Laylatul Qadr 2023

As we are nearing the end of Ramadan, many of us may feel demotivated or even regretful that we have not done as much as we wanted to. However, we should not lose hope and instead strive to make the most of the remaining days by increasing our worship and good deeds, especially because we still have time to seek out and reap the abundant rewards from Laylatul Qadr (Night of Power).

So significant is this night that there is a whole Surah dedicated to it in which Allah tells us “Laylatul Qadr is better than a thousand months” [Surah al-Qadr 97:3]. To put this into perspective, a single night’s worship is equivalent to around 83 years!

When is Laylatul Qadr? It has been reported to be during one of the odd-numbered nights of the last ten nights of Ramadan. The Prophet (ﷺ; peace be upon him) said: "Search for the Blessed Night in the odd (nights) from the last ten (nights) of Ramadan.” [Bukhari]. The remaining odd nights in the last ten days of Ramadan this year will be as follows:

21st night - Tue 11th April

23rd night - Thu 13th April

25th night - Sat 15th April

27th night - Mon 17th April

29th night - Wed 19th April

Because this special night isn’t explicitly fixated on one specific night, we can prolong our increased worship in pursuit of Laylatul Qadr which in turn enables us to end Ramadan in a beautiful way. We should strive to make the most of these special nights by engaging in extra worship, such as reciting the Quran and performing long qiyaam prayers. It was reported in al-Saheehayn from Abu Hurairah (radiAllahu ‘anhu; may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (ﷺ; peace be upon him) said: “Whoever stays up during Laylatul Qadr out of faith and in the hope of earning reward, all his previous sins will be forgiven”. [al-Bukhari, 1910; Muslim, 760]

Often, our actions in Ramadan can become superficial in that we are fasting and increasing our worship at night but with no sincere intentions. We end up doing these things with no understanding but rather because everyone around us is doing it. In such a scenario, we achieve nothing other than prolonged hunger and sleepless nights. We must sincerely renew our intentions, dedicate ourselves and exert our efforts into making the most of these special nights.

In the remaining days of Ramadan, we should utilise our time to build our relationship with Allah by talking to Him, thanking Him for our blessings, seeking His help in calamities, asking for guidance, and asking for protection from Shaytan and our own desires. It is a blessing itself that we have the opportunity to worship Allah in Ramadan, especially in the last 10 days. Let us make the most of these remaining days of Ramadan, and may Allah enable us to get closer to Him and benefit from the rewards of Laylatul Qadr. Ameen.