Laylat al-Raghaib marked across Turkey
Muslims in Turkey are observing the holy night of Raghaib.
Laylat-ul-Raghaib marks the beginning of three holy months on the Islamic Hijri calendar: Rajab, Sha’ban, and Ramadan.
Hasan Kamil Yilmaz, a professor of Islamic Sciences at Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University told Anadolu Agency that the holy night of Raghaib gives signals to Muslims for Ramadan and prepares people to greet Ramadan.
Raghaib comes from the root "regabe" in Arabic, which means to desire, seek, or tend toward.
It is marked on Thursday night preceding the first Friday in the Islamic month of Rajab. Muslims perform special prayers on this night and read out from the holy Quran.
On its website, Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) describes the three sacred months as a “season for blessings” and a “door opening to many opportunities for Muslims.”
“We should turn such days and nights into opportunities to win Allah’s approval, so long as our efforts in this regard do not discontinue once this time passes,” it says.
