Start here if Laylat al-Qadr is new to you. This page explains what the night is, what each page of the guide answers, and how to prepare when time is short.
What the night is
Laylat al-Qadr means “the Night of Decree”, and in English it is also called the Night of Power. The word qadr carries the senses of decree, measure and honour. The Qurʾān gives the night a chapter of its own, Sūrat al-Qadr, the ninety-seventh chapter, which describes it in five verses:
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 tells the reader three things. The Qurʾān was sent down on this night. The night outweighs a thousand months, a span of a little more than eighty-three years. And the angels descend in it with the Spirit, whom the Qurʾān elsewhere names as Jibrīl (Gabriel), so that the whole night is peace until dawn. Other verses place the night in the month of Ramadan.
The Prophet ﷺ tied the night to one act above all others, standing in prayer:
مَنْ يَقُمْ لَيْلَةَ الْقَدْرِ إِيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ
Two Arabic words in the hadith carry its condition. Īmān (faith) is belief in what Allah has promised for the night. Iḥtisāb (seeking reward) is doing the deed for Allah alone and looking to Him for its reward. The standing itself, qiyām, is voluntary prayer at night, and the page on prayer and worship shows how to begin with what you can manage.
How to read this guide
The guide has ten pages after this one. Read in order, they move from what the night is, to when it falls, to how to spend it.
| Step | Page | What it answers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | What Is Laylat al-Qadr? | What the night is, and why it outweighs a thousand months |
| 2 | Sūrat al-Qadr | The chapter in Arabic, with transliteration, translation and explanation |
| 3 | When Is Laylat al-Qadr? | Which nights to seek it on, and the expected dates |
| 4 | The Last Ten Nights of Ramadan | How the Prophet ﷺ spent the last ten nights, including iʿtikāf (retreat in the mosque for worship) |
| 5 | Signs of Laylat al-Qadr | The signs reported in authentic hadith, and what they can and cannot tell you |
| 6 | Prayer and Worship | How to fill the night with prayer, recitation and remembrance of Allah |
| 7 | Laylat al-Qadr Duʿāʾ | The supplication the Prophet ﷺ taught for the night, with its meaning |
| 8 | Night Planner | Sunset, the last third of the night and dawn in your city on each of the ten nights |
| 9 | FAQ | Practical questions, from worship during menstruation to time zones |
| 10 | Hadith and Sources | Every narration the guide relies on, with number and grading |
If you only have a few minutes
- Mark the odd nights. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Seek the Night of Decree in the odd nights of the last ten of Ramadan.”3 These are the 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th and 29th nights. Each begins at sunset on the evening before the day of the same number. When Is Laylat al-Qadr? gives the expected dates.
- Learn the duʿāʾ. The Prophet ﷺ taught a short duʿāʾ (supplication) for this night, asking Allah for His pardon. The Duʿāʾ page gives it in Arabic, with transliteration and meaning.
- Plan the night. The Night Planner shows when each of the ten nights begins, when its last third starts and when dawn breaks in your city. The last third is the hour the Prophet ﷺ singled out for supplication, and the planner can add it to your calendar with a reminder.
How this guide handles sources
The guide’s statements rest on the Qurʾān or authentic hadith and is cited in a numbered footnote. Qurʾānic text is taken word for word from a verified digital edition of the Muṣḥaf (the written Qurʾān) and is never retyped. Each hadith is checked against its collection before it appears, with its number and grading, and a report that cannot be confirmed is left out. Hadith and Sources gathers every narration in one place.
From the wider network. Sister sites cover related ground in depth: the purpose of fasting in Ramadan and how hadith are tested for reliability on compelling-evidence.com, and the cave of Ḥirāʾ, where the first verses came to the Prophet ﷺ, on abrahamic-religions.com.
When you are ready, begin with What Is Laylat al-Qadr?
- 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. ↩︎
- Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, no. 35. VERIFIED on shamela.ws, 26 October 2026; also at sunnah.com/bukhari:35. ↩︎
- Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, no. 2017. VERIFIED on shamela.ws, 26 October 2026; also at sunnah.com/bukhari:2017. ↩︎