God first revealed the Qurān to the Prophet Muhammad through the angel Gabriel. It is believed to have taken place on one of the final ten nights of Ramadan in 610 CE, though the exact night is unclear. The five days are the 30th March (21st night), 1st April (23rd night), 3rd April (25th night), 5th April (27th night), 7th April (29th night) but this year, the 27th night is to be held on Monday 8th April for many reasons.”

Stirred up by the unusual occurrence of Shab-e-Qadr in 2024, she explained that on April 8, 2024, for five minutes for the first time in human history, the temperature of the Earth will fall and bugs called cicadas will invade the Earth coming out of crevices in the ground due to the sudden drop in temperature. Muslims all over the globe believe that the Prophet has guided the people coordinating the timing of this event with many other events drawing attention to this particular solar eclipse's supernatural phenomena. While the 2017 solar eclipse lasted just two minutes and 34 seconds, in 2024, NASA is expecting a much longer solar eclipse of five minutes, rare, which not even previous generations have seen.

Referring to the spiritual connotation of the night, Sahih al Bukhari 6506 writes, "The Hour will not be established till the sun rises from the west, and when it rises (from the west) and the people see it, then all of them will believe (in Allah). But that will be the time when 'No good it will do to a soul to believe then. The Muslims believe that the total solar eclipse could also be the sign of the arrival of Imam Mehdi who they believe will unite the Ummah and finish Judaism and the fitna of the Jews from the very roots.”

While this might sound alarming, different religions regard this event differently. Presently, the Jewish Rabbis are enraptured with the construction of the third temple, and the Red Heifer prophesy is being closely watched by Jews, Christians, and Muslims all over the world. This is one of the few prophesies that impact all three Abrahamic Religions (meaning the religions that all believe Abraham to be a prophet and forerunner of their religion). The Jews believe that the sacrifice of the red heifer will purify the Earth and bring people back into the presence of God, and into His holy temple. The Christians believe that the Jewish sacrifice of the Red Heifer will bring the onset of Armageddon near the April 8 2024 Eclipse. The Battle of Armageddon signifies the war fought with the leaders of Earth under demonic leadership on the forces of God marking the end of history and the world.

Tasneem Kausar in the studio of AIR Delhi

Muslims think this event may be the last Ramadan as the lunar eclipse will signify the arrival of Imam Mehdi who will destroy the evil forces. Christians believe this sacrifice will usher in the last days and is one of the critical requirements before Christ’s second coming. Religious leaders believe that once a single sign of end happens, the others will happen after.  

Among some groups of devout Jews, the anticipation of a future project to build the Third Temple at the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem on Mount Moriah — now known as the Temple Mount — is the site of Creation itself. According to Hebrew for Christians, the Jewish sages believe that God created the world at Moriah and that the “foundation stone,” the Even-ha-Shetiyah, is there.

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Tasneem Kausar believes that the three stirring events seemingly going to occur on the same day will not only mark a new era in the history of the world but are also there to remind humankind of the existence of the Almighty and stir people in the right direction to seek the Creator. Something very spectacular is going to happen on April 8th and the Muslims, Jews and Christians are watching eschatology with an eagle's eye this Shab-e-Qadr and unique lunar eclipse.

Rita Farhat Mukand is an independent writer.