Laylat-al-Qadr - The Night of Power

On the 27th night of the fasting month of Ramadan, the Prophet is said to have received from the angel Gabriel the first of the many revelations that made up the Q'uran.

Muslims throughout the world venerate this day as the holiest night of the year, the Night of Power and Revelation. Also known as the Night of God's Decree, Laylat Al Qadr is described in the Koran as a night "which is better than a thousand months, in which the angels descend to earth with God, the Almighty's permission. Peaceful the night is until dawn." (Sura 97)

The greatest night of the Muslim year, this is the sanctified night when the history of Islam began. The gates of heaven are opened wide, angels walk the earth and the demons of Hell are chained in their fiery pits.

It is also a night of forgiveness, when good deeds performed are "better than the deeds of 1000 months which do not contain a Night of the Decree." The faithful Muslim can hope not only to have his sins forgiven by Allah if he spends the night in prayer, but to have his death-throes eased, and to receive "four pillars of light upon which rest 1000 palaces."

While the majority of commentators date this night to the 27th day of Ramadan, there is some controversy. The day may be taken to fall on the 25th or the 29th, or at other times, depending on how the Quran and the sayings of the Prophet are interpreted. Whichever way, it almost always falls within the last ten days of Ramadan.