✿ Which Night is Laylat al-Qadr? ✿
✍ Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
There is a great deal of disagreement regarding which night Laylat al-Qadr (the Night of Decree) actually is. This is why Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar رحمه الله has mentioned forty (40) different opinions, and Imām Shawkānī رحمه الله has recorded forty-five (45) views on this matter.
[Fatḥ al-Bārī: 4/794–799, Nayl al-Awṭār: 3/263–266]
Among all these opinions, the most preferred and strongest view is that Laylat al-Qadr falls on one of the odd nights of the last ten nights of Ramadan. As narrated from ʿĀ’ishah رضي الله عنها, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
تحروا ليلة القدر فى الوتر من العشر الأواخر من رمضان
“Seek Laylat al-Qadr in the odd nights of the last ten of Ramadan.”
[Bukhārī: 2017, Kitāb Faḍl Laylat al-Qadr; Muslim: 1129; Tirmidhī: 792; Muwaṭṭā’: 1/319; Aḥmad: 6/50; Ibn Abī Shaybah: 9525; Bayhaqī: 4/307]
➡ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar and Imām Shawkānī both preferred this opinion.
[Fatḥ al-Bārī: 4/795, Nayl al-Awṭār: 3/271]
However, according to the majority, Laylat al-Qadr is the 27th night of Ramadan.
[Subul al-Salām: 2/915]
Their evidence is the ḥadīth in which the Prophet ﷺ said regarding Laylat al-Qadr:
ليلة سبع وعشرين
“It is the night of the twenty-seventh.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Ṣaḥīḥ Abū Dāwūd: 1236, Kitāb al-Ṣalāh: Bāb man qāl: sabʿ wa ʿishrīn; Abū Dāwūd: 1386]
Note: Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar رحمه الله preferred the view that this ḥadīth is mawqūf (attributed to a companion and not directly to the Prophet ﷺ).
[Bulūgh al-Marām: 576]
In another narration, the following words are mentioned:
فمن كان متحريها فليتحرها فى السبع الأواخر
“Whoever wants to seek it should seek it in the last seven (nights).”
[Bukhārī: 2015, Kitāb Faḍl Laylat al-Qadr: Bāb al-Tamās Laylat al-Qadr fī al-Sabʿ al-Awākhir; Muslim: 1165; Muwaṭṭā’: 1/321; Aḥmad: 2/17; ʿAbd al-Razzāq: 7688; Ibn Khuzaymah: 2182]
All such ḥadīths that mention a specific night for Laylat al-Qadr were referring to the year in which that particular night was Laylat al-Qadr.
It does not mean that that same night will always be Laylat al-Qadr every year.
✍ Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
❖ Difference of Opinion Regarding Laylat al-Qadr
There is a great deal of disagreement regarding which night Laylat al-Qadr (the Night of Decree) actually is. This is why Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar رحمه الله has mentioned forty (40) different opinions, and Imām Shawkānī رحمه الله has recorded forty-five (45) views on this matter.
[Fatḥ al-Bārī: 4/794–799, Nayl al-Awṭār: 3/263–266]❖ The Strongest Opinion: Odd Nights of the Last Ten
Among all these opinions, the most preferred and strongest view is that Laylat al-Qadr falls on one of the odd nights of the last ten nights of Ramadan. As narrated from ʿĀ’ishah رضي الله عنها, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
تحروا ليلة القدر فى الوتر من العشر الأواخر من رمضان
“Seek Laylat al-Qadr in the odd nights of the last ten of Ramadan.”
[Bukhārī: 2017, Kitāb Faḍl Laylat al-Qadr; Muslim: 1129; Tirmidhī: 792; Muwaṭṭā’: 1/319; Aḥmad: 6/50; Ibn Abī Shaybah: 9525; Bayhaqī: 4/307]➡ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar and Imām Shawkānī both preferred this opinion.
[Fatḥ al-Bārī: 4/795, Nayl al-Awṭār: 3/271]❖ The Majority View: 27th Night
However, according to the majority, Laylat al-Qadr is the 27th night of Ramadan.
[Subul al-Salām: 2/915]Their evidence is the ḥadīth in which the Prophet ﷺ said regarding Laylat al-Qadr:
ليلة سبع وعشرين
“It is the night of the twenty-seventh.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Ṣaḥīḥ Abū Dāwūd: 1236, Kitāb al-Ṣalāh: Bāb man qāl: sabʿ wa ʿishrīn; Abū Dāwūd: 1386] Note: Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar رحمه الله preferred the view that this ḥadīth is mawqūf (attributed to a companion and not directly to the Prophet ﷺ). [Bulūgh al-Marām: 576]❖ Another Report
In another narration, the following words are mentioned:
فمن كان متحريها فليتحرها فى السبع الأواخر
“Whoever wants to seek it should seek it in the last seven (nights).”
[Bukhārī: 2015, Kitāb Faḍl Laylat al-Qadr: Bāb al-Tamās Laylat al-Qadr fī al-Sabʿ al-Awākhir; Muslim: 1165; Muwaṭṭā’: 1/321; Aḥmad: 2/17; ʿAbd al-Razzāq: 7688; Ibn Khuzaymah: 2182]❖ Clarification
All such ḥadīths that mention a specific night for Laylat al-Qadr were referring to the year in which that particular night was Laylat al-Qadr.
It does not mean that that same night will always be Laylat al-Qadr every year.
