Laylat al-Qadr (لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْر, “the Night of Decree”) is a single night in the month of Ramadan that the Qurʾān sets above every other night of the year. It is the night on which the Qurʾān was sent down, the night on which the angels descend in great numbers, and a night of peace from sunset until the dawn. Muslims seek it each year in the last ten nights of Ramadan, because the Prophet ﷺ taught that its exact date is hidden within them.
This page answers the question in four parts: what the word qadr means, why the night is better than a thousand months, what happens on it according to the Qurʾān and its early commentators, and what the authentic hadith say about its virtue. Each statement is tied to a verse, a verified hadith or a named commentary, and claims that circulate without a source are set aside at the end.
What “qadr” means
The Arabic noun qadr (قَدْر) comes from a root that concerns measure and amount. Two of its senses are applied to the night, and Muftī Muḥammad Shafīʿ records both in his commentary on the chapter.1 The first is greatness, honour and dignity, a meaning he attributes to al-Zuhrī and other scholars: the night is named for its rank. The second is decree or apportioning: on this night the matters of the coming year are measured out and handed to the angels charged with carrying them out.
| Sense of qadr | What it says about the night | Textual support |
|---|---|---|
| Rank, honour, dignity | A night of exceptional standing with Allah | Sūrat al-Qadr 97:2–3, which magnifies the night and sets it above a thousand months |
| Decree, measure, apportioning | A night on which the affairs of the year are made distinct | Sūrat al-Dukhān 44:4: “In it every wise matter is made distinct” |
The senses do not compete. A night on which the decrees of a year are made distinct is, by that fact, a night of great honour. The English names follow one side each: “Night of Decree” follows the sense of measure, and “Night of Power,” the rendering found in many English translations, conveys its greatness. This guide uses “Night of Decree” in translations and the transliterated name Laylat al-Qadr everywhere else.
The name should be kept apart from al-qadar (الْقَدَر, “divine predestination”), the article of faith that Allah has knowledge of all things and has measured them before they occur. The two words share a root, and the commentators explain that on this night what has been decreed is set out for the year, but the doctrine as a whole is a wider subject than this page treats.
The night in the Qurʾān
The fullest description of the night is the chapter that bears its name, Sūrat al-Qadr, the ninety-seventh chapter of the Qurʾān. Its five verses answer every question this page asks: what happened on the night, how great it is, who descends in it and how long it lasts.
إِنَّآ أَنزَلۡنَٰهُ فِي لَيۡلَةِ ٱلۡقَدۡرِ ١ وَمَآ أَدۡرَىٰكَ مَا لَيۡلَةُ ٱلۡقَدۡرِ ٢ لَيۡلَةُ ٱلۡقَدۡرِ خَيۡرٞ مِّنۡ أَلۡفِ شَهۡرٖ ٣ تَنَزَّلُ ٱلۡمَلَٰٓئِكَةُ وَٱلرُّوحُ فِيهَا بِإِذۡنِ رَبِّهِم مِّن كُلِّ أَمۡرٖ ٤ سَلَٰمٌ هِيَ حَتَّىٰ مَطۡلَعِ ٱلۡفَجۡرِ ٥
The chapter opens with the pronoun “it,” and the referent is the Qurʾān. Two other passages fix the night in time. Sūrat al-Baqarah 2:185 names Ramadan as the month in which the Qurʾān was sent down, and Sūrat al-Dukhān names the night itself as a blessed one:
إِنَّآ أَنزَلۡنَٰهُ فِي لَيۡلَةٖ مُّبَٰرَكَةٍۚ إِنَّا كُنَّا مُنذِرِينَ ٣ فِيهَا يُفۡرَقُ كُلُّ أَمۡرٍ حَكِيمٍ ٤ أَمۡرٗا مِّنۡ عِندِنَآۚ إِنَّا كُنَّا مُرۡسِلِينَ ٥
The commentators explain the sending down in two ways. Ibn Kathīr cites Ibn ʿAbbās and others as saying that Allah sent the whole Qurʾān down at one time, from the Preserved Tablet (al-Lawḥ al-Maḥfūẓ, اللَّوْح الْمَحْفُوظ) to the House of Might (Bayt al-ʿIzzah, بَيْت الْعِزَّة) in the lowest heaven, and that it then came down to the Prophet ﷺ in parts over about twenty-three years, as events required.3 Muftī Muḥammad Shafīʿ gives this view and a second one: that the night marks the beginning of revelation, when the opening verses of Sūrat al-ʿAlaq came to the Prophet ﷺ during his devotions in the Cave of Ḥirāʾ in Ramadan.4 On either reading, the night is honoured because the Qurʾān is tied to it.
Why it is better than a thousand months
The third verse gives the night its measure: laylatu l-qadri khayrun min alfi shahr, “the Night of Decree is better than a thousand months.” A short calculation shows the size of that comparison. The months of the Islamic calendar are lunar, and a lunar month lasts about 29.53 days on average.
| Measure | Value | How it is reached |
|---|---|---|
| Months | 1,000 | The figure in Sūrat al-Qadr 97:3 |
| Lunar (Hijri) years | 83 years and 4 months | 1,000 ÷ 12 = 83⅓ |
| Days and nights | About 29,530 | 1,000 × 29.53 days, the mean length of a lunar month |
| Solar years | About 80 years and 10 months | 29,530 ÷ 365.24 days |
| Share of the span taken by one night | About 1 in 29,530 | One night against the whole span |
Three points follow from the wording. First, the verse says “better than,” and it states no equivalence: a thousand months is the lowest measure of the night’s worth, and no upper limit is named. Muftī Muḥammad Shafīʿ adds that numbers of this kind in Arabic can denote a very large quantity without fixing it, and that Allah alone knows how much better the night is.5 Second, the comparison is with a span longer than many human lifetimes, so the verse places one night above what most people will live through in all their years. Third, the night returns every Ramadan, and the Prophet ﷺ made a habit of seeking it in the last ten nights, as the hadith below show.
Some books explain the figure with a story about a warrior from the Children of Israel who carried his weapons for a thousand months, and whose devotion amazed the Companions. Muftī Muḥammad Shafīʿ reports this from Ibn Abī Ḥātim on the authority of Mujāhid and labels it mursal (مُرْسَل, “loosely transmitted”), a report in which a Successor of the Companions speaks of the Prophet ﷺ without naming the Companion between them.6 This guide has not verified the report in a hadith collection, so it does not rely on it. The meaning of the verse stands on its own words.
What happens on the night
The fourth and fifth verses of the chapter describe the events of the night. Read with the verses of Sūrat al-Dukhān and the early commentaries, they give three answers: the angels and the Spirit descend, every matter is made distinct, and the whole night is peace.
The descent of the angels and the Spirit
The verb tanazzalu, “they descend,” describes a descent that continues through the night. Ibn Kathīr explains that the angels come down in great numbers on account of the night’s many blessings, just as they come down with mercy when the Qurʾān is recited.7 The place of angels in Islam is a large subject; in this verse they come “by the permission of their Lord,” so their descent is itself an act of obedience.
The Spirit, al-rūḥ (الرُّوح), is named apart from the angels, a mark of distinction. Ibn Kathīr records the explanation that the Spirit here is the angel Jibrīl, singled out by name from the group to which he belongs. The Qurʾān uses the same title for the angel who brought revelation down, “the Trustworthy Spirit” of Sūrat al-Shuʿarāʾ 26:193, which joins the night of revelation to its bearer.
Every matter made distinct
The fourth verse ends with the phrase min kulli amr, “with every matter,” and Sūrat al-Dukhān says of the same night that “in it every wise matter is made distinct.” Ibn Kathīr cites Qatādah and others: the matters of the year are determined on this night, and the times of death and the provisions of people are measured out.8 This is the sense of decree in the name of the night.
Muftī Muḥammad Shafīʿ notes that the overwhelming majority of commentators identify the “blessed night” of Sūrat al-Dukhān with Laylat al-Qadr, while some scholars applied it to the fifteenth night of Shaʿbān.9 The explicit statement that the Qurʾān was sent down in Ramadan supports the majority view, which this guide follows.
Peace until the rising of the dawn
The last verse sums up the whole night in one word, salām (سَلَام, “peace”), and gives it a limit: the rising of the dawn. Ibn Kathīr cites several early explanations of this peace.10 Mujāhid said it is a security in which Shayṭān (شَيْطَان, “Satan”) can do no evil or harm. Qatādah and Ibn Zayd said that all of the night is good and there is no evil in it until dawn. Al-Shaʿbī said that the angels greet the people in the mosques throughout the night until the dawn prayer.
The limit also has a practical consequence. The night runs from sunset until the start of the dawn prayer time, and every part of it shares in its virtue. A believer who cannot stay awake through all of it still gains from the hours he gives to worship.
| What happens | Source |
|---|---|
| The Qurʾān is sent down | Sūrat al-Qadr 97:1; Sūrat al-Dukhān 44:3; Sūrat al-Baqarah 2:185 |
| The angels descend with the Spirit, by their Lord’s permission | Sūrat al-Qadr 97:4 |
| Every wise matter is made distinct for the year | Sūrat al-Dukhān 44:4; Qatādah, as cited by Ibn Kathīr |
| The night is peace, free of evil, until dawn | Sūrat al-Qadr 97:5; Mujāhid, Qatādah and Ibn Zayd, as cited by Ibn Kathīr |
| The angels greet the worshippers in the mosques | Al-Shaʿbī, as cited by Ibn Kathīr |
The virtue of the night in authentic hadith
The Qurʾān gives the measure of the night, and the hadith show how a believer takes hold of it. The central report promises forgiveness to whoever spends the night in prayer with the right intention.
مَنْ يَقُمْ لَيْلَةَ الْقَدْرِ إِيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ
The hadith names an act and two conditions. The act is standing in prayer. The first condition is īmān (إِيمَان, “faith”), belief in the promise of Allah. The second is iḥtisāb (احْتِسَاب, “seeking reward”), doing the deed for Allah alone and counting on Him for its reward, with no wish to be seen. The reward attaches to the act and the intention, so it does not depend on seeing any sign. The page on prayer and worship on the night sets out what that standing can include.
The Prophet ﷺ marked the start of the last ten nights with a change in his own practice. ʿĀʾishah described what he did when they began:
كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِذَا دَخَلَ الْعَشْرُ شَدَّ مِئْزَرَهُ، وَأَحْيَا لَيْلَهُ، وَأَيْقَظَ أَهْلَهُ
Tightening the waist wrapper is an idiom for serious exertion. Giving life to the night means spending it awake in worship, and waking his family shows that the effort was shared by the household. He also told his Companions where to look: “Seek the Night of Decree in the odd nights of the last ten of Ramadan.”13
One report explains why the date is hidden. The Prophet ﷺ came out to tell the Companions which night it was, found two men quarrelling, and the knowledge was taken up:
خَرَجْتُ لأُخْبِرَكُمْ بِلَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ، فَتَلاَحَى فُلاَنٌ وَفُلاَنٌ، فَرُفِعَتْ، وَعَسَى أَنْ يَكُونَ خَيْرًا لَكُمْ
The words “perhaps that is better for you” give the concealment a purpose. A believer who knew the date could give one night to worship and neglect the rest. Hidden among ten nights, the night draws ten nights of effort, and each of those nights is worship in its own right.
ʿĀʾishah also asked the Prophet ﷺ what she should say if she knew which night it was, and he taught her a short supplication asking Allah for pardon.15 Its text, meaning and sources are on the page Laylat al-Qadr Duʿāʾ.
| Report | What it establishes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Standing in prayer with faith and hope of reward | Forgiveness of previous sins | al-Bukhārī, no. 35 |
| The Prophet ﷺ in the last ten nights | Greater exertion, night vigil, waking the family | al-Bukhārī, no. 2024 |
| Seek it in the odd nights of the last ten | Where to look for the night | al-Bukhārī, no. 2017 |
| The knowledge of the date was taken up | Why the date is hidden | al-Bukhārī, no. 2023 |
| The supplication taught to ʿĀʾishah | What to say on the night | Ibn Mājah, no. 3850 |
What this page leaves out
Articles about the night often add details that this guide has not been able to trace to a verified source: precise numbers of angels on the earth, particular rewards for particular acts on the night, set forms of prayer said to belong only to it, and stories explaining the thousand months. Some may have a basis in collections that this guide has not yet checked. Until a report is verified, with its collection, number and grading, it is not presented here as part of what is known about Laylat al-Qadr.
Common questions
Is Laylat al-Qadr the same as the Night of Power?
Yes. “Night of Power” and “Night of Decree” are two English renderings of the same Arabic name, each following one sense of the word qadr.
Does the night come every year?
Yes. The Prophet ﷺ told his Companions to seek it in the last ten nights of Ramadan as a standing instruction, and he gave those nights special effort whenever they began. Its date within the last ten is hidden.
Do I need to see a sign to receive its reward?
No. The promise of forgiveness attaches to standing in prayer out of faith and in hope of reward. Signs reported in the hadith mostly appear after the night has passed, and the page on the signs of the night explains what they can and cannot tell a believer.
How should I prepare for it?
Plan the last ten nights in advance, so that each night has time for prayer, recitation of the Qurʾān and supplication. The night planner helps to arrange the hours between sunset and dawn.
- Muftī Muḥammad Shafīʿ, Maʿārif al-Qurʾān, English edition, commentary on Sūrat al-Qadr 97:1–3, section “Meaning of the Night of Qadr,” from the Quran.com API (api.quran.com/api/v4/tafsirs/168/by_ayah/97:1), checked 26 October 2026. ↩︎
- Qurʾānic text in the KFGQPC Hafs orthography from the Quran.com API (text_qpc_hafs), checked 26 October 2026. Translations on this page are the editor’s own. ↩︎
- Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm, abridged English edition, commentary on Sūrat al-Qadr, section “The Virtues of the Night of Al-Qadr,” from the Quran.com API (api.quran.com/api/v4/tafsirs/169/by_ayah/97:1), checked 26 October 2026. ↩︎
- Muftī Muḥammad Shafīʿ, Maʿārif al-Qurʾān, commentary on Sūrat al-Qadr 97:1, section “Revelation of the Holy Qur’an” (api.quran.com/api/v4/tafsirs/168/by_ayah/97:1), checked 26 October 2026. ↩︎
- Muftī Muḥammad Shafīʿ, Maʿārif al-Qurʾān, commentary on Sūrat al-Qadr, section “The Value and Importance of the Night” (api.quran.com/api/v4/tafsirs/168/by_ayah/97:1), checked 26 October 2026. ↩︎
- Muftī Muḥammad Shafīʿ, Maʿārif al-Qurʾān, commentary on Sūrat al-Qadr, section “Occasion of Revelation,” which gives the report from Ibn Abī Ḥātim on the authority of Mujāhid and labels it mursal (api.quran.com/api/v4/tafsirs/168/by_ayah/97:1), checked 26 October 2026. The report has not been verified on sunnah.com and is not relied on here. ↩︎
- Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm, abridged English edition, commentary on Sūrat al-Qadr 97:4, section “The Descent of the Angels and the Decree for Every Good during the Night of Al-Qadr” (api.quran.com/api/v4/tafsirs/169/by_ayah/97:1), checked 26 October 2026. ↩︎
- Ibid., citing Qatādah on 97:4 together with Sūrat al-Dukhān 44:4 (api.quran.com/api/v4/tafsirs/169/by_ayah/97:1), checked 26 October 2026. ↩︎
- Muftī Muḥammad Shafīʿ, Maʿārif al-Qurʾān, commentary on Sūrat al-Qadr, discussion of Sūrat al-Dukhān 44:3–5 (api.quran.com/api/v4/tafsirs/168/by_ayah/97:1), checked 26 October 2026. ↩︎
- Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm, abridged English edition, commentary on Sūrat al-Qadr 97:5, citing Mujāhid through Saʿīd ibn Manṣūr, al-Shaʿbī, Qatādah and Ibn Zayd (api.quran.com/api/v4/tafsirs/169/by_ayah/97:1), checked 26 October 2026. ↩︎
- Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, no. 35. VERIFIED on shamela.ws, 26 October 2026; also at sunnah.com/bukhari:35. ↩︎
- Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, no. 2024. VERIFIED on shamela.ws, 26 October 2026; also at sunnah.com/bukhari:2024. ↩︎
- Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, no. 2017. VERIFIED on shamela.ws, 26 October 2026; also at sunnah.com/bukhari:2017. ↩︎
- Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, no. 2023. VERIFIED on shamela.ws, 26 October 2026; also at sunnah.com/bukhari:2023. ↩︎
- Sunan Ibn Mājah, no. 3850, graded ṣaḥīḥ by al-Albānī. VERIFIED on shamela.ws, 26 October 2026; also at sunnah.com/ibnmajah:3850. ↩︎