Laylatul Qadr: Which Nights to Look for It

Laylatul Qadr, the Night of Power or Night of Decree, is described as the most significant night of the year, "better than a thousand months," marking when revelation of the Quran began. Naturally, people want to know when it is. The answer is the interesting part: it is deliberately not pinned to a single date.

Why it isn't a fixed date

Unlike Hari Raya, which has a gazetted date each year, Laylatul Qadr is not announced as one specific night. The teaching is that its exact night is hidden, and the widely-understood wisdom is that this encourages worship across a whole stretch of nights rather than just one. So you will not find it on a calendar with a fixed date.

The nights to look for it

It falls within the last ten nights of Ramadan, and is most associated with the odd-numbered nights of that final stretch: the 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th and 29th nights. Of these, the 27th night is the one most commonly observed in many communities, though it is sought across all of them.

A note on how nights are counted: in the Islamic calendar the night comes before its day, so "the 27th night" is the night leading into the 27th day of Ramadan. So the last ten nights begin on the night before the 21st day, and Ramadan's dates each year follow from the Hari Raya Puasa date, see the Ramadan guide and the 2027 page.

How it's marked in Singapore

Through the last ten nights, the mosques are at their fullest and the atmosphere shifts. What people commonly do in this stretch:

Extra night prayer beyond the daily obligations, and Quran recitation.
Dua (supplication), as these nights are held to be a time when prayers are especially answered.
I'tikaf, a spiritual retreat spent in the mosque, which some observe over the final ten days.
Giving, both Zakat Fitrah (which is due before the Aidilfitri prayer) and voluntary charity, since many prefer to complete it before Ramadan ends.

Because the exact night is unknown, the practice is to treat all of the last ten nights as potentially the one, rather than concentrating everything on the 27th.

Common questions

Is Laylatul Qadr always on the 27th night? No. The 27th is the most commonly observed, but the night is not fixed; it is sought across all the odd nights of the last ten.

Can we know the exact night for certain? No. Its exact night is intentionally not revealed, which is why it is sought across the whole final stretch.

When are the last ten nights in 2027? They fall in the last third of Ramadan, roughly the first week of March 2027, ending at Hari Raya Puasa. Exact dates follow from the Ramadan and Aidilfitri dates for the year.

Scope

This is a plain overview of when Laylatul Qadr is sought, not a religious ruling on how to observe it. For guidance on worship, i'tikaf and anything specific, refer to MUIS or your local mosque.