Believers have always looked for signs of Laylat al-Qadr, and the hadith record several. Their purpose is often misunderstood. The clearest of them appears the next morning, when the night is already over, and one of them was a sign shown to the Prophet ﷺ for a particular year. This page sets out each sign with its source, explains what it can and cannot tell a believer, and separates the authenticated signs from those circulating without verified support.
The signs in authentic hadith
| Sign | When it is seen | What the report says | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| The sun rises without rays | The morning after the night | Ubayy ibn Kaʿb gave it as the mark of the night that precedes the 27th morning | Muslim, no. 762a |
| The moon rises like half a plate | During the night | The Prophet ﷺ asked who remembered the moon rising like the half of a plate | Muslim, no. 1170 |
| Rain and prostration in water and mud | During the night and at the dawn prayer | The Prophet ﷺ was shown himself prostrating in water and mud; rain fell, as on the 23rd night in one report | al-Bukhārī, no. 2016; Muslim, no. 1168 |
The sun without rays
وَأَمَارَتُهَا أَنْ تَطْلُعَ الشَّمْسُ فِي صَبِيحَةِ يَوْمِهَا بَيْضَاءَ لاَ شُعَاعَ لَهَا
Ubayy ibn Kaʿb swore that he knew the night the Prophet ﷺ had commanded them to spend in prayer: the night before the 27th morning. He gave this as its mark. The sun that morning rises white, its disc visible without the glare that usually spreads from it.
The sign is the most cited of all, and the most limited in use. It appears after dawn, when the night has ended, so a believer who sees it learns which night has just passed. It can encourage him and confirm his hope once the night is over. Haze, cloud and city pollution can also soften the sun on ordinary mornings, which calls for modesty in reading it.
The moon like half a plate
أَيُّكُمْ يَذْكُرُ حِينَ طَلَعَ الْقَمَرُ وَهُوَ مِثْلُ شِقِّ جَفْنَةٍ
Abū Hurayrah reported that the Companions were talking about the night when the Prophet ﷺ asked this question. Late in the lunar month, the moon rises late and shows only part of its disc, a shape the Arabs compared to the broken half of a large dish. The report ties the night to the last part of the month, in agreement with the instruction to seek it in the last ten nights.
Rain and prostration in mud
فَمُطِرْنَا لَيْلَةَ ثَلاَثٍ وَعِشْرِينَ فَصَلَّى بِنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَانْصَرَفَ وَإِنَّ أَثَرَ الْمَاءِ وَالطِّينِ عَلَى جَبْهَتِهِ وَأَنْفِهِ
Two Companions describe the same kind of event. Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī reported that the Prophet ﷺ was shown the night in a dream, caused to forget its date, and told that he would see himself prostrating in water and mud. A cloud appeared from a clear sky, rain leaked through the palm-leaf roof of the mosque, and his forehead bore the mud at the dawn prayer.4 ʿAbdullāh ibn Unays placed such a rain on the 23rd night.
The rain sign belongs to the year in which the Prophet ﷺ saw it. It shows that the night can bring rain, and a dry night in the last ten may still be the Night of Decree. Weather also differs between countries on the same night, which the sign cannot resolve.
What the signs can and cannot tell you
| Question | Answer from the sources |
|---|---|
| Can I use a sign to choose which night to worship? | No. The clearest sign appears the next morning. |
| If I saw a sign, did I gain the night? | The promise of forgiveness attaches to standing in prayer with faith, whether or not a sign is seen. |
| If I saw no sign, did I miss it? | Not necessarily. Signs vary with place and weather; the night itself is hidden by design. |
| Should I stop after I think I have seen it? | The Prophet ﷺ continued through all ten nights; the certainty belongs to Allah. |
The Prophet ﷺ promised forgiveness to whoever stands in prayer on the Night of Decree out of faith and in hope of reward.5 The promise names the act and the intention. Believers who pursue signs at the expense of worship reverse the order the hadith sets, and the wisest use of the signs is to strengthen hope while the effort continues through every night of the last ten.
Signs this guide has not verified
Articles about Laylat al-Qadr often list further signs. Two are especially common: that the night is mild, neither hot nor cold, and that sea water tastes fresh on it. They are attributed to collections and commentaries that are not available on the verification sources this guide uses, so this guide has not confirmed their wording or grading. They are listed here for completeness and will be added to the main table only after verification against the original collections.
| Reported sign | Attributed to | Status in this guide |
|---|---|---|
| A mild night, neither hot nor cold, with a gentle sun the next morning | Ibn Khuzaymah and others, as cited by secondary articles | NOT_FOUND: awaiting verification in a printed edition |
| Sea water tastes fresh on the night | A later report cited in a commentary on al-Bukhārī | NOT_FOUND: awaiting verification; a report about a later observer, not a saying of the Prophet ﷺ |
Common questions
Is the glow of the night a sign?
Some articles describe a bright or glowing night. None of the authentic reports cited on this page describe such a glow, and city lighting makes any such observation unreliable.
Do the signs change the dates I should observe?
No. Keep the whole of the last ten nights, with the odd nights foremost. The signs belong to the reward of hope; the practice stays the same.
Should I watch the sunrise each morning of the last ten?
There is no harm in doing so, and some believers find it a quiet moment of reflection after the dawn prayer. Never look directly at the sun. Notice the light of the morning instead, and treat what you see as a small encouragement. A clear horizon away from city haze gives the fairest view.
Why do different websites list different signs?
Many lists combine authentic reports, weaker narrations and the observations of later scholars without distinguishing them. This guide shows only what it has verified in the main table and marks everything else as pending.
- Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, no. 762a. VERIFIED on sunnah.com/muslim:762a, 25 September 2026. ↩︎
- Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, no. 1170. VERIFIED on sunnah.com/muslim:1170, 25 September 2026. ↩︎
- Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, no. 1168. VERIFIED on sunnah.com/muslim:1168, 25 September 2026. ↩︎
- Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, no. 2016. VERIFIED on sunnah.com/bukhari:2016, 25 September 2026. ↩︎
- Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, no. 35. VERIFIED on sunnah.com/bukhari:35, 25 September 2026. ↩︎