The Night of Power

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 21^st night, which is commonly attributed to Imām al-Shāfi’ī.

Some said: The 23^rd night, which is the date Ali ibn Abi Ṭālib was martyred.

Others said: The 27^th 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 21^st night or the 23^rd night or 27^th 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 15^th 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.

1. 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.
2. Allāh has said: ﴾Peace, it is...﴿ [al-Qadr 97:5] and the word ‘it is’ [هي] is the 27^th 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

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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

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