In the Quran, it is said this night is better than 1,000 months (approximately 83.3 years).[7] According to varioushadiths, the exact date of the night is uncertain, though it is believed to fall on one of the odd-numbered nights during the last ten days ofRamadan, the ninth month of theIslamic calendar. Since that time, Muslims have regarded the last ten nights of Ramadan as being especially blessed.Muslims believe the Night comes again every year, with blessings and mercy ofGod in abundance.[8] Thesurahal-Qadr is named after this Night, and the chapter’s purpose is to describe the greatness of the occasion.[9][10]
Qadr (قدر) in Arabic, means the measure and limit or value of something or destiny.[11] Some reasons have been offered for its naming:
It is said that it was called “al-Qadr” because the annual destiny of every person is determined by God.[12]
Some say if one stays awake on this night in prayer, reading the Quran, or repenting, one will reach a higher state.[13]
Some have said that it was called “al-Qadr” because it is a grand and highly valued night.[14]
Other names for this Night includeLaylat al-'Azama (Arabic: ليلة العظمة, “Night of the Greatness”) andLaylat ash-Sharaf (Arabic: ليلة الشرف;lit.'Night of the Honour').[15]
Some Islamic experts believe that the Quran was revealed to Muhammad twice:
The “immediate revelation”, at theCave of Hira on the firstLaylat al-Qadr in 610 CE;
The “gradual revelation” ofMeccan andMedinansurat over the succeeding 23 years.
The Quran uses the wordanzal (انزل) which justifies “immediate revelation”, according toAllamah Tabatabai.[16] Some others believe that the revelation of Quran occurred in two different phases, with the first being its entire revelation onLaylat al-Qadr to theangelGabriel (Jibril in Arabic) in the lowest heaven, and then the subsequent verse-by-verse revelation to Muhammad from Gabriel.[2] The firstsurah revealed were the first sevenāyat (verses) ofSūrat al-ʿAlaq (العلق).[17][18]
Muhammad would usually practice spiritual retreat (Iʿtikāf) during the last ten days of Ramadan, awaiting the Night of Power, fasting and praying throughout the night, and abstaining from sexual relations. He urged his followers to do the same as onehadith notes: "Whoever stands [in prayer] during the Night of Power out of belief and seeking reward, his previous sins are forgiven." (Sahih al-Bukhari 1901)[19][8]
The specific date ofLaylat al-Qadr is not mentioned in the Quran.[20][21] Muhammad said God told him the exact date in a dream, but as he went to tell hiscompanions about it, he saw two people fighting and God made him forget the date.[22]
According to the Islamic calendar, an Islamic day begins atMaghrib prayer (sunset). The Night of Power thus spansMaghrib toFajr prayer the following dawn.[23]
Sunni Muslims believeLaylat al-Qadr is most likely one of the odd-numbered nights among the last ten of Ramadan (i.e., the 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th, or 29th). Some scholars opine the odd-numbered night falling on a Friday is the year’sLaylat al-Qadr.[24][25]
Shi’a Muslims similarly believeLaylat al-Qadr to be one of the last ten odd-numbered nights in Ramadan, with the19th,21st, and especially the23rd being most important.[27] The date of 19 Ramadan is the anniversary ofImamʿAlī’sassassination while praying in themihrab of theGreat Mosque of Kufa, leading to his death on 21 Ramadan.[28]
Shi’a’s sayʿAlī (who is also the fourthRashidunCaliph to Sunnis) had special insight and intimacy with God on this night.Imam Sadiq is quoted as saying in Tafsir "al-Burhan" (vol. 4, p. 487):
Once Imam Ali was reciting Surat al-Qadr and his sons,Imam Hasan (a) andImam Husayn (a) were near him. Imam Husayn (a) asked his father: "Father, how come we feel a different sensation when you recite this surah?" Imam Ali(a) replied, "O son of the Prophet and my son! I know things from this chapter that you are not aware of now. When this surah was sent down to the Prophet he asked me to go to him. When I went to him he recited this surah, then he put his hand on my right shoulder and said: O my brother and my successor! O the leader of my nation after me! O tireless fighter with my enemies! This surah is yours after me, and is for your two sons after you. Gabriel who is my brother among the angels informs me of the events of one year of my nation at the night of Qadr. And after me he will give this information to you. This surah will always have a shining light in your heart and in the heart of your successors until the rising of the dawn of the day of reappearance ofQa'im [the one who rises, a title for theIslamic Messiah, Mahdi]."[29]
Ibn Abbas was meanwhile aware of both the date and day of the week.[30][31] Hence, Shi’as have generally concluded it falls on the 23 Ramadan.[2]
According to otherhadiths, destinies are written on the night of 19 Ramadan, finalized the night of 21 Ramadan, and ultimately confirmed the night of 23 Ramadan.[32]
Two other possible dates forLaylat-al-Qadr are 27 Ramadan and 15Sha'ban.[33]
The Night of Power is believed by Muslims to be of uncomparable importance.[27] Blessings received through acts of worship and sharity during this night are said to multiply and thus receive special importance. It is stated that the reward of acts of worship done in this one night is more than the reward of a thousand months of worship.[42]
SurahAl-Qadr of the Quran is about Laylat al-Qadr:[2][27]
We have indeed revealed this (Message) in the Night of Decree:
And what will explain to thee what the Night of Decree is?
The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months.
Therein come down the angels and the Spirit by Allah's permission, on every errand:
Devout Muslims practice spiritual retreat (Iʿtikāf) during the last ten days of Ramadan by staying at a mosque throughout the ten days, awaiting the Night of Power, fasting and praying throughout the night, and abstaining from sexual relations.[43]
To celebrate the Night of Power, Muslim societies lit candles in mosques, offer public charity, and celebrate fast-breaking in communities.[44] A special form of practise is that to pray 100rakats. It is further said that whoever practises the Night of Power consciously, will be granted a wish by God.[45]
Shi'as practice the special prayers (Amaal) of the Night of Qadr every year in mosques,tekyehs, shrines of Imams or children of Imams,Husayniyyas or their own houses. They stay vigilant the whole night until dawn and worship God. The most important practices of the Night of Qadr include congregational prayers, recitation of the Iftitah Supplication,Abu Hamza al-Thumali Supplication, and al-Jawshan al-Kabir, and collective supplications while they keep volumes of the Quran on top of their heads. Other rituals of the night include donations of dawn food, payment of their nadhr for the dead, feeding the poor, and emancipation of financial prisoners.
Since the assassination of Ali occurred in the last ten days of the Ramadan month, Shi'as mourn in these nights.[46]
^lit.'A night that has a special significance and dignity.' It is also known as theShab-e Qadr (inPersian:شب قدر), theNight of Destiny,[2] theNight of Decree,[3] theNight of Determination, or thePrecious Night.
^abcdA. Beverley, James (2011)."Laylat al-Qadr". In Melton, J. Gordon (ed.).Religious Celebrations: An Encyclopedia of Holidays, Festivals, Solemn Observances, and Spiritual Commemorations [2 volumes]: An Encyclopedia of Holidays, Festivals, Solemn Observances, and Spiritual Commemorations. Volume two L-Z. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. p. 517.ISBN9781598842067.Archived from the original on 4 November 2020. Retrieved31 May 2017.
^Bombay Tract and Book Society (1856).Life of Mohammad. Bombay. p. 30.Archived from the original on 4 November 2020. Retrieved12 September 2020.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) In Islam night precedes day, so that, for example, "the night of the 23rd" is not the night between the 23rd and the 24th but the night between the 22nd and the 23rd.
^Klini, Sufficient Principles, 1996, vol. 2, p. 772.
^Kashani, Manhaj Al-Sadiqin, 1344, vol. 4, p. 274, quoting Eftekhari, \"Prayer and the Night of Power from the perspective of Musa Sadr\", p17.
