Is Laylat-ul-Qadr the twenty-seventh night of Ramadan?

Of the common errors in Ramadan is that some people believe that the twenty-seventh night of Ramadan is Laylat-ul-Qadr (the Night of Decree).

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"O you who believe! Fear Allâh (by doing all that He has ordered and by abstaining from all that He has forbidden) as He should be feared. [Obey Him, be thankful to Him, and remember Him always], and die not except in a state of Islâm [as Muslims (with complete submission to Allâh)]." [Surat Al `Imran: 102].

"O mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single person (Adam), and from him (Adam) He created his wife [Hawwâ' (Eve)], and from them both He created many men and women; and fear Allâh through Whom you demand (your mutual rights), and (do not cut the relations of) the wombs (kinship). Surely, Allâh is Ever an All-Watcher over you." [Surat An-Nisa': 1].

"O you who believe! Keep your duty to Allâh and fear Him, and speak (always) the truth. * He will direct you to do righteous good deeds and will forgive you your sins. And whosoever obeys Allâh and His Messenger (peace be upon him), he has indeed achieved a great achievement (i.e. he will be saved from the Hell-fire and will be admitted to Paradise)." [Surat Al Ahzab: 70 - 71].

The most truthful speech is the Book of Allah (may He be Exalted) and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the worst matters are the innovated, and every innovated is a heresy and every heresy is a deviation and every aberrance is in fire.

Of the common errors in Ramadan is that some people believe that the twenty-seventh night of Ramadan is Laylat-ul-Qadr (the Night of Decree) which is a misconception because Laylat-ul-Qadr moves from one odd number night to another during the last ten days of Ramadan every year.

Al Hafizh ibn Hajar (may Allah bestow mercy on his soul) said in Fathul-Bary: The most correct sayings about Laylat-ul-Qadr is that it comes in the odd number nights in the last ten days of Ramadan and it moves from one night to another every year.

Sheikh Ibn `Uthaymain (may Allah bestow mercy on his soul) was asked the following question:

Some Muslims accustomed to describe the twenty-seventh night of Ramadan with Laylat-ul-Qadr, is there an origin to this specification? And is there a proof to that?

Yes, this specification has an origin as was reported in Sahih Muslim from the Hadith of Ubay ibn Ka`b (may Allah be pleased with him) but the more correct view among the scholars views which reached over forty is that Laylat-ul-Qadr comes in the last ten days of Ramadan especially the last seven days. So, it may be the twenty-seventh night, the twenty-fifth night, the twenty-third night, or the twenty-ninth night.

Sheikh Ali Mahfuzh (may Allah bestow mercy on his soul) said in the book of "Al Ibda` fi Madar Al Ibtida`" under the title "seasons which people ascribed to the Shari`ah while they are not part of it":

Of these seasons is Laylat-ul-Qadr in which Qiyam is desirable as all nights of the month, specially the last ten days of Ramadan. Hadiths have terminated the argument as Al Bukhari and Muslim reported in their books of authentic Hadiths: "Whoever established prayers on the night of Qadr out of sincere faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven." However, singling out that night with Qiyam and extra acts of worship without giving the same importance to other nights makes people believe that this is permissible which is not true. The Prophet (peace be upon him) exhorted people to observe Qiyam during all nights of the ten days of Ramadan. Moreover, the Prophet (peace be upon him) urged Muslims to seek Laylat-ul-Qadr in the last ten days of Ramadan. This means that observing Qiyam during that specific night in particular has no origin and it is a type of innovation in religion.

Moreover, this leads to excessive use of masjid lights during that night which has no use in the Shari`ah.