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The Night of Power (Lailatul Qadr) should be looked for during the odd nights of the last ten days of the month of Ramadaan, as stated by Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam). However, it is most likely to be the night of the twenty-seventh as this is the opinion of most Scholars, and this is also the opinion of Imam-e-Azam Sayyiduna Imam Abu Hanifa (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh). Hazrat Ibn Abbas and Hazrat Ubay Ibn Ka’b (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anhum) are both known to have said that it is the night of the twenty-seventh.
The strongest evidence in favour of the conclusion that the most likely candidate is the night of the twenty-seventh, although Allah Ta’ala knows best, has been presented by Imam Ahmad Ibn Hambal (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh). Citing an authoritative chain of transmission, he reports that Hazrat Ibn Abbas (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh) once said, “It seemed that the people would never stop telling Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) about how in their dreams, they had seen which of the last ten nights was the Night of Power. So Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) eventually declared, “As I cannot help but notice, your dreams repeatedly suggest that it is one of the odd-numbered nights among the final ten. If anyone is really keen to investigate, let him focus his research on the seventh night of the final ten.””
Hazrat Ibn Abbas (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh) is reported as having said to Hazrat Umar Ibn Khattaab (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh), “I made a careful study of all the uneven numbers and I had to conclude that none was more worthy of note that the number seven.” To demonstrate the special significance of the number seven, hereunder is a list of what a certain scholar had to say on the subject:
- There are seven heavens and there are seven earths.
- There are seven nights in a week.
- There are seven celestial spheres (Aflaak) and there are seven constellations (Nujoom).
- There are seven laps to be covered at a brisk pace between the small hills of Saffa and Marwa during the Pilgrimage.
- There are seven circuits to be performed in the circumambulation (Tawaaf) of the Ka’bah.
- There are seven ingredients in the physical composition of a human being, seven ingredients in his basic diet and seven slits or cavities on the surface of his face.
- There are seven seals (Khawateem) which mark the division of the Holy Qur’an into seven sections or stages (Manaazil), an arrangement designed to facilitate the recitation of the entire Qur’an in the course of a week.
- There are seven verses in the opening Surah of the Holy Qur’an, the Surah of Praise.
- There are seven modes of reciting the Holy Qur’an, as Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) has said, “The Qur’an has been revealed according to seven dialects.”
- There are seven oft repeated verses, as Allah Ta’ala says, “And no doubt, We have given you seven verses, which are oft-repeated, and the Mighty Quran.” [Surah 15, Verse 87]
- In the act of Prostration (Sujood) during the ritual prayer (Salaah), seven parts of the body are brought into contact with the ground.
- There are seven gates of Hell (Jahannam) and Hell has seven names corresponding to its seven descending levels, all of which are mentioned in the Holy Qur’an.
- There were seven Companions of the Cave. The story of the Cave is mentioned in Surah Kahf (Surah 18).
- In the course of seven nights, the tribe of Aad was annihilated by the wind.
- For seven years, Hazrat Yusuf (Alaihis Salaam) remained in prison.
- There were two sets of seven cows in the dream of the king of Egypt, as mentioned by Allah Ta’ala, “And the King said, “I saw in a dream seven fat cows that are being eaten by seven lean cows, and seven green ears and seven others dry.”” [Surah 12, Verse 43]
- There would be seven years of drought, and then seven years of plenty, according to the prediction made by Hazrat Yusuf (Alaihis Salaam).
- There are seventeen cycles of obligatory prayers in the five daily Salaah.
- The number seven is mentioned in the words of Allah Ta’ala, “Then whoso cannot afford it, should fast for three days during Hajj and seven days when he returns back home.” [Surah 2, Verse 196]
- There are seven degrees of relationship by blood within which it is unlawful to marry.
- There are seven degrees of relationship by fosterage and marriage, within which it is likewise unlawful to marry.
- Before they can be considered pure and fit for human use, food containers in which dogs have lapped must be washed and scrubbed seven times, including one scrubbing with dry earth. Such is the rule laid down by Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam).
- There are twenty-seven Arabic words in the Surah of Power (Surah Qadr) up to but not including the last (5th) verse.
- Hazrat Ayyub (Alaihis Salaam) endured trial and tribulation for seven years.
- Hazrat Aisha Siddiqah (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anha) once said, “Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) married me when I was seven years of age.”
- Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) once said, “The martyrs (Shuhada) of my Ummah are seven, namely, one who is killed in battle while fighting for the cause of Allah, the victim of the plague, the victim of pulmonary tuberculosis, one whose death is caused by drowning, one who is trapped in a fire and burned to death, one whose death results from a gastric or intestinal ailment and the woman who dies in the process of childbirth.”
- Hazrat Moosa (Alaihis Salaam) stood seven cubits tall, and the length of the staff of Hazrat Moosa (Alaihis Salaam) was also seven cubits.
- Allah Ta’ala swore by seven things, when He said, in the first seven verses of Surah ash‑Shams:
- By the sun and its brightness;
- And by the moon when it follows it;
- And by the day when it reveals it;
- And by the night when it enshrouds it;
- And by the Heaven and Him Who made it;
- And by the earth and Him who spread it;
- And by the soul and Him who perfected it; [Surah 91, Verses 1-7]
It is thus established that most things of great religious importance are associated with the number seven. This means that Allah Ta’ala has thereby implicitly indicated to His servants that the Night of Power is the twenty-seventh night of Ramadaan.
May Allah Ta’ala grant us forgiveness on this blessed night and may He shower us with His Mercy and Kindness, and make us obedient servants of His, Ameen.
[Compiled from Ghunyalit Taalibi Tareeqal Haq by Hazrat Shaikh Sayyid Abdul Qadir Jilani Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh]