Night of Power#Shia Islam

Qadr (قدر) in Arabic, means the measure and limit or value of something or destiny.{{Cite book|title=Qarashī, Qāmūs al-Qurʾān, vol. 5, p. 246–247}} Some reasons have been offered for its naming:

• It is said that it was called “al-Qadr” because the annual destiny of every person is determined by God.{{Cite book|title=Tabatabai, Tafsir Al-Mizan, 1363, vol. 20, p. 561.}}
• Some say if one stays awake on this night in prayer, reading the Quran, or repenting, one will reach a higher state.{{Cite book|title=Ghadmiari, "Night of Destiny in Hafez's lyric poems", p. 180.}}
• Some have said that it was called “al-Qadr” because it is a grand and highly valued night.{{Cite book|title=Makarem Shirazi, Tafsir Nomoneh, 1996, vol. 27, p. 188.}}

Other names for this Night include Laylat al-'Azama (Arabic: ليلة العظمة, “Night of the Greatness”) and Laylat ash-Sharaf (Arabic: ليلة الشرف; {{lit|Night of the Honour}}).{{Cite book|author=Majidi Khameneh|title=Nights of Glory in Iran|page=1}}

Some Islamic experts believe that the Quran was revealed to Muhammad twice:

• The “immediate revelation”, at the Cave of Hira on the first Laylat al-Qadr in 610 CE;
• The “gradual revelation” of Meccan and Medinan surat over the succeeding 23 years.

The Quran uses the word anzal ({{lang|ar|انزل}}) which justifies “immediate revelation”, according to Allamah Tabatabai.{{cite web|url=http://atu.ac.ir/fa/news/All/bodyView/5574/index.html|title=Qadr night from the view point of Allamah Tabtabaei|website=Allamah Tabtabaei University|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160703182159/http://atu.ac.ir/fa/news/All/bodyView/5574/index.html|archive-date=3 July 2016|last1=Staff|access-date=12 June 2016}} Some others believe that the revelation of Quran occurred in two different phases, with the first being its entire revelation on Laylat al-Qadr to the angel Gabriel (Jibril in Arabic) in the lowest heaven, and then the subsequent verse-by-verse revelation to Muhammad from Gabriel. The first surah revealed were the first seven āyat (verses) of Sūrat al-ʿAlaq ( {{lang|ar|العلق}}).{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/TheSealedNectar_201501|last=al-Mubarakpuri|first=Safi-ur-Rahman|title=The Sealed Nectar|publisher=Dar-us-Salam|year=2002|location=Riyadh|page=68|isbn=978-1591440710}}{{cite journal |author=Roslan Abdul-Rahim |title=Demythologizing the Qur'an Rethinking Revelation Through Naskh al-Qur'an |url=http://www.gjat.my/gjat122017/GJAT122017-2.pdf |journal=Global Journal Al-Thaqafah |date=December 2017 |volume=7 |issue=2 |access-date=26 February 2019 |issn=2232-0474 |pages=62–3 |doi=10.7187/GJAT122017-2 |ref=RARDtQ2017 |archive-date=14 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214093748/http://www.gjat.my/gjat122017/GJAT122017-2.pdf |url-status=live |doi-access=free }}

Muhammad would usually practice spiritual retreat (Iʿtikāf) during the last ten days of Ramadan, awaiting the Night of Power, fasting and praying throughout the night, and abstaining from sexual relations. He urged his followers to do the same as one hadith notes: "Whoever stands [in prayer] during the Night of Power out of belief and seeking reward, his previous sins are forgiven." (Sahih al-Bukhari 1901){{Cite web |title=Sahih al-Bukhari 1901 - Fasting - كتاب الصوم - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم) |url=https://sunnah.com/bukhari:1901 |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=sunnah.com}}

The specific date of Laylat al-Qadr is not mentioned in the Quran.Islam and state in Sumatra: a study of seventeenth-century Aceh. p. 128.Marjo Buitelaar. Fasting and feasting in Morocco: women's participation in ramzan. p. 64. Muhammad said God told him the exact date in a dream, but as he went to tell his companions about it, he saw two people fighting and God made him forget the date.{{cite web|url=http://ahadith.co.uk/chapter.php?page=4&cid=2&rows=10|last=Sahih Bukhari|title=Chapter: 2, Belief. Hadith No. 47|access-date=10 May 2020|archive-date=2 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200602141914/https://ahadith.co.uk/chapter.php?page=4&cid=2&rows=10|url-status=live}}

According to the Islamic calendar, an Islamic day begins at Maghrib prayer (sunset). The Night of Power thus spans Maghrib to Fajr prayer the following dawn.{{Cite news |title=The Night of Power - Laylatul Qadr 2023 |url=https://www.islamic-relief.org.uk/giving/islamic-giving/ramadan/laylatul-qadr/ |access-date=2023-10-06 |website=Islamic Relief UK |language=en-GB}}

Sunni Muslims believe Laylat al-Qadr is most likely one of the odd-numbered nights among the last ten of Ramadan (i.e., the 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th, or 29th). Some scholars opine the odd-numbered night falling on a Friday is the year’s Laylat al-Qadr.{{cite journal|title=The importance of Qadr night and the secret behind it's being hidden|url=http://www.daftarmags.ir/Journal/Text/PayamZan/Article/index.aspx?JournalNumber=245&ArticleNumber=31365|journal=The Message of Woman|language=fa|last1=Mohammad Younes|first1=Arefi|access-date=12 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160813225931/http://www.daftarmags.ir/Journal/Text/PayamZan/Article/index.aspx?JournalNumber=245&ArticleNumber=31365|archive-date=13 August 2016|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|last1=Parsa|first1=Farvardin|title=Laylat al-Qadr from the viewpoint of Sunni Muslims|url=http://www.bashgah.net/fa/content/show/7168|website=Andisheh Club|access-date=12 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821120152/http://www.bashgah.net/fa/content/show/7168|archive-date=21 August 2016|url-status=dead}}

{{see also|Assassination of Ali}}File:Qadr night in Imam Reza Shrine.jpg]]

File:Qadr night in Jamkaran 2.jpg]]

Shi’a Muslims similarly believe Laylat al-Qadr to be one of the last ten odd-numbered nights in Ramadan, with the 19th, 21st, and especially the 23rd being most important. The date of 19 Ramadan is the anniversary of Imam ʿAlī’s assassination while praying in the mihrab of the Great Mosque of Kufa, leading to his death on 21 Ramadan.{{cite web|url=http://www.alseraj.net/maktaba/kotob/english/FourteenInfallibles/ABiographical/ahlulbayt14/imam-ali.html#a16|last=Syed Muhammad Askari Jafari|title=A biographical profile of Imam Ali|access-date=10 May 2020|archive-date=9 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180909182938/http://www.alseraj.net/maktaba/kotob/english/FourteenInfallibles/ABiographical/ahlulbayt14/imam-ali.html#a16|url-status=live}}

Shi’a’s say ʿAlī (who is also the fourth Rashidun Caliph to Sunnis) had special insight and intimacy with God on this night. Imam Sadiq is quoted as saying in Tafsir "al-Burhan" (vol. 4, p. 487):

Once Imam Ali was reciting Surat al-Qadr and his sons, Imam Hasan (a) and Imam Husayn (a) were near him. Imam Husayn (a) asked his father: "Father, how come we feel a different sensation when you recite this surah?" Imam Ali(a) replied, "O son of the Prophet and my son! I know things from this chapter that you are not aware of now. When this surah was sent down to the Prophet he asked me to go to him. When I went to him he recited this surah, then he put his hand on my right shoulder and said: O my brother and my successor! O the leader of my nation after me! O tireless fighter with my enemies! This surah is yours after me, and is for your two sons after you. Gabriel who is my brother among the angels informs me of the events of one year of my nation at the night of Qadr. And after me he will give this information to you. This surah will always have a shining light in your heart and in the heart of your successors until the rising of the dawn of the day of reappearance of Qa'im [the one who rises, a title for the Islamic Messiah, Mahdi]."{{Cite news|title=Imam Mahdi (a) in Chapter al-Qadr|url=https://www.al-islam.org/message-thaqalayn/vol-12-no-2-summer-2011/imam-mahdi-chapter-al-qadr-muhammad-reza-hakimi/imam-mahdi#chapter-al-qadr|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406153257/https://www.al-islam.org/message-thaqalayn/vol-12-no-2-summer-2011/imam-mahdi-chapter-al-qadr-muhammad-reza-hakimi/imam-mahdi#chapter-al-qadr|archive-date=6 April 2019|access-date=21 March 2020|newspaper=Al-Islam.org|date=10 August 2016 |language=en}}

Ibn Abbas was meanwhile aware of both the date and day of the week.{{cite web|last=Sahih Bukhari|title=Chapter: 32, Night prayer in Ramadan (Taraweeh). Hadith No: 239|url=http://ahadith.co.uk/searchresults.php?page=2&q=Night+of+Qadr|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603220151/https://ahadith.co.uk/searchresults.php?page=2&q=Night+of+Qadr|archive-date=3 June 2020|access-date=10 May 2020|quote=Ibn Abbas added "Search for it on the twenty-fourth (of Ramadan)"}}{{cite book|last=Bombay Tract and Book Society|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1SYNAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA30|title=Life of Mohammad|date=1856|location=Bombay|page=30|access-date=12 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201104220030/https://books.google.com/books?id=1SYNAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA30|archive-date=4 November 2020|url-status=live}} In Islam night precedes day, so that, for example, "the night of the 23rd" is not the night between the 23rd and the 24th but the night between the 22nd and the 23rd. Hence, Shi’as have generally concluded it falls on the 23 Ramadan.

According to other hadiths, destinies are written on the night of 19 Ramadan, finalized the night of 21 Ramadan, and ultimately confirmed the night of 23 Ramadan.{{Cite book|title=Klini, Sufficient Principles, 1996, vol. 2, p. 772.}}

Two other possible dates for Laylat-al-Qadr are 27 Ramadan and 15 Sha'ban.{{Cite book|title=Kashani, Manhaj Al-Sadiqin, 1344, vol. 4, p. 274, quoting Eftekhari, \"Prayer and the Night of Power from the perspective of Musa Sadr\", p17}}

The Night of Power is believed by Muslims to be of uncomparable importance. Blessings received through acts of worship and sharity during this night are said to multiply and thus receive special importance. It is stated that the reward of acts of worship done in this one night is more than the reward of a thousand months of worship.{{cite book|last1=Halim|first1=Fachrizal A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RUqLBQAAQBAJ&q=laylat+al-qadr&pg=PA15|title=Legal Authority in Premodern Islam: Yahya B Sharaf Al-Nawawi in the Shafi'i School of Law|date=20 November 2014|publisher=Routledge|page=15|isbn=9781317749189|language=en|access-date=31 May 2017|archive-date=24 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200224220027/https://books.google.com/books?id=RUqLBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA15&dq=laylat+al-qadr|url-status=live}}

Surah Al-Qadr of the Quran is about Laylat al-Qadr:{{cite encyclopedia|last=Ysuf|first=Imtiyaz|title=Laylat al-Qadr|url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t236/e1058?_hi=0&_pos=4713|encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World|access-date=2 June 2017|archive-date=18 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180418033033/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t236/e1058?_hi=0&_pos=4713|url-status=dead}}

{{Quote|

1. We have indeed revealed this (Message) in the Night of Decree:
2. And what will explain to thee what the Night of Decree is?
3. The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months.
4. Therein come down the angels and the Spirit by Allah's permission, on every errand:
5. Peace!... This until the rise of dawn!

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{{qref|97|1-5|c=y}}

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Devout Muslims practice spiritual retreat (Iʿtikāf) during the last ten days of Ramadan by staying at a mosque throughout the ten days, awaiting the Night of Power, fasting and praying throughout the night, and abstaining from sexual relations.Habib Rauf (2016), Itikaf: An Introduction. Glasgow Central Mosque.

To celebrate the Night of Power, Muslim societies lit candles in mosques, offer public charity, and celebrate fast-breaking in communities.https://www.brandeis.edu/spiritual-life/resources/guide-to-observances/ramadan.html#:~:text=On%20the%20evening%20of%20the,the%20breaking%20of%20the%20fast. A special form of practise is that to pray 100 rakats. It is further said that whoever practises the Night of Power consciously, will be granted a wish by God.Aziz, M. A. (2011). Religion and Mysticism in Early Islam: Theology and Sufism in Yemen. Vereinigtes Königreich: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 45

Shi'as practice the special prayers (Amaal) of the Night of Qadr every year in mosques, tekyehs, shrines of Imams or children of Imams, Husayniyyas or their own houses. They stay vigilant the whole night until dawn and worship God. The most important practices of the Night of Qadr include congregational prayers, recitation of the Iftitah Supplication, Abu Hamza al-Thumali Supplication, and al-Jawshan al-Kabir, and collective supplications while they keep volumes of the Quran on top of their heads. Other rituals of the night include donations of dawn food, payment of their nadhr for the dead, feeding the poor, and emancipation of financial prisoners.

Since the assassination of Ali occurred in the last ten days of the Ramadan month, Shi'as mourn in these nights.{{Cite book|title=Majidi Khamenei, "Nights of Glory in Iran"}}

• Dehwa d-Šišlam Rabba, The Night of Power takes place during this festival in Mandaeism
• Ehya night
• Glossary of Islam
• Islamic calendar
• Islamic holidays
• Predestination in Islam (Qadar)
• Yaqazah

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{{Commons}}

• [https://lailatulqadar.info Lailatul Qadr: Night of Power]
• [https://www.arabiantongue.com/guide-to-laylatul-qadr/ Laylatul Qadr: The Night of Power in Islam]
• [https://faizeislam.net/quran/surah-al-qadr Surah Qadr]

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