(97:5) The 27th Night - Quran: Al-Qadar - Talha Ghannam

إِنَّآ أَنزَلْنَـٰهُ فِى لَيْلَةِ ٱلْقَدْرِ ١
Indeed, ˹it is˺ We ˹Who˺ sent this ˹Quran˺ down on the Night of Glory.
وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا لَيْلَةُ ٱلْقَدْرِ ٢
And what will make you realize what the Night of Glory is?
لَيْلَةُ ٱلْقَدْرِ خَيْرٌۭ مِّنْ أَلْفِ شَهْرٍۢ ٣
The Night of Glory is better than a thousand months.
تَنَزَّلُ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ وَٱلرُّوحُ فِيهَا بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِم مِّن كُلِّ أَمْرٍۢ ٤
That night the angels and the ˹holy˺ spirit descend, by the permission of their Lord, for every ˹decreed˺ matter.
سَلَـٰمٌ هِىَ حَتَّىٰ مَطْلَعِ ٱلْفَجْرِ ٥
It is all peace until the break of dawn.
[97:1-5]
No one knows for certain when Laylat Al-Qadr (the night of glory) falls. The Prophet ﷺ had once come to inform us about its precise timing. Obadah bin As-Samit narrates:
عَنْ عُبَادَةَ بْنِ الصَّامِتِ، قَالَ خَرَجَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم لِيُخْبِرَنَا بِلَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ، فَتَلاَحَى رَجُلاَنِ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ، فَقَالَ ‏ “‏ خَرَجْتُ لأُخْبِرَكُمْ بِلَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ، فَتَلاَحَى فُلاَنٌ وَفُلاَنٌ، فَرُفِعَتْ، وَعَسَى أَنْ يَكُونَ خَيْرًا لَكُمْ، فَالْتَمِسُوهَا فِي التَّاسِعَةِ وَالسَّابِعَةِ وَالْخَامِسَةِ ‏”‏‏.‏
The Prophet (ﷺ) came out to inform us about the Night of Qadr but two Muslims were quarrelling with each other [about it]. So, the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “I came out to inform you about the Night of Qadr but such-and-such persons were quarrelling, so the news about it had been taken away; yet that might be for your own good, so search for it on the 29th, 27th and 25th (of Ramadan).
[Bukhari]
Since then, scholars have discussed at length their thoughts on when Laylat Al-Qadr could be with no consensus ever being reached - perhaps in recognition of the initial reason it was withheld! However, a great number of scholars were motivated to say that the 27th night is the most likely of the nights, citing numerous hadith and arguments to support their claim.
But before going into the discussion, here’s some practical advice; this blessed night has many merits, some of which include:
1. Forgiveness of all your past sins
2. A Guarantee of Paradise
3. Emancipation from Hellfire
4. Answering of all Duas
5. Multiplication of deeds by at least 1,000 months
Allah ﷻ hid this night within the last 10 of Ramadan to see His servants rise each night worshipping Him. Why? Perhaps its because He knows we rarely get up any other night of the year, and He wishes to invite us to meet Him when He closest to us in the depths of the night. As the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Our Lord Almighty descends to the lowest heaven in the last third of every night, saying: Who is calling upon Me that I may answer him? Who is asking from Me that I may give him? Who is seeking My forgiveness that I may forgive him?”
Perhaps He knows the value of rising up at night in worship, and Him hiding it within these days is to give you enough time to realise its benefits as well. Perhaps the other nights are a dress rehearsal for the one that really counts, so you are spiritually ready for the moment? Perhaps He just wishes to seek your company, so He is giving you a reason to lengthen your stay. Those seeking Laylat Al-Qadar, will find it on one of those nights. Your Lord is a generous Lord. But those seeking Allah ﷻ will find Him every night, all year round. Whether Laylat Al-Qadar is the 27th night or not is besides the point; our true goal is to seek Allah ﷻ.
To make the most of this night, I’ve put together 10 hacks taken from the Quran and Sunnah to help you supercharge your worship and make the most of these nights. Download it from our website, or get in touch and we can send it to you. Now back to the discussion:
With the 27th night approaching, I wanted to share an interesting argument proposed by the great companion and interpreter of the Quran Abdullah ibn Al-Abbas, cousin of the Prophet ﷺ. What’s beautiful is that he analysed the Quran in a way few of us do, digging beneath the surface to search for hidden meanings. This commentary can be found in Imam Al-Razi’s commentary of Surah Al-Qadr where he discusses the evidences for each day, noting that these are “weak” (but interesting!).
Observation 1: Placement of the word “it” (هي)
There are 30 words in the surah (representing the 30 days of ramadan). The word هي (meaning “it”) comes as the 27th word in the surah.
Observation 2: The beloved number 7
Allah loves the odd numbers, and the most beloved odd number is 7 as so much of creation contains that number. Some of the ones he lists are: 7 heavens, 7 earths, 7 days in the week, the 7 levels of hell fire, the 7 tawaafs and 7 sa’ees in Mecca, and the 7 main limbs of the body. It therefore seems the 27th would be most fitting.
Observation 3: The word Laylat Al-Qadar (لَيْلَةِ ٱلْقَدْرِ)
The word لَيْلَةِ ٱلْقَدْرِ contains 9 letters and appears 3 times in the surah. 9 x 3 = 27