SEEKING LAYLATUL-QADR IN THE LAST TEN NIGHTS OF RAMADAAN - Al-Allaamah Ibn Battaal al-Maalikee

SEEKING LAYLATUL-QADR IN THE LAST TEN NIGHTS OF RAMADAAN. (Translated by Dawud Burbank)

Al-Allaamah Ibn Battaal al-Maalikee -rahimahullaah- said in his explanation of Saheehul-Bukhaaree (4/154-157), in explanation of the Chapter: Seeking the Night of Decree in the odd nights of the last ten [Book of the virtue of the Night of Decree: Chapter 3]:

At-Tabaree said: The Companions and those who followed them upon good differed concerning pinpointing the actual night of Laylatul-Qadr; and they differed in what they narrated from the Prophet -alaihis-Salaam- to pinpoint it.

Ibn Masood said: It is the seventeenth night of Ramadaan; and Alee, Ibn Masood, and Zayd ibn Thaabit said: It is the nineteenth night; and some of them said: It is the twenty (first night), based upon the hadeeth of Aboo Saeed: that is also related from Alee and Ibn Mas`ood.

Others said: It is the twenty third night, based upon the hadeeth of Ibn Umar and Ibn Abbaas; that is related from Ibn Abbaas, Aaishah, and Bilaal; and it was said by Makhool; and Ibn Abbaas and Bilaal said: It is the twenty fourth night; and this was the saying of al-Hasan [i.e. al-Basree] and Qataadah; and I think that those who said that were basing it upon his -alaihis-Salaam- saying: << Seek it when seven remain >>, understanding that the seventh is the first of the seven remaining nights; and that is the twenty fourth night if the month is full.

And Alee, Ibn Abbaas, Ubayy ibn Kab, and Muaawiyah said: It is the twenty seventh night;and it is related from Ibn Umar that he said: It occurs within the whole of Ramadaan; and Abdullaah ibn Buraydah related: from Muaawiyah: from the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم ) that he said: << It is the last night. >> And Ayyoob said: from Aboo Qilaabah that it moves around throughout all the nights of the last ten.

At-Tabaree said: And the narrations reported about that from the Prophet -alaihis-Salaam- are authentic, and they are in harmony, they do not contradict each other. this is because they all relate from him -alaihis-Salaam- that it is within the last ten; and its moving around each year, to one of the last ten nights, is not to be denied. And it is known that he -alaihis-Salaam- only said, with regard to each of the nights that he commanded his Companions to seek it in, that it was in that night in that (particular) year. So what is correct is that it is in the month of Ramadaan, to the exclusion of the other months of the year, because of the consensus of all those who inherited from the Prophet -alaihis-Salaam- that he said: << (It) is in the last ten; in the odd ones from them. >>

Then there is nothing specific to limit it to a particular night, such that it cannot move to a different night. So if it were restricted to a specific night, then the one having the most right to know that would be the Prophet -alaihis-Salaam: along with how eager he was to know it, so that he could make his nation aware of it. So he did not make them aware of it, except by its signs: that it is a pleasant night: not hot, and not cold; and that the sun rises on its morning white (dull), with no rays. And the fact that he directed his nation towards it by means of signs, and not by stating a particular night, is a clear proof of the falsity of the saying of those who say that certains things appear that night which do not appear in the rest of the year: such as trees falling to the ground, and then returning to their places. So if that were true, then it would not be hidden from the eyes of one who stood throughout all the nights of the year; so what about the nights of Ramadaan?!

As for what this night has been singled out with, to the exclusion of the rest of the nights, then it is better than a thousand months: meaning that an action done in it : from those things which please Allaah, and which He loves: Prayer, Supplication, and the like, is better than an action done in a thousand months which do not contain the Night of Decree; and that supplication in it is responded to, as long as he does not supplicate for something sinful, nor for the cutting of ties of kinship.

And Maalik said regarding his -alaihis-Salaam-: << Seek it on the ninth remaining >>: it is the night of the twenty first; and that << Seven remaining >> is the night of the twenty third night; and << Five remaining >> is the twenty fifth.

The author said: The meaning of this, and the Night of Decree occuring on an odd night will only be correct if the month is short[i.e. of twenty nine days]. If it is full [i.e. of thirty days], then it will not be except on an even night. So nine remaining will be the night of the twenty second; five remaining will be the night of the twenty sixth; seven remaining will be the night of the twenty fourth: based upon what al-Bukhaaree mentioned from Ibn Abbaas: so none of them will conform to an odd night.

So this proves that the Night of Decree moves around every year within the last ten: from being an odd night to being an even one, and from being an even one to being an odd one. This is because the Prophet -alaihis-Salaam- did not command his nation to seek it in a full month, but not in a short one. Rather he left seeking it unrestricted, applying to all the months of Ramadaan: those which Allaah causes to be full sometimes, and short on other occasions. So it is established that it moves within all of the last ten nights, as Aboo Qilaabah said...