Question 26: Salaamu alaykum Shaykh
Can you please clarify whether or not Laylatul Qadr has a fixed date or changes from year to year.
Jazaakallaahu khayr.
Answer : Walaikumussalam Brother,
Allah tests not only non Muslims whether they accept Allah’s guidance and follow it, moreover Allah also tests Muslims whether they follow Allah’s guidance fully in smaller matters that are still important to their own degree. Thus we find differences of opinions among scholars so that it is a test for us Muslims do we strive to learn which is closest to what Allah wants and then follow it just as non Muslims are being tested the same in more important matters of coming to the true religion of God. Does an individual stick to an opinion out of base desires, desire for pleasure, for nationalistic pride following a scholar of same ethnic background sacrificing the truth that maybe with another scholar in a given issue, etc.
So one of these issues of such difference of opinions among Muslim scholars is when is the Laylatul Qadr? Some leading expert Scholars did their sincere investigations and concluded that every year it is fixed as on the 27th of Ramadan. Other leading and expert scholars did similar investigations and reached a different conclusion that Laylatul Qadr varies from year to year and falls within the last ten nights of Ramadan, more likely one of the odd nights among the last ten, ie night preceding the 21st day, 23rd, 25th, 27th or 29th of Ramadan. This view seems more likely to be the fact, as Ibn hajar and other scholars explained. One of the reasons for this is that during the lifetime of our beloved Prophet Muhammed (s a.w) Laylatul Qadr one year was on 27th and another year it was on the 23rd (from my memory best that I can recollect now). So this supports that Laylatul Qadr is different night of Ramadan from one year to another, one of the last 10 nights, most likely the odd ones among the last ten nights as mentioned above. So it is good to be more devoted to acts of worship during those nights moreso than others, acts such as extra two two rakah of prayers throughout the nights, extra recitation of the Quran within and outside the prayers therein, more time spent doing supplication (dua) and Adhkar from the authentic Quran and Hadith as well as dua from the depths of our hearts.
Allah knows best.