One of the shortest surahs of the Qur’an, only five verses, is about a single night. It is called Laylat al-Qadr. The Qur’an began to come down on that night, and it is said to be better than a thousand months.
The night the Qur’an came
Ramadan is the month of the Qur’an. And one of its nights is the night it came.
إِنَّآ أَنزَلۡنَٰهُ فِي لَيۡلَةِ ٱلۡقَدۡرِ
Indeed, We sent the Qur'an down during the Night of Decree
“It” is the Qur’an. Another surah says the same in other words: a blessed night, in which every precise matter is made distinct.
A blessed night
إِنَّآ أَنزَلۡنَٰهُ فِي لَيۡلَةٖ مُّبَٰرَكَةٍۚ إِنَّا كُنَّا مُنذِرِينَ
Indeed, We sent it down during a blessed night. Indeed, We were to warn [mankind]
Ad-Dukhān 44:3
The decree
فِيهَا يُفۡرَقُ كُلُّ أَمۡرٍ حَكِيمٍ
On that night is made distinct every precise matter
Ad-Dukhān 44:4
The word qadr has more than one meaning. It is worth and honour: a night that matters. It is also measure and decree: the night when the matters of the year are ordained. Scholars have explained the name both ways, and the surah itself holds both meanings.
Better than a thousand months
A thousand months is 83 years and four months.
لَيۡلَةُ ٱلۡقَدۡرِ خَيۡرٞ مِّنۡ أَلۡفِ شَهۡرٖ
The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months
That is longer than most people live. One night, well spent, outweighs a whole lifetime. And the surah describes what happens in it: the angels and the Spirit, Jibrīl, descend, and the night is peace until dawn.
سَلَٰمٌ هِيَ حَتَّىٰ مَطۡلَعِ ٱلۡفَجۡرِ
Peace it is until the emergence of dawn
مَنْ قَامَ لَيْلَةَ الْقَدْرِ إِيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ
“Whoever stands in prayer on the Night of Qadr out of faith and hoping for reward, his previous sins are forgiven.”
Which night?
It was once known. And then it was taken away.
No one knows for certain which night it is. The Prophet ﷺ told people to look for it:
تَحَرَّوْا لَيْلَةَ الْقَدْرِ فِي الْوِتْرِ مِنَ الْعَشْرِ الأَوَاخِرِ مِنْ رَمَضَانَ
“Search for the Night of Qadr in the odd nights of the last ten of Ramadan.”
And once he set out to tell them:
خَرَجْتُ لأُخْبِرَكُمْ بِلَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ، فَتَلاَحَى فُلاَنٌ وَفُلاَنٌ، فَرُفِعَتْ، وَعَسَى أَنْ يَكُونَ خَيْرًا لَكُمْ
“I came out to tell you about the Night of Qadr, but two men were quarrelling, and the knowledge of it was taken away. Perhaps that is better for you.”
Perhaps that is better for you. If the night were known, many would stay up for that night alone. Not knowing makes people seek it through all of the last ten nights. Many mark the 27th night in particular, but that is a tradition, not a certainty.
The last ten nights
When the last ten nights began, he tightened his belt.
كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِذَا دَخَلَ الْعَشْرُ شَدَّ مِئْزَرَهُ، وَأَحْيَا لَيْلَهُ، وَأَيْقَظَ أَهْلَهُ
ʿĀʾisha said: “When the last ten began, the Prophet ﷺ would tighten his belt, stay up the night and wake his family.”
In the Islamic calendar the day begins at sunset, so each night comes before its day. The night before the 21st day of Ramadan is the first of the last ten. If Ramadan 1448 begins on 8 February, the odd nights are the evenings of 27 February and 1, 3, 5 and 7 March 2027. The night before the 27th day begins in Reykjavík at sunset, at about 18:58, and lasts until dawn at about 6:15, just over eleven hours.
What to say?
ʿĀʾisha asked. The answer was one short prayer.
اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ كَرِيمٌ تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ فَاعْفُ عَنِّي
ʿĀʾisha asked: “If I know which night is the Night of Qadr, what should I say?” He answered: “Say: O Allah, You are Pardoning and Generous, You love to pardon, so pardon me.”
She did not ask for much. Not wealth, not a long life, only this one thing: pardon. On the night that is better than a thousand months, that is what matters most.