Seeking Laylat al-Qadr: Reflections on the Blessed Night - Hadith, Book of Fasting
السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته
All praise is due to Allah, the Most High, the Most Great. May blessings be upon our Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ, the Seal of the Prophets, and may Allah be pleased with all of his Companions.
Today we will share a reflection on the meaning of seeking Laylat al-Qadr.
The Five Verses of Sūrat al-Qadr
We will first read the meanings of the five verses of Sūrat al-Qadr:
{إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْر}[القدر:1]
97:1 Indeed, ˹it is˺ We ˹Who˺ sent this ˹Quran˺ down on the Night of Glory.1
{وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْر}[القدر:2]
97:2 And what will make you realize what the Night of Glory is?
{لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِ خَيْرٌ مِّنْ أَلْفِ شَهْر}[القدر:3]
97:3 The Night of Glory is better than a thousand months.
{تَنَزَّلُ الْمَلاَئِكَةُ وَالرُّوحُ فِيهَا بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِم مِّن كُلِّ أَمْر}[القدر:4]
97:4 That night the angels and the ˹holy˺ spirit1 descend, by the permission of their Lord, for every ˹decreed˺ matter.
{سَلاَمٌ هِيَ حَتَّى مَطْلَعِ الْفَجْر}[القدر:5]
97:5 It is all peace until the break of dawn.
What the Qur’an States
Sūrat al-Qadr contains five verses in total. These verses only speak about the nobility of Laylat al-Qadr; they do not tell us which night it is.
What Is Learned from Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī
In Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, it is narrated from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ observed iʿtikāf (الاعتكاف: secluding oneself for worship and devotion) during the first ten days of Ramaḍān, and we observed iʿtikāf with him. Then Jibrīl came to him and said, “What you are seeking lies ahead of you.” Then the Messenger again observed iʿtikāf during the middle ten days of the month, and we also observed iʿtikāf with him. Then Jibrīl came to him again and said, “What you are seeking lies ahead of you.” On the morning of the twentieth day of Ramaḍān, the Messenger came out and delivered an address to the people. In it he said: “Whoever has been observing iʿtikāf with me, let him return, that is, let him continue his iʿtikāf, for I was shown Laylat al-Qadr, but I was made to forget it unintentionally. It is among the odd nights of the last ten. I saw myself prostrating in mud and water.” At that time, the roof of the mosque was made of palm branches, and there was not the slightest cloud in the sky. Suddenly a cloud appeared and rain fell. At that moment, the Messenger was leading us in prayer, and I saw traces of mud and water on his forehead. Thus the Messenger’s dream came true.
In Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, it is also narrated from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that ʿUbādah ibn al-Ṣāmit (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet ﷺ came out from his house to tell us about Laylat al-Qadr, but two Muslims were quarreling with one another. So the Prophet said: “I came out to inform you of Laylat al-Qadr, but so-and-so and so-and-so were quarreling, and because of that it was taken away. Perhaps that is better for you. So seek it in the last ten nights of Ramaḍān, in the ninth, the seventh, and the fifth.”
What These Two Hadiths Indicate
From these two hadiths, we may learn that the Seal Prophet ﷺ himself saw Laylat al-Qadr in a dream, because a person may be granted a true dream from his Lord and may see some decreed blessing, then, through the wise interpretation of that dream, come to know what will happen in the future. The Seal Prophet ﷺ saw the Night of Decree, but when he was about to inform some of the Companions, two men were quarreling, so the Seal Prophet said that he had unintentionally forgotten it.
This shows that the group of Companions who were present with those two quarreling Muslims did not know the exact time of Laylat al-Qadr. They only knew that it was among the odd nights of the last ten days of Ramaḍān.
The Twenty-Seventh Night
Some Companions narrated that Laylat al-Qadr was on the twenty-seventh night of Ramaḍān. In Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, it is narrated from Ubayy ibn Kaʿb (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said that it was on the twenty-seventh night. This Companion was deeply learned in the Qur’an, possessed abundant knowledge, was recognized by the Seal Prophet ﷺ, and the Prophet ﷺ also taught him certain special knowledge.
In Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, it is also narrated that the Prophet ﷺ asked Ubayy ibn Kaʿb (may Allah be pleased with him): “Which verse in Allah’s Book is the greatest?” He said: “Allah and His Messenger know best.” After the Prophet ﷺ asked several times, Ubayy ibn Kaʿb said: “Āyat al-Kursī.” When the Messenger heard this, he said: “Abū al-Mundhir”—which was Ubayy’s kunyah—“you have indeed been granted abundant knowledge. By the One in Whose Hand is my life, Āyat al-Kursī has a tongue and two lips with which it glorifies Allah before the pillar of the Throne.”
The Prophet’s Knowledge of Its Secret
From these narrations, together with the hadiths mentioned earlier, it can be understood that the Seal Prophet wanted to tell some of the Companions that he had seen matters related to Laylat al-Qadr in a dream, but because two people were quarreling, he forgot it for a time. But this does not mean that he never remembered it afterward. Since some Companions narrated that the Prophet said Laylat al-Qadr was on the twenty-seventh night, this shows that afterward the Prophet ﷺ remembered it. He knew the secret of Laylat al-Qadr.
The Seal Prophet told Ubayy, a man of knowledge and wisdom, that Laylat al-Qadr was on the twenty-seventh night. Yet this hadith does not explicitly say that the twenty-seventh night of every year is Laylat al-Qadr, because Ibn ʿAbbās, who also possessed knowledge and wisdom, said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “You should seek it in the last ten days of Ramaḍān, on the ninth remaining, the seventh remaining, and the fifth remaining”—that is, Laylat al-Qadr.
The View That It Moves Within the Last Ten Nights
Ibn ʿAbbās was deeply learned in the Qur’an and held authority in its interpretation. This shows that when the Seal Prophet ﷺ told Ubayy (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Night was on the twenty-seventh night, it meant that in that particular year, the twenty-seventh night of Ramaḍān was Laylat al-Qadr. This is because other hadiths state that Laylat al-Qadr moves within the last ten nights.
Al-Tirmidhī narrated from Abū Qilābah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: “Laylat al-Qadr moves within the last ten nights.” This view narrated by Abū Qilābah was affirmed by مَالِكُ بْنُ أَنَسٍ (Mālik ibn Anas), سُفْيَانُ الثَّوْرِيُّ (Sufyān al-Thawrī), أَحْمَدُ بْنُ حَنْبَلٍ (Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal), إِسْحَاقُ بْنُ رَاهَوَيْه (Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh), أَبُو سُلَيْمَانَ الْمُزَنِيُّ (Abū Sulaymān al-Muzanī), and أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ خُزَيْمَةَ (Abū Bakr ibn Khuzaymah)—may Allah have mercy on them—as well as others. According to قَوس (Qaws), Sufyān also held this view. These were all well-known jurists in Islam, authorities in the explanation of the Sacred Law, and they all affirmed that Laylat al-Qadr moves within the last ten nights.
Why Different Companions Were Told Different Things
The Prophet ﷺ himself knew the secret of the Noble Night, and he knew exactly which odd night in a given year was Laylat al-Qadr. For example, if in a certain year Laylat al-Qadr fell on the twenty-seventh night, he would tell Ubayy ibn Kaʿb (may Allah be pleased with him), the Companion who possessed abundant knowledge and was deeply learned in the Qur’an.
As for other Companions, the Prophet mentioned several odd nights in the last ten days of Ramaḍān in connection with the search for Laylat al-Qadr. For example, Ibn ʿAbbās referred to the ninth, seventh, and fifth nights among the last ten as nights in which one should reflect upon Laylat al-Qadr. This indicates that in that year Laylat al-Qadr fell within those nights. The Prophet did not tell us exactly which night it was, but he himself knew. For example, Abū Hurayrah narrated that Laylat al-Qadr was on the twenty-seventh or the twenty-ninth night, showing that in that year the Noble Night was one of those two nights.
Nine Ramaḍāns with the Companions
The Seal Prophet ﷺ spent a total of nine Ramaḍāns together with the Companions. This is because Ramaḍān began in the second year after Hijrah, and the Seal Prophet ﷺ returned to his Lord on the thirteenth day of the third month in the eleventh year after Hijrah. Therefore, he and the Companions passed through nine Ramaḍāns together. He himself knew which night in Ramaḍān was the Noble Night, and he also knew which Companions should be told. He knew how to teach his followers.
For example, in one year, the Seal Prophet directly and precisely told Ubayy ibn Kaʿb that the twenty-seventh night was the Noble Night. Because of the prophetic qualities he had been given, the Seal Prophet knew the future. He knew that this Companion would become an imam who would lead people in the congregational Tarāwīḥ prayer in the House of Allah during Ramaḍān. Of course, this Companion was himself an imam, and he would not be absent during the last ten days of Ramaḍān. Every night he would be leading people in Tarāwīḥ, standing, bowing, and prostrating before the Lord in congregational night prayer. Naturally, he would receive the blessing of the Noble Night.
Why It Was Not Always Specified
Again, the Seal Prophet may have wished to tell some Companions that he had seen matters related to the Noble Night in a dream, but because two men were quarreling, the Lord caused the Seal Prophet to forget it for a time, and he only said that it should be sought in the odd nights of the last ten days of Ramaḍān. This is because when people are quarreling, they cannot immediately control their emotions. If at that moment the Prophet ﷺ had told them exactly which night in that year was Laylat al-Qadr, then some people would only seek the blessing of the Noble Night on that single evening. Yet a person who still cannot control his emotions cannot immediately enter into a state of خشوعة (khushūʿah)—humble reverence—in prayer. The Prophet only told them to seek Laylat al-Qadr in the odd nights of the last ten days, so everyone would continue doing abundant good deeds throughout those last ten days and would perform much prayer at night. In that way, one of those nights would surely bring a person into a state of humble reverence before his Lord. Even if in that year one did not enter such a state of خشوعة (khushūʿah) in prayer, then the following year, or the year after that, one might eventually cultivate the ability to control one’s emotions and to enter prayer in a state of humble reverence before the Lord.
Seeking, Knowing, and Realizing
Again, in a certain year, the Seal Prophet told Ibn ʿAbbās and those around him to seek the blessing of Laylat al-Qadr on three odd nights in the last ten days of Ramaḍān, so that they might realize the Noble Night. For a person of knowledge, the fulfillment of spiritual interest lies in pursuing truth and unveiling the mysteries of truth. Human beings have the sensory faculty, which seeks the fulfillment of sense perception. Human beings have rationality, which seeks the fulfillment of rational thought. Human beings also have an innate knowing faculty, which seeks the fulfillment of grasping knowledge. Through the senses, a person can uncover the mysteries of what is perceived; through rational reflection, a person can grasp truth; through the innate faculty of knowing, a person can possess judgment concerning truth. Then the words and deeds that arise from that benefit the person himself and also benefit others. A human being is guided by this spiritual interest. Driven by that spiritual interest, he seeks truth. Then, through the sensory, rational, and knowing faculties that he has been given, he grasps truth within himself, produces truthful words and deeds, conveys truth, supports truth, and becomes a scholar who benefits the wider public.
The Prophet ﷺ knew that Ibn ʿAbbās and those around him were people seeking true knowledge and that afterward they would become scholars who explained the Qur’an. Therefore, in that year, as regards Ibn ʿAbbās and those around him, the Prophet told them to seek the blessing of Laylat al-Qadr in those three odd nights and to reflect deeply upon it, because these people possessed sensory perception, rationality, and the faculty of knowing, and so they were capable of realizing Laylat al-Qadr.
The View of Abū Hurayrah and the Later Jurists
The hadiths also teach that Abū Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet ﷺ told him that the twenty-seventh and the twenty-ninth nights of Ramaḍān were Laylat al-Qadr. We can understand this to mean that if, in one Ramaḍān, the Prophet told Abū Hurayrah that the twenty-seventh and twenty-ninth nights were Laylat al-Qadr, then that Companion, during that year’s Ramaḍān, would seek the blessing of the Noble Night on those two nights. Later, that Companion migrated to Madinah and became one of the People of the Suffah (Ahl al-Ṣuffah). He and those like him gathered for the sake of Allah, parted for the sake of Allah, loved for the sake of Allah, and disliked for the sake of Allah. What they sought was this kind of blessing.
The hadith also mentions the narration of Abū Qilābah that Laylat al-Qadr moves within the last ten nights. This view was affirmed by many well-known jurists afterward. They held this view because after the Seal Prophet and the Companions who followed him had departed, later people could no longer know with certainty which particular night was Laylat al-Qadr. Therefore, the jurists affirmed that the entire last ten nights should be revived.
The Closing Reflection
On the Noble Night, our Lord grants decreed blessings to the created beings on earth, and on the Noble Night He also sent down the Qur’an to humanity. Human beings must seek decreed blessing, and they must seek the guidance of truth. Therefore, the blessing of Laylat al-Qadr must also be sought.
Finally, we ask our Lord to guide us and support us in attaining the blessing of Laylat al-Qadr. We ask our Lord to forgive us, to have mercy on us, and to make us among the noble.
All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all worlds.
We ask our Lord to send blessings and grace upon Muḥammad, upon his family, upon his descendants, and upon those who follow him.
السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته
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