بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
Time has flew past and we have already reached the last 10 nights of Ramadan. These are the nights in which there is unlimited blessing and in one night specifically is worth a whole lot more than any other. Here are some hadiths pertaining to Laylat-ul-Qadr:
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Whoever establishes Optional Night Salah on the night of Qadr (Night of power) in sincere faith and hoping for Allah’s Reward, Allah shall erase his previous sins.” [Bukhari]
Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “Ramadan approached, so the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “This month has come to you, and in it there is a night that is better than a thousand months. Whoever is deprived of it is deprived of all goodness, and no one is deprived of its goodness except one who is truly deprived.” [Ibn Majah authenticated by al-Albaani]
`A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated: “When the last ten nights began Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) kept awake at night (for prayer and devotion), wakened his family, and prepared himself to observe Salah (with more vigor).” [Muslim]
She (may Allah be pleased with her) also narrated: “The Messenger of Allah used to encourage the people to pray Qiyam in Ramadan, without insisting on that. He said: “Whoever spends the nights of Ramadan in prayer out of faith and in the hope of reward, he will be forgiven his previous sins.” [al Nasa’i authenticated by al-Albaani]
There is a difference of opinion when it comes to which night exactly Laylat-ul-Qadr is; the idea that it is for sure on the 27th is not conclusive. As we have seen above, the Prophet (pbuh) used to search for it in the last 10 nights. There are many hadith that mention different narrations, one of which:
Abu Salamah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “Once I went to Abu Sa`id Al Khudry and asked him: Won’t you come with us to the date-palm trees to have a talk?
So, Abu Sa`id went out and I asked him: Tell me what you heard from the Prophet (ﷺ) about the Night of Qadr.
Abu Sa`id replied: Once Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) performed I`tikaf (seclusion) on the first ten days of the month of Ramadan and we did the same with him.
Gabriel came to him and said: The night you are looking for is ahead of you. So, the Prophet (ﷺ) performed the I`tikaf in the middle (second) ten days of the month of Ramadan and we too performed I`tikaf with him.
Gabriel came to him and said: The night which you are looking for is ahead of you. In the morning of the 20th of Ramadan the Prophet (ﷺ) delivered a sermon saying: Whoever has performed I`tikaf with me should continue it. I have been shown the Night of “Qadr”, but have forgotten its date, but it is in the odd nights of the last ten nights.
I saw in my dream that I was prostrating in mud and water. In those days the roof of the mosque was made of branches of date-palm trees. At that time the sky was clear and no cloud was visible, but suddenly a cloud came and it rained.
The Prophet (ﷺ) led us in the prayer and I saw the traces of mud on the forehead and on the nose of Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ). So, it was the confirmation of that dream.” [Bukhari]
Think of it this way: we know for sure that it is the last 10 nights of ramadan, however, we will not know when those last 10 nights have started until we know when Eid is (since Eid is determined by the moon sighting and marks the end of ramadan). Thus in order for us to be sure we have gained its blessings, we must increase in worship in all of these last nights.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Search for it in the last ten nights [i.e., Laylat-ul-Qadr (the Night of Decree)] If one among you shows slackness and weakness (in the earlier part of Ramadan), it should not be allowed to prevail upon him in the last week.” [Sahih Ahmad]
May Allah give us the strength to make the most of these nights and accept all our worship.
Allah knows best.