Laylat al-Qadrthe Night of Decree

Qadr carries two meanings in Arabic that both apply here: decree or destiny, and honour, worth. It is the night on which matters are decreed, and a night of immense worth. Surah al-Qadr describes it in five short verses: the Qur'an was sent down in it; it is better than a thousand months; the angels and the Spirit descend in it by the permission of their Lord for every matter; and it is peace until the break of dawn.

Surah al-Dukhan calls it a blessed night in which every wise matter is made distinct. This is why the night is associated with du'a above everything else: it is a night of decree, and the believer is asking on the night the decree is written.

The Prophet ﷺ said: "Seek Laylat al-Qadr in the odd nights of the last ten of Ramadan" (Bukhari). That leaves five candidates — the 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th and 29th nights. The 27th is the one most widely observed, and a number of Companions held that view firmly, but the hadith deliberately leaves it open.

Because it is hidden, the safest approach is the one the Prophet ﷺ himself took: revive all ten nights, and treat the odd ones with particular seriousness. For the exact dates in your city, see the Ramadan timetable — each city page lists the odd nights with the iftar and Fajr times that bound them.

A thousand months is roughly 83 years — longer than most lives. The verse is not telling us to calculate; it is telling us that a single night spent in worship can outweigh what a person might otherwise accumulate in a lifetime. For someone who feels they have wasted years, this is the most generous door in the calendar.

The Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever stands in prayer on Laylat al-Qadr out of faith and seeking reward, his past sins are forgiven" (Bukhari, Muslim). Two conditions are named — iman (believing in the reward) and ihtisab (seeking it from Allah alone, not from habit or from the people around you).

1. Decide before Maghrib.

   Make the intention and clear the evening before iftar. A night decided at 11pm is usually a night lost; a night decided at sunset shapes the meal, the phone and the company you keep.

2. Eat lightly at iftar.

   The single biggest obstacle to qiyam is a heavy stomach. Break the fast with dates and water, pray Maghrib, then eat moderately.

3. Pray Isha and tarawih in congregation.

   Whoever prays Isha in congregation is as though they stood half the night, and whoever prays Fajr in congregation as though they stood the whole night (Muslim). Both ends of the night matter, not only the middle.

4. Stand in qiyam.

   There is no fixed number of rak'ahs. Pray two by two, lengthening the recitation, the ruku and the sujud as much as you comfortably can — quality of presence over quantity of units. See the tahajjud guide for the form.

5. Repeat the du'a of the night.

   The supplication taught to Aisha (see section 05) is short precisely so it can be repeated. Say it in sujud, between rak'ahs and in the quiet stretches.

6. Read the Qur'an with meaning.

   This is the night the revelation began. Read a portion slowly with a translation rather than racing through pages — Surah al-Qadr, al-Dukhan, Ya-Sin and al-Mulk are natural choices.

7. Make du'a for others, not only yourself.

   Parents, the sick, those in hardship, and the Muslims generally. The angels say amin to a supplication made for a brother in his absence.

8. Give charity, and end with suhoor and Fajr.

   Charity given on this night carries the same multiplied weight. Then eat suhoor and pray Fajr in congregation — a night of worship that ends with a missed Fajr has lost its own point.

Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "O Messenger of Allah, if I know which night is Laylat al-Qadr, what should I say in it?" He ﷺ replied:

Notice what was not asked for. Given the one night of the year when any request might be granted, the Prophet ﷺ taught his household to ask for pardon. Repeat it, in Arabic and in your own language, until the meaning settles — then ask for whatever else weighs on you. More supplications for the month are collected in the daily du'as guide.

I'tikaf is withdrawing into the mosque for a set period with the intention of devoting it to worship. Aisha reported that the Prophet ﷺ observed i'tikaf in the last ten days of Ramadan until Allah took him (Bukhari, Muslim). It is a sunnah mu'akkadah 'ala al-kifayah in the last ten days — if some of the community observe it, the responsibility is discharged for the rest.

Men perform it in a mosque where congregational prayer is established. In the Hanafi school a woman performs it in the place she has set aside for prayer in her home. If ten days is impossible, the intention still counts for a shorter period — even a single night. The point is to remove yourself from ordinary distraction, not to complete a fixed quota.

Hatırla İslam marks the odd nights of the last ten in its calendar, counts down to iftar and suhoor on the lock screen, and keeps the Qur'an reader, the dhikr counter and the du'a collection to hand for the night itself — free, with no subscription.

For the exact iftar and Fajr times that bound each of these nights in your city, open the Ramadan timetable.

• Ramadan timetable — suhoor and iftar times by city
• Fasting in Ramadan — the rules
• Tarawih prayer
• The holy nights of the Islamic year
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