Laylatul Qadr
Laylatul Qadr is the Night of Decree, described in the Qur'an as better than a thousand months. It falls somewhere in the last ten nights of Ramadan, most likely on an odd-numbered one. Nobody knows the exact night, which is why many people seek it across all ten.
HAF's My Ten Nights appeal spreads a donation across those nights.
What the Name Means
Layla means night. Qadr is the harder half, and scholars have explained it three ways.
Decree. Matters for the year ahead are apportioned on it. The Qur'an describes a blessed night in which every wise matter is made distinct (Qur'an 44:3-4).
Worth. The night carries enormous value-the sense in which we say something is "of great worth".
Narrowness. The earth is said to be crowded with descending angels, so the night is full to the point of being tight.
What the Qur'an Says About It
A whole short surah is given to it, Surah al-Qadr, the ninety-seventh. It says the Qur'an was sent down on this night; asks what will convey to you what it is; states that it is better than a thousand months; describes the angels and the Spirit descending in it by their Lord's permission with every decree; and closes by saying it is peace until the break of dawn.
A thousand months is around eighty-three years. Longer than most lifetimes. The point is not arithmetic-it is that a single night is being weighed against a life's worth of nights and coming out ahead.
Nobody Knows Which Night It Is
This part is often reported badly, so it is worth being careful.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ came out to tell his companions when the night fell, and the knowledge was taken from him before he could. He told them instead to search for it in the odd nights of the last ten (Sahih al-Bukhari 2016; Sahih al-Bukhari 2017).
So the night was deliberately concealed. People searching across ten nights worship more than people who turn up for one.
The twenty-seventh is the night most often named, and it has real support among scholars and companions. But it is a strong opinion, not a settled fact. The instruction that has come down to us names the odd nights of the last ten, in the plural. A number of scholars have also held that the night moves from one year to the next.
There is a practical reason not to bet on a single date in Britain. Ramadan does not begin on the same day for every community here, so your twenty-seventh night may be someone else's twenty-sixth or twenty-eighth. A date that is not fixed globally is a poor thing to stake a year's worship on.
The sound approach is the one the Prophet ﷺ gave: look for it across the last ten, and give the odd nights particular attention.
What People Do on It
There is no special prayer reserved for this night, and no set number of units. What is encouraged is more of what is already good.
Standing in prayer. The Prophet ﷺ said that whoever stands in prayer on Laylatul Qadr out of faith and in hope of reward will have their past sins forgiven (reported in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim).
The du'a he taught. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) asked what she should say if she found the night. He told her to say:
اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ فَاعْفُ عَنِّي
"O Allah, You are Pardoning and You love to pardon, so pardon me." (Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3513; Sunan Ibn Majah 3850.)
Notice what she was taught to ask for. Not wealth, not success - pardon.
Staying in the mosque. Spending the last ten days in the mosque, called i'tikaf, was the Prophet's ﷺ own practice in this part of Ramadan.
Qur'an, dhikr, and asking. Reading, remembrance and supplication all belong here. So does charity.
In the last ten nights the Prophet ﷺ would stay awake, wake his family, and set himself apart for worship.
Giving on These Nights
Charity is good on this night as it is on every night, and better here as everything is.
One thing is worth saying plainly, because it is said loosely elsewhere. The Qur'an states that the night is better than a thousand months. It does not attach a multiplier to a particular donation, and no one can tell you what a given gift becomes. The reward of any act rests with Allah, who is not running a calculation anyone has been shown.
What does follow sensibly from the texts is this: since the night is hidden, spreading your giving across all ten nights means you will have given on it, whichever one it turns out to be. That is why charities offer scheduled giving across the ten, and it is a reasonable response to a night that was concealed on purpose rather than a claim about multiplied returns.
Give because the nights are what they are. Spread it because you do not know which one.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. It is the night most commonly favoured, and several companions held that view strongly, but what was taught was to search the odd nights of the last ten. Scheduling everything for one date risks missing it entirely, particularly in Britain where Ramadan does not start on the same day for everyone.
Then your count differs from someone else's, which is one more reason the last ten nights are treated as a block. Follow the calendar your own mosque or community is using and seek the night across all ten rather than trying to reconcile two calendars.
No. The Prophet ﷺ was especially active in these nights, but nothing requires an entire night without sleep, and exhausting yourself into missing Fajr or neglecting work and family is not the aim. A sincere portion of the night is worth more than an exhausted whole one.
Yes, in most of it. Prayer and fasting are set aside, but du'a, dhikr, seeking forgiveness, listening to the Qur'an and giving charity are all open. The du'a the Prophet ﷺ taught for this night can be said by anyone, at any time, in any state.
That figure comes from converting a thousand months into years, and the Qur'an applies it to the night, not to a transaction. It is a reasonable way of grasping how weighty the night is. It is not a rate of exchange, and nobody is in a position to promise you one. Give generously, and leave the reckoning where it belongs.
What People Do on It
There is no special prayer reserved for this night, and no set number of units. What is encouraged is more of what is already good.
Standing in prayer. The Prophet ﷺ said that whoever stands in prayer on Laylatul Qadr out of faith and in hope of reward will have their past sins forgiven (reported in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim).
The du'a he taught. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) asked what she should say if she found the night. He told her to say:
اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ فَاعْفُ عَنِّي
"O Allah, You are Pardoning and You love to pardon, so pardon me." (Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3513; Sunan Ibn Majah 3850.)
Notice what she was taught to ask for. Not wealth, not success - pardon.
Staying in the mosque. Spending the last ten days in the mosque, called i'tikaf, was the Prophet's ﷺ own practice in this part of Ramadan.
Qur'an, dhikr, and asking. Reading, remembrance and supplication all belong here. So does charity.
In the last ten nights the Prophet ﷺ would stay awake, wake his family, and set himself apart for worship.
Charity is good on this night as it is on every night, and better here as everything is.
One thing is worth saying plainly, because it is said loosely elsewhere. The Qur'an states that the night is better than a thousand months. It does not attach a multiplier to a particular donation, and no one can tell you what a given gift becomes. The reward of any act rests with Allah, who is not running a calculation anyone has been shown.
What does follow sensibly from the texts is this: since the night is hidden, spreading your giving across all ten nights means you will have given on it, whichever one it turns out to be. That is why charities offer scheduled giving across the ten, and it is a reasonable response to a night that was concealed on purpose rather than a claim about multiplied returns.
Give because the nights are what they are. Spread it because you do not know which one.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. It is the night most commonly favoured, and several companions held that view strongly, but what was taught was to search the odd nights of the last ten. Scheduling everything for one date risks missing it entirely, particularly in Britain where Ramadan does not start on the same day for everyone.
Then your count differs from someone else's, which is one more reason the last ten nights are treated as a block. Follow the calendar your own mosque or community is using and seek the night across all ten rather than trying to reconcile two calendars.
No. The Prophet ﷺ was especially active in these nights, but nothing requires an entire night without sleep, and exhausting yourself into missing Fajr or neglecting work and family is not the aim. A sincere portion of the night is worth more than an exhausted whole one.
Yes, in most of it. Prayer and fasting are set aside, but du'a, dhikr, seeking forgiveness, listening to the Qur'an and giving charity are all open. The du'a the Prophet ﷺ taught for this night can be said by anyone, at any time, in any state.
That figure comes from converting a thousand months into years, and the Qur'an applies it to the night, not to a transaction. It is a reasonable way of grasping how weighty the night is. It is not a rate of exchange, and nobody is in a position to promise you one. Give generously, and leave the reckoning where it belongs.