4 hadiths on Laylat al-Qadr:
seeking it and supplicating
Seeking the odd nights, making time for prayer and learning the request for pardon taught to ‘Aishah.
Laylat al-Qadr, often called the Night of Decree, has a special place in Ramadan. Surah al-Qadr describes it as better than a thousand months. Hadiths answer practical questions: when should it be sought, what did the Prophet ﷺ do at the end of the month, and what supplication did he teach ‘Aishah?
Three accounts from al-Bukhari and one from Ibn Majah are explained here. They direct us towards seeking this night, praying and asking for pardon. They do not identify a calendar date valid every year: the period concerned is the final nights of Ramadan.
Article contents
Seeking it on the odd nights of the last ten
The context of the narration
‘Aishah reports this recommendation from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.“Seek Laylat al-Qadr on the odd nights of the last ten nights of Ramadan.”
Read the Arabic text
تَحَرَّوْا لَيْلَةَ الْقَدْرِ فِي الْوِتْرِ مِنَ الْعَشْرِ الأَوَاخِرِ مِنْ رَمَضَانَ
Understanding this hadith
The hadith points to the odd nights among Ramadan’s last ten nights. It does not identify the twenty-seventh night as the only night to seek every year.
Making time every night during this period allows you to continue the search without staking everything on one date. Look at your schedule before the last ten nights begin to identify the times you can devote to prayer and supplication.
A peaceful, moving night of worship can be precious without proving that you have identified Laylat al-Qadr. The calendar helps identify the nights of Ramadan; a personal feeling cannot establish the date. If you miss an evening, the other nights are still ahead.
At the end of the month, the Prophet also woke his family
The context of the narration
‘Aishah describes what she observed of the Prophet ﷺ when the last ten days of Ramadan began.“When the last ten days began, the Prophet tightened his waist-wrapper, kept his night alive and woke his family.”
Read the Arabic text
كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِذَا دَخَلَ الْعَشْرُ شَدَّ مِئْزَرَهُ، وَأَحْيَا لَيْلَهُ، وَأَيْقَظَ أَهْلَهُ
Understanding this hadith
‘Aishah describes increased effort at the end of Ramadan. “Keeping his night alive” means devoting it to worship. In his commentary on this account, Ibn ‘Uthaymin explains two meanings of “tightening his waist-wrapper”: abstaining from marital relations and increasing effort in worship. He indicates that both meanings can be combined.
The mention of his family shows that the Prophet ﷺ also sought to involve his loved ones in these nights. At home, agreeing together on when you wish to be woken can be useful: one person may want to pray early, another in the last part of the night.
Sharing childcare, meals and tidying gives several people the opportunity to pray. These are organisational choices to discuss according to the household’s needs, without leaving one person to prepare everything for the nights of worship.
To organise this effort, also reread the rights of the body and family in Salman’s account.
Praying with faith and hope of forgiveness
The context of the narration
Abu Hurayrah transmits a saying that brings together two promises: one concerning prayer on Laylat al-Qadr, then one concerning fasting in Ramadan. The excerpt below is the first part of this hadith.“Whoever prays during Laylat al-Qadr with faith and hoping for reward will have their past sins forgiven.”
Read the Arabic text
مَنْ قَامَ لَيْلَةَ الْقَدْرِ إِيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ
Understanding this hadith
The promise concerns prayer performed with faith and hope of Allah’s reward. Qiyam here means night prayer: staying awake alone is not enough to describe this act.
An evening can fill up with videos and messages about the virtues of this night without leaving much time to pray. Putting the phone out of reach during your chosen time helps you actually devote that time to prayer.
The forgiveness announced allows hope even when the month has been imperfect. The text does not require you to have succeeded on every previous night before coming to prayer now. For questions of repentance and wrongs against others, complementary texts are explained in the guide to Ramadan.
On the forgiveness hoped for, see the hadith on fasting and texts about sins and the rights of others.
“O Allah, You are Pardoning and You love to pardon”
The context of the narration
‘Aishah asks the Messenger of Allah ﷺ a specific question: what should she ask if she encounters Laylat al-Qadr? He teaches her this supplication. The account is graded sahih by Darussalam under the reference Ibn Majah 3850.اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ فَاعْفُ عَنِّي
“O Allah, You are Pardoning and You love to pardon, so pardon me.”
Pronunciation help
Allāhumma innaka ‘afuwwun tuḥibbu l-‘afwa fa‘fu ‘annī.
An approximate transliteration of the Arabic text.
Understanding this hadith
‘Aishah asks what to say; the Prophet ﷺ teaches her a short request for pardon. The supplication begins by addressing Allah, mentioning His pardon and the fact that He loves to pardon, then states the personal request: pardon me.
In the version from Ibn Majah quoted here, the word karim does not appear between ‘afuwwun and tuhibbu; we preserve that exact wording. The expandable transliteration helps with initial learning, but the Arabic remains the reference for the words.
You can learn the sentence before the last nights and reread its meaning. If you already know how to recite it, take time to understand what you are asking rather than letting the words pass by out of habit.
‘Aishah connects her question with encountering Laylat al-Qadr. The Prophet teaches her a request for pardon without setting a number of repetitions. These words can accompany the search for the night; there is no need to wait for a sign or a particular feeling to ask for pardon.
For the meaning of the request, also read asking Allah with resolve.
In practice
- You are preparing for the last nightsMake time each evening by dealing in advance with tasks that can be anticipated.Reread which nights to seek
- You live with your familyAgree together on waking times and share tasks so each person can pray.Read ‘Aishah’s account
- You spend the evening searching for programmesClose your messages during the time you have set aside for prayer.Reread the hadith about qiyam
- You would like to learn the supplicationRead the Arabic with its meaning, then learn the sentence before the last ten nights.Find the supplication and its pronunciation
Sources
- Sahih al-Bukhari · 2017Seeking it on the odd nights of the last ten
- Sahih al-Bukhari · 2024At the end of the month, the Prophet also woke his family
- Sahih al-Bukhari · 1901Praying with faith and hope of forgiveness
- Sunan Ibn Majah · 3850“O Allah, You are Pardoning and You love to pardon”