What is Laylat al-Qadr?

Laylat al-Qadr (ليلة القدر), the Night of Decree, often called the Night of Power, is the night on which the Quran first came down to the Prophet ﷺ. Allah calls it better than a thousand months, and it falls hidden among the last ten nights of Ramadan. Whoever stands in prayer on it with faith and hope, the Prophet ﷺ said, is forgiven all that came before. It is the most generous night of the year, and every Muslim can reach it.

What does the Quran say about Laylat al-Qadr?

A whole sūra of five verses is devoted to it:

إِنَّآ أَنزَلۡنَٰهُ فِي لَيۡلَةِ ٱلۡقَدۡرِ وَمَآ أَدۡرَىٰكَ مَا لَيۡلَةُ ٱلۡقَدۡرِ لَيۡلَةُ ٱلۡقَدۡرِ خَيۡرٞ مِّنۡ أَلۡفِ شَهۡرٖ تَنَزَّلُ ٱلۡمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ وَٱلرُّوحُ فِيهَا بِإِذۡنِ رَبِّهِم مِّن كُلِّ أَمۡرٖ سَلَٰمٌ هِيَ حَتَّىٰ مَطۡلَعِ ٱلۡفَجۡرِ

“We sent it down on the Night of Decree. And what will make you know what the Night of Decree is? The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months. In it the angels and the Spirit descend, by their Lord’s leave, with every command. Peace it is, until the rising of the dawn.”

Quran 97:1–5

The word qadr carries several meanings at once: decree, measure, and honor. Sūrat al-Dukhān describes the same night:

إِنَّآ أَنزَلۡنَٰهُ فِي لَيۡلَةٖ مُّبَٰرَكَةٍۚ إِنَّا كُنَّا مُنذِرِينَ فِيهَا يُفۡرَقُ كُلُّ أَمۡرٍ حَكِيمٍ

“We sent it down on a blessed night; We have always sent warning. On that night every wise matter is made distinct.”

Quran 44:3–4

Sūrat al-Baqara tells us it lies in Ramadan, “the month in which the Quran was sent down” (2:185). A thousand months is more than eighty-three years, longer than most lifetimes. The Spirit is Jibrīl, and the night is filled with angels and with peace until dawn.

When is Laylat al-Qadr?

The Prophet ﷺ said:

«تَحَرَّوْا لَيْلَةَ الْقَدْرِ فِي الْوِتْرِ مِنَ الْعَشْرِ الأَوَاخِرِ مِنْ رَمَضَانَ»

“Seek out the Night of Decree in the odd nights of the last ten of Ramadan.”

Sahih al-Bukhari 2017

That means the nights before the 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th, and 29th days, since the Islamic night comes before its day. Once the Prophet ﷺ came out to tell his Companions its exact date, found two men quarreling, and the knowledge was taken from him. He said, “Perhaps that is better for you,” and told them to seek it in the odd nights (Sahih al-Bukhari 2023). A hidden night keeps people praying through all ten.

Many Muslims give special attention to the 27th night. The Companion Ubayy ibn Kaʿb (may Allah be pleased with him) swore that it is that night (Sahih Muslim 762a), and in much of the Muslim world mosques fill on the 27th. Shia Muslims hold vigils on the 19th, 21st, and 23rd nights, the 23rd above all. Since communities begin Ramadan on different days, seeking the whole of the last ten covers every count.

How should you spend Laylat al-Qadr?

The Prophet ﷺ promised:

“Whoever stands in prayer on the Night of Decree out of faith and in hope of its reward is forgiven all his past sins” (Sahih al-Bukhari 2014).

Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) described his last ten nights: when they began, “he tightened his waist-wrap, gave life to his nights, and woke his family” (Sahih al-Bukhari 2024). He spent them in retreat in the mosque (iʿtikāf) every year, and after him his wives kept the same retreat (Sahih al-Bukhari 2026).

Ways to live the night:

• Pray at night, two units at a time, at home or in the mosque (How do you pray tahajjud?).
• Recite or listen to the Quran, the gift the night celebrates.
• Make duʿāʾ for yourself, your family, the sick, the poor, and the whole world (How do you make dua?).
• Give charity, even a small amount each night of the ten, so that one gift falls on the blessed night.
• Ask forgiveness and forgive others, as the night’s own prayer teaches.

A woman on her period shares fully in the night through duʿāʾ, remembrance, charity, and, on the stronger view, recitation (Can women pray or read the Quran on their period?). A nurse on a night shift, a parent with a newborn, a person too ill to stand: each can make the intention, remember Allah in whatever moments they have, and trust His generosity.

What dua should you make on Laylat al-Qadr?

Aisha asked the Prophet ﷺ, “If I knew which night is the Night of Decree, what should I say on it?” He told her to say:

«اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ كَرِيمٌ تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ فَاعْفُ عَنِّي»

“O Allah, You are Pardoning and Generous, You love to pardon, so pardon me.”

Jamiʿ al-Tirmidhi 3513

Al-Tirmidhi called this hadith hasan sahih, and al-Albani graded it sahih. Of all the things she might have asked for on the greatest night of the year, he taught her to ask for pardon (ʿafw), the erasing of a fault so that no trace of it remains.

A closing word

The Night of Decree comes once a year and ends at dawn, and the mercy behind it does not end at all. After the last ten come the joy of Eid and a new beginning (What are Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha?). Seek the night with your whole heart, and whatever you manage, finish each night with the words the Prophet ﷺ gave Aisha: Allāhumma innaka ʿafuwwun karīmun tuḥibbu al-ʿafwa fa-ʿfu ʿannī.