Illumination on Laylat al-Qadr and Laylat al-Bara’a

Question

On the night of mid-Sha‘ban (Laylat al-Bara’a) and Laylat al-Qadr lighting beyond need is set up, and donations are collected for it. Is this act permissible or not? Will those who give donations receive reward or not? If the expense is borne from the mosque’s [funds] or from the bayt al-mal, will the sin be upon the mutawalli (trustee) or upon all the worshippers?

Answer

Keeping lights burning all night on Laylat al-Qadr and Laylat al-Bara’a — and that beyond need, that is, illumination — is not established; according to the Sacred Law it is impermissible, haram, as is explicitly stated by al-Hamawi in his commentary on “al-Ashbah wa-l-Naza’ir” and in “Tanqih al-Fatawa al-Hamidiyya”. Whoever does this from the endowment (waqf)

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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