THE SIGNS OF LAYLATUL QADR

SIGNS OF LAYLATUL QADR

There are many athaar or narrations on this topic. However, i'll try to keep it very short and include narrations that contain most of the signs and this is a very quick compilation.  As for the date then there are more than 40 narrations on that topic . so it's best we leave that out and rather strive in all ten nights. 


Imaam an-Nawawee -rahimahullaah- said in his explanation of ‘Saheeh Muslim’
(The Book of Fasting: Chapter 40: The virtue of the Night of Decree):

“ al-Qaadee [`Iyaad] said: They disagreed about its place. So a group said: It moves about, so in one year it will be one night, and in another year it will be a different night, and so on; and this harmonizes the ahaadeeth ; and it is said: Each hadeeth refers to one of its times, and there is no contradiction between them. He said: And the like of this was stated by Maalik, ath-Thawree, Ahmad, Ishaaq, Aboo Thawr, and others. They said: It moves about within the last ten nights of Ramadaan...”


al-Haafiz Ibn Hajr -rahimahullaah- said in ‘Fathul-Baaree’ (4/260) in explanation
of the chapter heading: ‘Seeking the Night of Decree in the odd nights of the last ten’:

“This title contains an indication of the preference of the saying that the Night of Decree is restricted to Ramadaan, then to the last ten nights of it, then to the odd nights from them, and that it is not one particular, fixed night. This is what is indicated by the collected narrations concerning it.” 

The signs by which Laylat al-Qadr is known


The first sign:

it was reported in Saheeh Muslim from the hadeeth of Ubayy ibn Ka'b (radiyAllahu'anhu) that the Prophet (ﷺ) announced that one of its signs was that when the sun rose on the following morning, it had no (visible) rays.

(Muslim, 762)

The second sign:

 - حَدَّثَنَا بُنْدَارٌ، حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو عَامِرٍ، حَدَّثَنَا زَمْعَةُ، عَنْ سَلَمَةَ هُوَ ابْنُ وَهْرَامَ، عَنْ عِكْرِمَةَ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ: «لَيْلَةٌ طَلْقَةٌ، لَا حَارَّةٌ وَلَا بَارِدَةٌ، تُصْبِحُ الشَّمْسُ يَوْمَهَا حَمْرَاءَ ضَعِيفَةً» [التعليق]

 2192 - قال الألباني: حديث صحيح لشواهده كما سبق

it was reported from the hadeeth of Ibn 'Abbaas (radiyAllahu'anhu) narrated by Ibn Khuzaimah, and by al-Tayaalisi in his Musnad, with a saheeh isnaad, that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: "Laylat al-Qadr is a pleasant night, neither hot nor cold, and the following day the sun rises red and weak."

(Saheeh Ibn Khuzaymah, 2192 And Albaani said this is saheeh bil shawaahid; Musnad al-Tayaalisi).

Imaam Aboo Daawood -rahimahullaah- reported the hadeeth (The Book of the

Prayer: Chapter 319: What occurs regarding the Night of Decree), (no.1378), with the

wording: “...On the morning following that night the sun enters the morning like a

brass dish, having no rays, until it has risen higher.”

[Declared ‘hasan saheeh’ by Shaikh al-Albaanee rahimahullaah.]

The Third sign

 حدثنا حيوة بن شريح، حدثنا بقية، حدثني بحير بن سعد، عن خالد بن معدان، عن عبادة بن الصامت، أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: " ليلة القدر في العشر البواقي من قامهن ابتغاء حسبتهن، فإن الله يغفر له ما تقدم من ذنبه، وما تأخر، وهي ليلة وتر تسع أو سبع أو خامسة أو ثالثة أو آخر ليلة " وقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: " إن أمارة ليلة القدر أنها صافية بلجة كأن فيها قمرا ساطعا ساكنة ساجية لا برد فيها، ولا حر ولا يحل لكوكب أن يرمى به فيها حتى تصبح، وإن أمارتها أن الشمس صبيحتها تخرج مستوية ليس لها شعاع مثل القمر ليلة البدر، لا يحل للشيطان أن يخرج معها يومئذ "

“Lailatul Qadr is in the last ten nights, for who stands in it in order to get his deeds accountable, Allah The Almighty will forgive all his past and future sins, and these are the odd nights: The Ninth, seventh, fifth, third, and the last night” and the Prophet (s.a.w) said: “The signs for Lailatul Qadr are that it is a clear bright (night), in which the moon is bright, the weather is calm,  neither cold nor hot, and no meteors are visible until the morning, and the sun on the following day rises without any rays like the moon on that night, and the shaitan doesn’t come out with it at that time.”

[Musnad Ahmad 22765, Hassan :
The first part can be found here : http://library.islamweb.net/hadith/display_hbook.php?bk_no=121&pid=62157&hid=22151

Second highlighted part : http://library.islamweb.net/hadith/display_hbook.php?bk_no=121&pid=62157&hid=22152

There’s a narrator called Baqiyah who is a muddalis but he is narrating here from Haddasana and not “An” .  This is also reported by [Ibn Khuzayma 2190, Ibn Hibban 3688] 

And Shaikh Shu’ayb al Arnout said commentating under the hadeeth of Ibn Hibban : 

أخرجه أحمد 5/324 عن حيوة بن شريح، حدثنا بقية، حدثني بحير بن سعد، عن خالد بن معدان، عن عبادة بن الصامت، وهذا سند حسن رجاله ثقات رجال الصحيحين غير بحير بن سعد وهو ثقة، وبقية روى له مسلم متابعة، والبخاري تعليقا، وهو صدوق، وقد صرح بالتحديث فانتفت شبهة تدليسه، وأورده الهيثمي في "المجمع" 3/175 ونسبه لأحمد، وقال: رجاله ثقات. وحديث ابن مسعود عند أحمد 1/406 قال: إن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: "إن ليلة القدر في النصف من السبع الأواخر من رمضان، تطلع الشمس غداتئذٍ صافية ليس لها شعاع ... " وسنده حسن في الشواهد.

See the aqwaal of Muhaddith on this hadeeth and this has multiple asaaneeds from different reporters  
 

The fourth sign: 

it was reported by al-Tabaraani which states that the Prophet (ﷺ) said:

ليلَةُ القَدْرِ لَيْلَةٌ بَلْجَةٌ ، لا حارَّةٌ ولا بارِدَةٌ ، ولا يُرْمَى فيها بنَجْمٍ ، ومِنْ علامةِ يومِها تَطلُعُ الشمْسُ لا شُعاعَ لَهَا


"Laylat al-Qadr is a bright night, neither hot nor cold, in which no meteors (stars) are seen."

(Narrated by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer. See Majma' al-Zawaa'id, 3/179; Musnad Ahmad, This narraion has been narrated from a route via  Waathilah ibn al-Asqa' (radiyAllahu'anhu) BUT HAS A FABRICATED CHAIN : http://library.islamweb.net/hadith/display_hbook.php?bk_no=477&hid=17635&pid=288911 and this particular chain has been graded to be Da’eef by Hafidh al Iraaqi in Layltil Qadr 52; Haythami in Majma’ al-Zawaa’id (3/181); Albaani in Da’eef al Jaami’ (4404) but Shaikh albaane has graded the MATAN (content) of this narration to be Hassan in ‘ Saheeh al Jaami’ (5472) due to another narration with similar meanings narrated via the route of Ibaadah bin al asmaat (r.a)  - See sign no. 3 above ).

There is a report which also says that there won’t be any raining during the night of Qadr however this hadeeth has been classified to be weak

ليلةُ القدرِ ليلةٌ بَلِجَةٌ لا حارَّةٌ ولا باردةٌ ولا سحابٌ فيها ولا مطرٌ ولا ريحٌ ولا يُرمى فيها بنجمٍ ومن علامَةِ يومِها تطلعُ الشَّمسُ لا شعاعَ لَها

The Fifth sign

حَدَّثَنَا سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ دَاوُدَ وَهُوَ أَبُو دَاوُدَ الطَّيَالِسِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا عِمْرَانُ يَعْنِي الْقَطَّانَ، عَنْ قَتَادَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي مَيْمُونَةَ،عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: فِي لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ إِنَّهَا لَيْلَةُ سَابِعَةٍ  أَوْ تَاسِعَةٍ  وَعِشْرِينَ، إِنَّ الْمَلَائِكَةَ تِلْكَ اللَّيْلَةَ فِي الْأَرْضِ أَكْثَرُ مِنْ عَدَدِ الْحَصَى "

[Rough Translation] The prophet (s.a.w) said that : “ The night of Qadr is in the seventh  or the ninth or the twentieth (wherein) the Angels descend upon that night (of Qadr) on the earth (such that they are) much more than the pebbles (of the earth)

[al Haythami in Majmoo` al-Zawaid (3/178) authenticated the chain ; al-Busayri in Ithaaf al-Khiyarah al-Maharah (3/129) said the chain is Hassan; al Albaanee in Saheeh al-Jaami` (5473) said Hassan; al-Suyuti in Jaami’ al-Sagheer (7726) also authenticated it; Albaanee in Silsilah al-Saheeha (2205); al-Iraaqi in his treatise Laylatul Qadr (46) said the chain is good ; Ibn Katheer in his Tafseer (8/470) said there is no problem in the chain; Saheeh ibn Khuzayma (2194) wa gayrahum]

Imaam an-Nawawee -rahimahullaah- said in his explanation of ‘Saheeh Muslim’:

“...al-Qaadee `Iyaad said: It is said that the meaning of its having no rays is that this

was just a distinctive sign which Allaah -the Most High- made for it [that year]. He

said: Or it is otherwise said: Rather it is on account of the great number of Angels

coming and going on its night; and their descending to the earth, and their ascending,

with that which they descended with. So their wings and their subtle/ethereal bodies

screen the light of the sun and its rays, and Allaah knows best.”

FATAAWA 


Question: What are the signs of Laylatul-Qadar (the night of power)?

Response: From amongst the signs of Laylatul-Qadar is that it is a calm night and the believer’s heart is delighted and at peace with it, and he becomes active in doing good actions, and the sun on the following morning rises clearly without any rays.

Shakyh Ibn al-’Uthaymeen

Fataawa Ramadhaan – Volume 2, Page 852, Fatwa No. 841; Fataawa ash-Shaykh Muhammad as-Saalih al-Uthaymeen – Volume 1, Page 563