It is narrated from ‘Abdullāh ibn Umar by Imām Bukhāri and Imām Muslim: ‘Some companions of the Prophet saw a dream that Laylat al-Qadr was in the last 7 nights of Ramaḍān. And so the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said: ‘It seems that your dreams have agreed on it [i.e. Laylat al-Qadr] being in the last 7 nights; so those who search for it should do so in the last 7.’
It is reported in Ṣaḥiḥ Muslim that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said: ‘Search for it in the last ten, for if any of you showed weakness or incapability [in the earlier parts of Ramaḍān] then do not allow it will overcome you in the last 7 days.’
It is narrated from Sayyidah ‘Āishah by Imām Bukhāri: ‘Seek Laylat al-Qadr in the last ten odd nights of Ramaḍān.’
And there are many narrations to this effect. He used to order the people to search for Laylat al-Qadr in the odd nights in the last ten odd nights of Ramaḍān. […] There is a lot of disagreement regarding Laylat al-Qadr: Some said it was lifted although the Ḥadīth of Abū Dharr refutes this. […]
The majority of the scholars agree that it is within the final ten nights. However, they have disagreed on which of the nights is most likely to be Laylat al-Qadr. It is mentioned that Imam Ḥasan and Imam Malik would say to seek it in all of the last ten nights. […] The majority of the scholars said that some nights are more likely than others.
Some said the odd nights are more likely [to be Laylat al-Qadr] than the rest. They then differed on which of the odd nights is most likely.
Some said: The 21st night, which is commonly attributed to Imām al-Shāfi’ī.
Some said: The 23rd night, which is the date Ali ibn Abi Ṭālib was martyred.
Others said: The 27th night.
The Muhajirin saw Umar and Abdullāh Ibn Abbās together, and started asking many questions regarding Laylat al-Qadr. Some said: We thought it was in the middle 10 days then it reached us that it is in the last 10 days. Some said: It was the 21st night or the 23rd night or 27th night.
So Umar said: ‘O Ibn Abbas, speak [on the matter].’ He replied: ‘Allāh knows best.’ Umar replied to this saying: ‘We already know Allāh knows, but we are asking regarding your knowledge of the matter.’
So Ibn Abbas said: ‘Allāh is witr and He loves odd. He made the 7 heavens in His creation, then subjugated them. He made the 7 earths, He made 7 days [in a week], the stoning of jamarat is 7, He made humans from 7 and His sustenance from 7.’
Umar said: ‘He made humans from 7 and his sustenance from 7? I don’t understand this.’ So he said, ‘Allāh has said: ﴾We have created mankind from an extract of clay.﴿ [al-Mu’minun 23:12] until he reached the end of the 15th verse. He then recited ﴾We poured down water in abundance. Then we split the earth asunder. And caused grains to grow. And grapes and greens. And olives and date-palms. And gardens, thick. And fruits and fodder. As benefit for you and your cattles.﴿ [Abasa 80:25-32] […]
A group of the latter day scholars inferred the date of Laylat al-Qadr from two passages of the Qur’ān.
- Allāh has mentioned Laylat al-Qadr 3 times in Surah al-Qadr. Laylat al-Qadr has 9 letters [in Arabic]. If you multiply 3 by 9, you get 27.
- Allāh has said: ﴾Peace, it is...﴿ [al-Qadr 97:5] and the word ‘it is’ [هي] is the 27th word of the Surah which has 30 words in total.
Ibn ‘Atīyyah said: ‘This is from the extravagant points of Tafsir. Not from the core of knowledge.’ Then the author said after mentioning some dubious matters: ‘Know that all of these signs do not impart certainty regarding the specific date of Laylat al-Qadr.’
Al-Ḥanbalī, ‘Abd al-Raḥmān Ibn Rajab. Bughyat al-Insān fī Waẓāif Ramaḍān. Summarised
Surveying the Different Opinions of Islamic Scholars on the Night of Destiny
1 | Every night of Ramadan | Ibn ‘Umar[1]Abu Dawud reports from Ibn ‘Umar that he said, “The Messenger of Allah was asked about the Night of Power and I was listening. He said that is in every Ramadan.” See Abu Dawud (no.1387). The … Continue reading, ‘Abd Allah b. Mas’ud[2]It is reported from ‘Abd Allah b. Mas’ud that anyone who stands in the year will attain it. However, Imam Muslim narrates in his Sahih from Zirr b. Hubaysh that, “I asked Ubayy b. Ka’b, … Continue reading, Abu Hanifah, Ibn al-Mundhir, al-Subki[3]See Sharh al-Minhaj, etc. |
2 | First night of Ramadan | The companion Abu Ruzayn al-’Uqayli[4]Cited by Ibn Kathir (vol.4, pg. 532) |
3 | First or last night of Ramadan | Anas b. Malik |
4 | First, Ninth or Fourteenth night of Ramadan | Anas b. Malik |
5 | Middle-most night of Ramadan | Relayed by Ibn al-Mulaqqin |
6 | In the middle-ten nights of Ramadan | ‘Uthman b. Abi l-’As, al-Hasan al-Basri etc. |
7 | Sixteenth or Seventeenth night of Ramadan | ‘Abd Allah b. al-Zubayr |
8 | Seventeenth night of Ramadan (the Night of Badr) | ‘Ali b. Abi Talib, Zayd b. Arqam, ‘Abd Allah b. Mas’ud, Zayd b. Thabit, the people of Makkah and Madinah etc |
9 | Seventeenth or Nineteenth night of Ramadan | Relayed by Ibn Rajab |
10 | Eighteenth night of Ramadan | Relayed by Ibn al-Jawzi |
11 | Nineteenth night of Ramadan | ‘Ali b. Abi Talib, Zayd b. Thabit and ‘Abd Allah b. Mas’ud |
12 | Seventeenth, Nineteenth or the Twenty-first Night of Ramadan | Anas b. Malik |
13 | Seventeenth, Twenty-first or the Twenty-third Night of Ramadan | ‘Abd Allah b. Mas’ud[5]It is reported from ‘Abd Allah b. Mas’ud that he said, “The Messenger of Allah was asked regarding the Night of Power, and he replied that, ‘Who of you remembers the Night of al-Sahwabat?’ … Continue reading |
14 | Nineteenth, Twenty-first or the Twenty-third Night of Ramadan | ‘Ali b. Abi Talib and ‘Abd Allah b. Mas’ud |
15 | Twenty-first Night of Ramadan | al-Shafi’i and a group of Sahabah |
16 | Odd nights in the last ten nights of Ramadan | ‘A’ishah, Ibn ‘Umar, al-Muzani, Ibn Khuzaymah etc. |
17 | Twenty-third night of Ramadan | A group from the Sahabah and Tabi’in |
18 | Twenty-fourth night of Ramadan | Abu Sa’id al-Khudri, Bilal al-Habashi, al-Sha’bi, Qatadah etc. |
19 | Twenty-first, Twenty-third or the Twenty-fifth night of Ramadan | Ibn ‘Abbas, ‘Ubadah b. al-Samit |
20 | Twenty-seventh Night of Ramadan | ‘Umar b. al-Khattab, Hudhayfah b. al-Yamamah, Ubayy b. Ka’b, the people of Kufa etc. |
21 | In any night of the second-half of Ramadan | Abu Yusuf, al-Qaffal etc. |
22 | In the odd nights of the second-half of Ramadan | Abu Hurayrah |
23 | Twentieth night if the month is 29 days, or the Twenty-first if 30 | Ibn Hazm |
24 | In the last ten nights of Ramadan, with the Twenty-first being the most likely | al-Shafi’i |
25 | Twenty-second or Twenty-third night of Ramadan | ‘Abd Allah b. Anis |
26 | Twenty-third, Twenty-fifth or the Twenty-seventh night of Ramadan | Mu’adh b. Jabal |
27 | Thirtieth night of Ramadan | Abu Hurayrah and Mu’awiyah b. Abi Sufyan as reported by Qadi ‘Iyad al-Yahsubi |
28 | In the last seven nights of Ramadan[6]From Abu ‘Aqrab who said, “ … I found him sitting on the top of his house. We heard his voice and he was saying, ‘Allah has spoken the truth and His Messenger relayed it.’ So we said to … Continue reading | |
29 | First, Ninth, Seventeenth, Twenty-first or the final night of Ramadan | Anas b. Malik |
30 | In any of the nights of the year | A group from the Salaf |
31 | It was restricted to the time of the Prophet only | Reported by al-Fakihani |
↑1 | Abu Dawud reports from Ibn ‘Umar that he said, “The Messenger of Allah was asked about the Night of Power and I was listening. He said that is in every Ramadan.” See Abu Dawud (no.1387). The report can be interpreted to mean that the Night of Power occurs every Ramadan, and not in every night of the month itself. Thus, it is not a strong evidence due to the plausibility of interpretation. See al-’Iraqi, Sharh al-Sadr, pg.34. |
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↑2 | It is reported from ‘Abd Allah b. Mas’ud that anyone who stands in the year will attain it. However, Imam Muslim narrates in his Sahih from Zirr b. Hubaysh that, “I asked Ubayy b. Ka’b, ‘Your brother, Ibn Mas’ud, says that he who stands in the year will attain the Night of Power.’ He replied that he wants people to not be negligent. He knew that it is in the month of Ramadan, in the last ten nights, and on the twenty-seventh.” This is how Ubayy b. Ka’b understood this report from ‘Abd Allah b. Mas’ud. See al-Muslim (no. 762), al-Tirmidhi (no. 790) and Abu Dawud (no. 1378). |
↑3 | See Sharh al-Minhaj |
↑4 | Cited by Ibn Kathir (vol.4, pg. 532) |
↑5 | It is reported from ‘Abd Allah b. Mas’ud that he said, “The Messenger of Allah was asked regarding the Night of Power, and he replied that, ‘Who of you remembers the Night of al-Sahwabat?’ I said that I do, and it was the seventeenth night.” See al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id (vol.3, pg. 175) who says that Imam Ahmad, Abu Ya’la and al-Tabarani also report this. al-’Iraqi notes, “The report is in many books but I did not find any explicit mention of the seventeenth night except in the al-Mu’jam al-Kabir of al-Tabarani.” See, al-’Iraqi, Sharh al-Sadr, pg. 33. |
↑6 | From Abu ‘Aqrab who said, “ … I found him sitting on the top of his house. We heard his voice and he was saying, ‘Allah has spoken the truth and His Messenger relayed it.’ So we said to him that ‘We heard you saying: ‘Allah has spoken the truth and His Messenger relayed it.’ He replied, ‘The Messenger of Allah said that the Night of Power is in the last seven nights. The sun will rise clear with no rays. So I looked and found it just as the Messenger of Allah had stated.’” See al-Haythami in Majma’ al-Zawa’id (vol.3, pg.174). |
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