According to the verses and narrations, which night of Ramadan is the Night of Power?

Answer: By putting together some verses of the Quran, it becomes clear that the Night of Power is in the month of Ramadan. However, it is not stated in the Holy Quran which night of Ramadan it is.

In verse 185 of Surah Al-Baqarah, we read: “The month of Ramadan in which the Quran was revealed.” From this verse, we can understand that the Holy Quran was revealed in the blessed month of Ramadan. On the other hand, in the first verse of Surah Al-Qadr, we read: “Indeed, We sent it down on the Night of Power.” By putting these two verses together, it is clear that the Night of Power, in which the Quran was also revealed, is in the blessed month of Ramadan. (1)

However, the Holy Quran has not said anything about which night of Ramadan the Night of Power falls on, and the narrations narrated from the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) regarding the determination of the Night of Power can be divided into five categories:

The first category: Narrations that consider the Night of Power to be one of the nights of the last ten days of Ramadan. (2)

The second category. Narrations that say: Look for the Night of Power in one of the three nights: the nineteenth, the twenty-first, and the twenty-third. (3)

The third category. Narrations that say: The Night of Power is in one of the two nights: the twenty-first and the twenty-third. In a narration, Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) was asked about the Night of Power, and he said: It is in two nights: the twenty-third and the twenty-first. The narration says that I asked the Imam to determine one of these two nights for me. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: What is wrong with performing deeds on two nights that are one of the nights of the Night of Power?! (4)

Group Four. Narrations that consider the twenty-third night to be the Night of Power. In a narration from the Messenger of God (peace be upon him), we read: The Night of Power is the twenty-third night. (5)

In another narration, we read that a person named Abdullah bin Unais Juhani came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said: “O Messenger of God! I am a man whose home is far away. Order me to come and stay in Medina for one night.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Come on the night of the thirty and twenty-third.” (6) “Come on the night of the twenty-third.”

Group Five. Narrations that indicate that the nineteenth, twenty-first, and twenty-third nights each play a role in determining the fate of people and their affairs; but the fundamental and final role is related to the twenty-third night.

In a narration from Imam Sadiq (AS), we read: “The decree (destiny) is on the nineteenth night, the firming (firming) is on the twenty-first night, and the signing (making it final) is on the twenty-third night.”(7)

A point that needs to be mentioned in the end is that although in the narrations some nights of Ramadan have been introduced as possible nights of Qadr, and the possibility of the twenty-third night being the Night of Qadr is considered the highest, the Night of Qadr has not been determined definitively for reasons of convenience.

One of the reasons given in the narrations for not determining the Night of Qadr precisely is that if one night were determined definitively, people would be content with that one night and deprive themselves of the grace of worship on other nights, and therefore, in order for people to have more time and opportunity to worship, this night has not been determined definitively.

In a narration, we read that Imam Ali (AS) was asked about the Night of Power. He said: (8) “God conceals it from you in order to help you and give you respite, because if He had announced it to you, you would have acted on that night and otherwise abandoned worship.” (9)

Footnotes:

1. Ayatollah Misbah Yazdi, Quranic Studies, Qom, Imam Khomeini (RA) Educational and Research Institute, 1380, Vol. 1, (p.) 90.

2. In a narration, we read that Imam Baqir (AS) was asked about the interpretation of the verse: “Indeed, We have revealed it on a blessed night.” (2) The Imam said: Yes. That is the Night of Power. That night, every year, in the month of Ramadan and in its last ten days. Yes, it is the Night of Power, and it is in every year in the month of Ramadan in the last ten days. Kulayni, Muhammad ibn Ya’qub, Kafi, Tehran, Dar al-Kuttub al-Islamiyyah, 1407 AH, vol. 4, (p. 157). 3. In a narration, Imam Sadiq (a.s.) was asked about the Night of Power. He said: “Seek it on the nineteenth, twenty-first, and twenty-third.” Tabarsi, Fazl bin Hassan, Majma al-Bayan fi Tafsir al-Qur'an, Tehran, Nasser Khosrow Publications, 1372, vol.10, p.787.

4. "Fi Laylatin: the night of the thirty and twenty-one, and one and twenty-one... and we are the ones who act on the night of the night of all of us?!" the same

5. "Lailat-ul-Qadr-Lailata-Thalath-i-e-Eshreena" Seyyed Ibn Tavus, Al-Iqbal al-Amal Al-Hasna, Qom, Publications of the Islamic Propaganda Office of Qom Seminary, 1415 AH, Vol.1, (S) 375.

6. "O Messenger of God, this is a great man of the house, the night of his descent" Abd al-Razzaq San'ani, Al-Msnaf, Beirut, Al-Muktab al-Islami, 1403 A.H., vol.4, (p.) 250.

7. "Al-Taqdeer in the night of nine and ten, and Ibram in the night of one and twenty, and signing in the night of the third and the tenth" Kilini, Mohammad Bin Yaqoub, Kafi, Tehran, Dar Kitub-e-Islamiyya, 1407 AH, Vol. 4, (p.) 159.

8. “Allah only conceals it from you for your own sake, for if He had known it, you would have acted upon it and left behind other things.” Allama Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, Beirut, Al-Wafa Foundation, 1404 AH, vol. 94, p. 5. 9. For more narrations related to the Night of Power: see Mohammadi Ray Shahri, Mah Goda (translated by Javad Muhaddisi), Qom, Dar al-Hadith, 1383 AH, vol. 2, from (pp.) 774 to (pp.) 794.