Lailatul-Qadr (some ahadith related to it)

Blessing of Ramadan:

Narrated By Abu Huraira : Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) said, "When the month of Ramadan starts, the gates of the heaven are opened and the gates of Hell are closed and the devils are chained." Volume 003, Book 031, Hadith Number 123. Sahih Bukhari.

Baab-ul-Riyan:

Narrated By Sahl : The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "There is a gate in Paradise called Ar-Raiyan, and those who observe fasts will enter through it on the Day of Resurrection and none except them will enter through it. It will be said, 'Where are those who used to observe fasts?' They will get up, and none except them will enter through it. After their entry the gate will be closed and nobody will enter through it." Volume 003, Book 031, Hadith Number 120. Sahih Bukhari.

Lailat ul-Qadr (The Night of Power):

‘Lailat ul-Qadr’ or ‘Night of Power’… a very important occasion in the history of Islam and in our personnel lives.

Allah swt says in the Qur’an in Surah Al-Qadr:

“Truly We sent it down on the Night of Power.And what will convey to you what the Night of Power is? The Night of Power is better than a thousand months.In it the angels and the Ruh descend by their Lord’s authority with every ordinance. It is Peace –until the coming of the dawn.” (Surah 97: Verses 1-5)

Allah swt also says about this powerful night in Surah Dukhan:

“Ha. Mim. By the book that makes things clear. We sent it down during a blessed night. For We (ever) wish to warn (against evil). In that (night) is made distinct every affair of wisdom, by command, from Our Presence. For We (ever) send (revelations), as a mercy from Thy Lord: for He hears and knows (all things).” (Surah 44: Verses 1-6)

Allah swt said in the Qur’an in Surah Baqarah:

“Ramadan is the (month) in which was sent down the Qur’an, as a guide to mankind, also clear (signs) for guidance and judgment (between right and wrong).”(Surah 2 : Verse 185)

Preparation for Last ten days of Ramadan:

‘Aisha (Allah be pleased with her) reported that when the last ten nights began Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) kept awake at night (for prayer and devotion), wakened his family, and prepared himself to observe prayer (with more vigour). Book 006, Hadith Number 2643.Sahih Muslim

‘Aisha (Allah be pleased with her) reported that Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) used to exert himself in devotion during the last ten nights to a greater extent than at any other time. Book 006, Hadith Number 2644.Sahih Muslim

Prophet Muhammad (sallallaho alaihay wa aalaiyhee wa sallam) said about Lailatul-Qadr:

Narrated By Abu Huraira : The Prophet said (sallallaho alaihay wa aalaiyhee wa sallam), “Whoever established prayers on the night of Qadr out of sincere faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven; and whoever fasts in the month of Ramadan out of sincere faith, and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven.” Volume 003, Book 031, Hadith Number 125. Sahih Bukhari.

It has also been reported by Aisha (razi Allahu anha), the wife of the Prophet (pbuh) who said:

“I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)if I knew which night was the Night of Power and what Prayer I should say during that night?

He said to me: Say: “O Allah! You are forgiving and you love forgiveness, so you too forgive me. 

Lailatul-Qadr “Better” then 1000 months :

The Night Of Power is better for you to live, to experience and to enjoy than one thousand months of your personal life. Even if you were to live one thousand months (83.3 years) with sincerity, dedication, and sacrifices and with good intentions and deeds, the Night Of Power is still far better for you to live and to enjoy.

The Revelation of the Qur’an started in the month of Ramadan and specifically on the Night Of Power. The Revelation of the Qur’an; a sign of Mercy, a guide and a blessing of Allah to mankind. Anyone who is interested in finding the best guide, he/she should look into the teachings of the Qur’an.

Night of blessings:

The Night of Power is a night of blessings Allah has blessed this Night. Therefore whosoever is interested in receiving the blessings of Allah swt may look forward to the Night of Power. Anyone who seeks the Night of Power and lives it, all his/her sin will be erased. This is, as if, he/she is, born again now free of all sin and mistakes.

Everyone of us would like to live a life free of sins and free of mistakes. Everyone would like to meet Allah on the Day of Judgment without sins. Every one of us would like to feel that he/she is reborn today. All of us wish to rejuvenate ourselves, and to start a new year with a fresh outlook and a fresh life. Every one of us wants to live a pure life and everyone wants to purify himself/herself without anguish or torment. The Night of Power is one of the best ways in which a person is to achieve all these ideals.

Determining Night of Power :

As far as determining the Night of Power (Lailatul Qadr) is concerned, it has been reported to be during one of the odd numbered nights of the last ten days of Ramadan, i.e. 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th or 29th. It has been emphasized that it is most likely to be the 27th night.

'Aisha (Allah be pleased with her) and Ibn Numair reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: Look for (and in the words of Waki, seek) Lailat-ul-Qadr in the last ten nights of Ramadan. Book 006, Hadith Number 2632.Sahih Muslim

Ibn 'Umar (Allah be pleased with them) reported that some persons among the Companions of the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) were shown Lailat-ul-Qadr while sleeping in the last week (of Ramadan). Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: I see that your dreams agree regarding the last week; so he who wants to seek it should seek it in the last week (during the night). Book 006, Hadith Number 2617.Sahih Muslim

Ibn 'Umar (Allah be pleased with them) reported Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) as saying: Seek Lailat-ul-Qadr in the last week (of Ramadan). Book 006, Hadith Number 2618.Sahih Muslim
Salim reported on the authority of his father that a person saw Lailat-ul-Qadr on the 27th (of Ramadan).Thereupon Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) said: I see that your dreams agree regarding the last ten (nights of Ramadan). So seek it on an odd number (of these ten nights). Book 006, Hadith Number 2619.Sahih Muslim

Salim b. 'Abdullah b. 'Umar reported that his father said: I heard Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: So far as Lailat-ul-Qadr is concerned, some persons among you have seen it (in a dream) in the first week and some persons among you have been shown that it is in the last week; so seek it in the last ten (nights).
Book 006, Hadith Number 2620.Sahih Muslim

Ibn Umar (Allah be pleased with them) reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: Seek it (Lailat-ul-Qadr) in the last (ten nights).If one among you shows slackness and weakness (in the earlier part of Ramadan), it should not be allowed to prevail upon him in the last week. Book 006, Hadith Number 2621.Sahih Muslim

Ibn Umar (Allah be pleased with them) reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: He who is anxious to seek it (Lailat-ul-Qadr) should seek it in the last ten (nights of Ramadan). Book 006, Hadith Number 2622.Sahih Muslim

'Ibn 'Umar (Allah be pleased with both of them) reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: Seek the time of Lailat-ul-Qadr in the last (ten nights), or he said: in the last nine (nights). Book 006, Hadith Number 2623.Sahih Muslim

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) observed i'tikaf in the middle ten days of Ramadan to seek Lailat-ul-Qadr before it was made manifest to him. When (these nights) were over, he commanded to strike the tent. Then it was made manifest to him that (Lailat-ul-Qadr) was in the last ten nights (of Ramadan), and commanded to pitch the tent (again). He then came to the people and said: O people, Lailat-ul-Qadr was made manifest to me and I came out to inform you about it that two persons came contending with each other and there was a devil along with them and I forgot it. So seek it in the last ten nights of Ramadan. Seek it on the ninth, on the seventh and on the fifth. I (one of the narrators) said: Abu Sa'id, you know more than us about numbers. He said: Yes, indeed we have better right than you. I said: What is this ninth, seventh, and fifth? He said: When twenty-one (nights are over) and the twenty-second begins, it is the ninth, and when twenty-three (nights) are over, that which follows (the last night) is the seventh, and when twenty-five nights are over, what follows it is fifth. Ibn Khallad said: Instead of the word Yahliqan (contending), he said Yakhtasiman, (they are disputing). Book 006, Hadith Number 2630.Sahih Muslim

Zirr b. Hubaish reported that Ubayy b. Ka'b (Allah be pleased with him) said about Lailat-ul-Qadr: By Allah, I know well about it. Shu'ba said: To the best of my knowledge it was the twenty-seventh night for which the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) commanded us to stand for prayer. Shu'ba doubted these words: That it was the night for which the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) commanded us to stand for prayer. And (he further) said: This was narrated to me by a friend of mine from him (the Holy Prophet). Book 006, Hadith Number 2634.Sahih Muslim

Signs of Lailatul-Qadr:

As far as the Signs of Lailatul-Qadr are concerned:
1. The sun rises early in the morning without rays.
2. Rain may fall either during the night or during the day of that night.
3. During night the sky will be lightly foggy.
4. The sky will be slightly lighted without reflections and without rays.
5. The angels and Jibraeel alaihay salaam, all descend down onto earth . (ofcourse we cant see the angels and Jibraeel alaihay salaam, but this is a great blessing that Allah swt revealed in the Quran , that they descend………so think about the night , (i.e. either 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th, or 29th)that in one of those nights , the angels along with Jibraeel alaihay salaam will descend on earth………and truly that night is “peace” until the rising of the dawn.)

Ahadiths Related to the signs Of Lailatul-Qadr:

Abu Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) reported: We were talking about Lailat-ul-Qadr in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and he said: He who amongst you remembers (the night) when the moon arose and it was like a piece of plate (at the fag end of the month in a state of waning). Book 006, Hadith Number 2635.Sahih Muslim

Zirr b. Habaish reported: I asked Ubayy b. Ka'b (Allah be pleased with him): Your brother (in faith) Ibn Mas'ud says: He who stands (for the night prayer) throughout the year would find Lailat-ul-Qadr, whereupon he said: May Allah have mercy upon him; (he said these words) with the intention that people might not rely only (on one night), whereas he knew that it (Lailat-ul-Qadr) is in the month of Ramadan and it is the twenty-seventh night. He then took oath (without making any exception, i.e. without saying Insha Allah) that it was the twenty-seventh night. I said to him: Abu Mundhir, on what ground do you say that? Thereupon he said: By the indication or by the sign which the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) gave us, and that is that on that day (the sun) would rise without having any ray in it. Book 006, Hadith Number 2633.Sahih Muslim
'Abdullah b. Unais reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: I was shown Lailat-ul-Qadr; then I was made to forget it, and saw that I was prostrating in water and clay in the morning of that (night). He (the narrator) said: There was a downpour on the twenty-third night and the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) led us in prayer, and as he went back, there was a trace of water and clay on his forehead and on his nose. He (the narrator) said: 'Abdullah b. Unais used to say that it was the twenty-third (night). Book 006, Hadith Number 2631.Sahih Muslim

Abu Salama reported: 'We discussed amongst ourselves Lailat-ul-Qadr. I came to Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (Allah be pleased with him) who was a friend of mine and said to him: Would you not go with us to the garden of date trees? He went out with a cloak over him. I said to him: Did you hear the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) making mention of Lailat-ul-Qadr? He said: Yes, (and added) we were observing i'tikaf with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) in the middle ten days of Ramadan, and came out on the morning of the twentieth and the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) addressed us and said: I was shown Lailat-ul-Qadr, but I forgot (the exact night) or I was caused to forget it, so seek it in the last ten odd (nights), and I was shown that I was prostrating in water and clay. So he who wanted to observe i'tikaf with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) should return (to the place of i'tikaf). He (Abu Sa'id al-Khudri) said: And we returned and did not find any patch of cloud in the sky. Then the cloud gathered and there was (so heavy) a downpour that the roof of the mosque which was made of the branches of date-palms began to drip. Then there was prayer and I saw the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) prostrating in water and clay till I saw the traces of clay on his forehead.
Book 006, Hadith Number 2628.Sahih Muslim

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) observed i'tikaf (confined himself for devotion and prayer) in the first ten (days) of Ramadan; he then observed i'tikaf in the middle ten (days) in a Turkish tent with a mat hanging at its door. He (the Holy Prophet) took hold of that mat and placed it in the nook of the tent. He then put his head out and talked with people and they came near him, and he (the Holy Prophet) said: I observed i'tikaf in the first ten (nights and days) in order to seek that night (Lailat-ul-Qadr). I then observed i'tikaf in the middle ten days. Then (an angel) was sent to me and I was told that this (night) is among the last ten (nights). He who among you likes to observe i'tikaf should do so; and the people observed it along with him, and he (the Holy Prophet) said: That (Lailat-ul-Qadr) was shown to me on an odd (night) and I (saw in the dream) that I was prostrating in the morning in clay and water. So in the morning of the twenty-first night when he (the Holy Prophet) got up for dawn (prayer), there was a rainfall and the mosque dripped, and I saw clay and water. When he came out after completing the morning prayer (I saw) that his forehead and the tip of his nose had (traces) of clay and water, and that was the twenty-first night among the last ten (nights). Book 006, Hadith Number 2627.Sahih Muslim

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (Allah be pleased with him) reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) spent in devotion (in i'tikaf) the middle ten nights of the month of Ramadan, and when twenty nights were over and it was the twenty-first night, he went back to his residence and those who were along with him also returned (to their respective residences).He spent one month in devotion. Then he addressed the people on the night he came back (to his residence) and commanded them as Allah desired (him to command) and then said: I used to devote myself (observe i'tikaf) during these ten (nights).Then I started devoting myself in the last ten (nights).And he who desires to observe i'tikaf along with me should spend the night) at his place of i'tikaf. And I saw this night (Lailat-ul-Qadr) but I forgot it (the exact night); so seek it ;In the last ten nights on odd numbers. I saw (the glimpses of that dream) that I was prostrating in water and mud.Abu Sa'id al-Khudri said: It rained on the twenty-first night and the water dripped (from the roof) of the mosque at the place where the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) observed prayer. I looked at him and as he completed the dawn prayer, (I found) his face was wet with mud and water. Book 006, Hadith Number 2625.Sahih Muslim

If one is interested in living the Night of Power, some of the things that he/she can do:

As this night is better than 1000 months, so any good deed done on this night will be better than the good deed done in 1000 months. SubhanAllah ….so one should try to make the best out of it………coz who knows we will be alive till next Ramadan or not……so its better to seek the opportunity at hand.

1.Try to observe it during the last ten days of Ramadan, at the time of sunrise, during the days and the nights.
2.On the nights one may spend the time collectively and/or individually observing the following activities:
a. Recitation of the Our'an.
b. Prayers-Nafl after Taraweeh.
c. Remembrance of Allah or zikr
d. Supplication or Du'a for
e. Pondering and contemplating into the universe, the creation of the Heavens and the Earth: "...and they contemplate the (wonders of) creation in the heaven and the earth…."(3:191)
f. Reading books of Hadeeth so as to enjoy the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
g. Reading Tafseer of Qur'an.
h. Giving charity to others if one can afford it.
i. Trying to explain Islam, if one knows something about it, to those next so that they will benefited.

To summarize,

The Night of Power is a very important occasion in Islam. Everyone is asked to live it and to enjoy it. This Night is a night of Mercy, a night of Blessing, a night of Peace and a night of Guidance.

Anyone who is interested in attaining the Mercy of Allah swt will strive very hard to look for the Night of Power. Anyone who is interested in receiving the blessings of Allah swt on the Blessed Night will work very hard to enjoy the Night of Power.

May Allah give us the strength, the power, the courage and the effort to do our best to obey Allah swt and His Messenger (peace be upon him) and to follow His teachings. May Allah swt guide us to the straight path and may Allah swt strengthen our Imaan.

Let us wake up and do our best to please Allah swt in our daily life. May Almighty Allah forgive us all. Ameen