Laylatul Qadr: What It Is, When It Falls and What to Do

One night in Ramadan is worth more than a lifetime of worship. Laylatul Qadr, the Night of Decree, is the night the Quran was sent down, and Allah calls it better than a thousand months. Yet no one knows for certain which night it is. This guide gathers what the Quran and the authentic hadith say about it: what it is, when it falls, how the Prophet ﷺ spent the nights around it, and what we can do to reach it.

What is Laylatul Qadr?

Laylatul Qadr (also written Laylat al-Qadr, and called the Night of Power or the Night of Decree) is a night in the month of Ramadan. Allah gave it a whole surah of its own:

Five short verses tell us a great deal. It is the night the Quran was sent down. Worship on it is better than worship in a thousand months, which is more than 83 years. The angels and Jibril (the Spirit) come down in it, and it is a night of peace until dawn.

Allah describes the same night as blessed in another surah:

Because the Quran was revealed in Ramadan (Quran 2:185), this blessed night is one of the nights of Ramadan.

The reward of standing on Laylatul Qadr

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported the reward the Prophet ﷺ promised:

“Standing” here means spending the night in prayer and worship. HadeethEnc explains that the reward depends on the two conditions in the hadith: faith, and seeking the reward from Allah alone, not to be seen by people (HadeethEnc 4202).

When is Laylatul Qadr?

The Prophet ﷺ did not give us a fixed date. He told us where to look. ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported:

Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported the same guidance, naming nights by how many remain:

The Sunnah.com translation reads these as the 21st, 23rd and 25th nights. Either way, the hadith points us to the odd nights of the last ten.

Why the exact night was hidden

‘Ubadah ibn as-Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet ﷺ came out to tell the people the date, but two men were quarreling:

Two lessons sit inside this hadith. Quarreling took away a great blessing, and not knowing the date may itself be good for us, because it keeps us worshiping on every night of the last ten instead of only one.

Is Laylatul Qadr always on the 27th night?

Many Muslims treat the 27th night as Laylatul Qadr. The strongest support for this is the oath of the Companion Ubayy ibn Ka‘b (may Allah be pleased with him), reported by Zirr ibn Hubaysh:

This is Ubayy’s understanding, from a sign the Prophet ﷺ told them about. Other authentic reports point to other nights: in one year it was the 21st (Sahih al-Bukhari 2016). Scholars differ on whether it moves from year to year. The safest course is the one the Prophet ﷺ himself taught: seek it in all the odd nights, and do not limit your effort to the 27th.

When is Laylatul Qadr 2027?

Ramadan 1448 is expected to begin on Monday 8 February 2027, so the last ten nights are expected to begin on the evening of Saturday 27 February. Islamic nights begin at sunset, so each odd night starts on the evening before its day:

• 21st night: evening of Saturday 27 February
• 23rd night: evening of Monday 1 March
• 25th night: evening of Wednesday 3 March
• 27th night: evening of Friday 5 March
• 29th night: evening of Sunday 7 March

These dates depend on the sighting of the moon, so check them with your local mosque near the time. See the Islamic calendar for the other key dates of the year.

How the Prophet ﷺ spent the last ten nights

The best guide to seeking Laylatul Qadr is what the Prophet ﷺ did. ‘A’ishah described it:

“Tightening the waist wrapper” is an expression for getting fully ready and devoting himself to worship (HadeethEnc 4944). He did not keep this to himself: he woke his family so they could share in it.

He also stayed in the mosque for these nights in i‘tikaf (spiritual retreat):

What to do on Laylatul Qadr

No hadith gives a fixed list of acts for this night. Following the hadith above, here is what you can do on each of the last ten nights:

• Pray at night. The reward in Sahih al-Bukhari 2014 is for “standing”, so make night prayer the center of the night, even a few rak‘ahs if that is what you can manage.
• Make the dua the Prophet ﷺ taught. It is short enough to repeat all night (below).
• Read the Quran. This is the night it was sent down; reading Surah al-Qadr and reflecting on it is a good start.
• Remember Allah. Fill quiet moments with dhikr between prayers.
• Wake your family. The Prophet ﷺ did (Sahih al-Bukhari 2024).
• Make peace. Quarreling took away knowledge of the night (Sahih al-Bukhari 2023), so settle disputes before the last ten begin.

‘A’ishah asked the Prophet ﷺ what she should say if she knew which night it was. He taught her this dua:

For the full wording, including the word “karim” found in some copies, see our article on the Laylatul Qadr dua.

Common mistakes around Laylatul Qadr

A few habits make it easier to miss the night. Each one below goes against something in the hadith we have read.

• Standing only on the 27th. The Prophet ﷺ told us to seek it in all the odd nights (Sahih al-Bukhari 2017), and in some years it fell on another night (Sahih al-Bukhari 2016).
• Waiting for a sign before worshiping. The clearest signs appear the next morning (Sahih Muslim 762a), when the night is already over.
• Saving all the effort for the night and ignoring the days. The reward in Sahih al-Bukhari 2014 begins with fasting Ramadan in faith and hope.
• Spreading weak narrations. A popular report, “whoever is deprived of it is deprived of all good”, is graded Da‘if by Darussalam in Sunan Ibn Majah 1644. The Quran’s “better than a thousand months” is enough to show its worth.
• Holding on to a quarrel. A dispute between two Muslims took away knowledge of the date (Sahih al-Bukhari 2023).

Reflection: I find it striking that the Prophet ﷺ, whose past and future sins were forgiven, was the one who worked hardest on these nights and woke his family to join him. If he did not take the last ten nights lightly, we have every reason not to. Ten nights is a short time to give, and one of them is worth a thousand months.

Signs of Laylatul Qadr

The authentic hadith describe a few signs, and most of them show only after the night has passed. Ubayy ibn Ka‘b’s report above mentions the clearest one: the sun rises the next morning white and without rays (Sahih Muslim 762a). In the year the Prophet ﷺ was shown the night, it rained and he prostrated in water and mud at Fajr (Sahih al-Bukhari 2016).

Because the signs come afterwards, they cannot tell you which night to stand. They are a comfort, not a timetable, and the way to reach Laylatul Qadr is still to worship on every night of the last ten. For each sign and its source, see signs of Laylatul Qadr.

Questions people ask

Key lessons

• Laylatul Qadr is the night the Quran was sent down, better than a thousand months (Quran 97:1–5).
• Standing it in prayer with faith and hope for reward brings forgiveness of past sins (Sahih al-Bukhari 2014).
• Seek it in the odd nights of the last ten nights of Ramadan (Sahih al-Bukhari 2017).
• The Prophet ﷺ worked hardest in the last ten nights and woke his family (Sahih al-Bukhari 2024).
• Ask Allah for pardon with the dua he taught (Jami‘ at-Tirmidhi 3513).

Ten nights a year, one of them worth a thousand months. May Allah let us reach Ramadan, stand on Laylatul Qadr with faith and hope, and pardon us all.

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