The Hidden Wisdom of Laylat al-Qadr A Night of Mercy, Worship

This is the secret to the answer Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ gave to the angels when He عَزَّوَجَلَّ said to them:

اِنِّیۡ جَاعِلٌ فِی الۡاَرۡضِ خَلِیۡفَۃً

I am going to place a caliph in the earth.

[Kanz-ul-Īmān (Translation of Qurun)] (Part 1, Sūrah Baqarah, verse 30)

The angels said:

قَالُوۡۤا اَتَجۡعَلُ فِیۡہَا مَنۡ یُّفۡسِدُ فِیۡہَا وَ یَسۡفِکُ الدِّمَآءَ ۚ وَ نَحۡنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمۡدِکَ وَ نُقَدِّسُ لَکَ

They said, 'Will You place such who will spread violence and shed blood in it? And we glorify You commending You and sanctify You.'

[Kanz-ul-Īmān (Translation of Quran)] (Part 1, Sūrah Baqarah, verse 30)

Then He عَزَّوَجَلَّ said:

قَالَ اِنِّیۡۤ اَعۡلَمُ مَا لَا تَعۡلَمُوۡنَ

He عَزَّوَجَلَّ said, 'I know what you know not.'

[Kanz-ul-Īmān (Translation of Quran)] (Part 1, Baqarah, verse 30)

Thus, the secret behind this statement has been revealed. (Tafsīr Kabīr, pp. 229, vol. 11)

Any night of year may be 'Laila-tul-Qadr'

Laila-tul-Qadr has been kept secret for numerous reasons so that the pious people of Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ spend the whole year looking for it and constantly striving to earn the reward of worships.

There is a wide divergence of opinion amongst the honourable scholars رَحِمَهُمُ اللّٰه regarding the exact date of Laila-tul-Qadr. Some scholars رَحِمَهُمُ اللّٰه say that Laila-tul-Qadr moves throughout the year. For example, Sayyidunā 'Abdullāh Ibn Mas'ūd رَضِیَ اللہُ عَنْہُ said, 'Only the man who searches carefully throughout the year for Laila-tul-Qadr will be able to find it.'

Favouring the foregoing saying, Imām-ul-'Ārifīn, Sayyidunā Shaykh Muhiyyuddin Ibn 'Arabī رَحْمَةُ اللهِ عَلَيْہِ said, 'Once I found Laila-tul-Qadr on the 15th night of Sha'bān (Shab-e-Barā-at) and in another year, I found it on the 19th night of Sha'bān. I have also seen it on the 13th and the 18th nights of Ramadan. Further, in different years I have seen it on each of the odd nights of the last ten days of Ramadan. He رَحْمَةُ اللهِ عَلَيْہِ further stated that though Laila-tul-Qadr mostly falls in Ramadan, in my experience, it falls on different nights of the year; so it isn't the same night every year.

The Noble Prophet 🌹 and the Shaikhain رَضِیَ اللہُ عَنْہُمَا

اَلْحَمْدُلِلّٰہِ عَزَّوَجَلَّ! In the Madanī environment of Dawat-e-Islami many blessings take place during Ramadan's I'tikāf. Islamic brothers and sisters gain the blessings of performing I'tikāf in Masājid and homes respectively around the world. Here is a faith-refreshing incident for persuasion:

A young Islamic brother who is responsible for Qāfilahs in the district Liyaqatpur, division Rahim Yar Khan (Punjab, Pakistan) gave the following account: I was a film-addict to such an extent that I had watched virtually half of the VCDs in the VCD shop of our village. اَلْحَمْدُلِلّٰہِ عَزَّوَجَلَّ I was blessed with the opportunity to perform I'tikāf in the last ten days of Ramadan (1422 A.H. 2001) at Madanī Masjid in Talbani (a village). Words cannot express the blessings of the company of the Rasūl's devotees of Dawat-e-Islami! On the 27th of Ramadan, I cried the whole night asking the Holy Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم to bless me with his vision.

اِنْ شَآءَاللّٰہُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ! In the early morning, the door of mercy opened for me when I had a dream in which I found myself in a Masjid where an announcement was made: 'The Holy Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم is coming and will lead the Ṣalāh.' After a while, the Prophet of Raḥmah, the Intercessor of Ummah صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم came accompanied by the Shaikhain رَضِیَ اللہُ عَنْہُمَا and then I woke up. All I saw was just a glance and then his blessed face disappeared, filling my heart with grief and causing a flood of tears to flow from my eyes. I cried so much that I began to hiccup.

اَلْحَمْدُلِلّٰہِ عَزَّوَجَلَّ! Having had the blessed dream, my love for Dawat-e-Islami, a global & non-political religious movement of the Quran and Sunnah intensified, and I joined Dawat-e-Islami wholeheartedly. I headed for Bāb-ul-Madīnah Karachi and joined Jāmi'a-tul-Madīnah to enrol in the Dars-e-Nizāmī course. Presently, I am in my first year and I am trying to serve Dawat-e-Islami as a Qāfilah responsible in our area.

Jalwa-e-Yār kī ārzū ḥay agar,

Madanī Māhaul mayn kar lo tum I'tikāf

Mīṭhay Āqā صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم karayn gay karam kī naẓar,

Madanī Māhaul mayn kar lo tum I'tikāf

If you desire holy vision

Do I'tikāf in the Madanī environment

Beloved Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم will bless you

Do I'tikāf in the Madanī environment

صَلُّوْا عَلَی الْحَبِیْب صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلٰی مُحَمَّد

Two sayings of Imām A'ẓam رَحْمَةُ اللهِ عَلَيْہِ

Here are two sayings of Imām A'ẓam Abū Ḥanīfaḥ رَحْمَةُ اللهِ عَلَيْہِ in this regard:

1. Laila-tul-Qadr is in Ramadan but there is no specific night for it, whereas Sayyidunā Imām Abū Yūsuf and Sayyidunā Imām Muḥammad رَحِمَهُمُ اللّٰه say that Laila-tul-Qadr is in the last 15 nights of Ramadan.
2. A famous saying of Sayyidunā Imām Abū Ḥanīfah رَحْمَةُ اللهِ عَلَيْہِ is that Laila-tul-Qadr falls at different nights of the year, sometimes it is in Ramadan and sometimes in the other months. Sayyidunā 'Abdullāh Ibn 'Abbās, Sayyidunā 'Abdullāh Ibn Mas'ūd and Sayyidunā 'Ikramah رَضِیَ اللہُ عَنْہُم also favoured this opinion. ('Umda-tul-Qārī, pp. 253, vol. 8, Ḥadīš 2015)

Sayyidunā Imām Shāfi'ī رَحْمَةُ اللهِ عَلَيْہِ has said that Laila-tul-Qadr is one of the last ten nights of Ramadan and it is the same night (every year), it will never change up to the Day of Judgement. ('Umda-tul-Qārī, pp. 253, vol. 8, Ḥadīš 2015)

Laila-tul-Qadr changes

Sayyidunā Imām Mālik رَحْمَةُ اللهِ عَلَيْہِ has said that Laila-tul-Qadr falls in one of the odd nights of the last ten days in Ramadan, but it is not the same night (every year), it changes every year within these odd nights. Sometimes it's the 21st night, sometimes it's the 23rd, 25th, 27th and sometimes the 29th night. (Tafsīr Ṣāwī, pp. 2400, vol. 6)

Abul Ḥasan Iraqi رَحْمَةُ اللّٰہِ عَلَيْہِ and Laila-tul-Qadr

Some scholars have quoted Sayyidunā Shaykh Abul Ḥasan Iraqi رَحْمَةُ اللهِ عَلَيْہِ as saying: 'I have found Laila-tul-Qadr every year ever since I have reached puberty. Then, expressing his personal experience about Laila-tul-Qadr, he said, 'Whenever the first fast fell on a Sunday or Wednesday, Laila-tul-Qadr was the 29th night. If the first fast was on a Monday it was the 21st night. If the first fast was on a Tuesday or Friday it was the 27th night. If the first fast was on a Thursday it was the 25th night and if the first fast was on a Saturday it was the 23rd night.' (Nuzha-tul-Majālis, pp. 223, vol. 1)