شبِ قدر کب ہوتی ہے

It is narrated from the Mother of the Believers, Aisha as-Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her): “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘Seek Laylat al-Qadr in the odd nights of the last ten days of Ramadan.’”

Of every category of thing that Allah has created in the world, there is within each category some one thing that is better and higher than all others of its kind: among all the prophets, the leader of the prophets, master of the two worlds, Muhammad al-Mustafa ﷺ; among the heavenly books, the loftiest book, the Glorious Qur'an; among cities, the city of highest rank, honoured Makkah; among mosques, the noblest, the Sacred Mosque (the House of Allah); likewise, among the twelve months, the most blessed month, Ramadan; among the days, the most excellent day, Friday; and among the nights, the noblest, highest, and most exalted night, Laylat al-Qadr.

In former times people's life-spans were longer, and their righteous ones had more opportunities for worship. When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ mentioned this before the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all), they grieved over it and said to him ﷺ, “O Messenger of Allah! Our life-spans are very short compared to theirs; if we wished to equal them in good deeds and worship, how could we do so?” Thereupon Allah, by His special grace and favour, granted the Ummah of Muhammad ﷺ this night — worship in a single night of which is better than a thousand months. A chapter of the Qur'an, Surah al-Qadr, is devoted to describing the merit of this very night.

The exact date of Laylat al-Qadr was not disclosed to the Ummah. In Surah al-Qadr it is said that the Qur'an was revealed in Ramadan, and in verse 185 of Surah al-Baqarah Allah says that the Qur'an was revealed in Ramadan; combining these two statements makes it clear that Laylat al-Qadr falls within some part of Ramadan. Then, as a further indication, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said that it is most likely in the odd nights of the last ten days of Ramadan — that is, Laylat al-Qadr is one of the odd nights of the last ten days: the twenty-first, twenty-third, twenty-fifth, twenty-seventh, or twenty-ninth. Therefore everyone should make every possible effort to benefit from it; who knows whether such a precious opportunity, which comes once a year, will be granted next year or not? It is plain and clear from the Qur'an and hadith that Laylat al-Qadr is a most important, sacred, blessed, and mercy-filled night, and a special favour of Allah for the believers; so we should all fully benefit from the blessings of this night. May the Lord of the Worlds grant all of us Muslims the bounties, blessings, and favours of Laylat al-Qadr. Ameen!

The best way to benefit from Laylat al-Qadr and to give thanks for the revelation of the Qur'an is that every Muslim keep vigil that night and worship Allah with sincerity: offer as many voluntary prayers as possible, recite the Qur'an, remain occupied in glorification and remembrance, supplicate Allah abundantly, and resolve to spare no sacrifice of life or wealth in attaining the purpose for which the Qur'an was revealed and in conveying it. Come! On this blessed night of the Qur'an's revelation, let us wash away the stains of our misdeeds with tears of remorse, repent of our shameful past life, and mark the anniversary of the Qur'an's revelation with this fresh resolve and zeal: that henceforth we shall strive to conduct our every movement in accordance with this sacred Book of Allah and the pure Sunnah of His beloved Prophet Muhammad al-Mustafa ﷺ.