Al-Qadr القدر
The Power
Al-Qadr describes Laylat al-Qadr, the Night of Power, as the night the Quran's revelation began — and states its value in explicit terms: better than a thousand months, a stretch longer than eighty-three years, compressed into a single night. On it, the surah says, angels and the Spirit (traditionally identified as the angel Gabriel) descend repeatedly with their Lord's permission, and the night is peace until dawn breaks. The Quran doesn't name the exact date, and tradition holds it falls within the last ten nights of Ramadan, most often sought on one of the odd nights — a deliberate ambiguity that commentators say encourages sustained devotion across those nights rather than effort concentrated on a single guessed date. Short as it is, the surah is central to how Ramadan's final third is observed by many Muslims, who increase prayer and Quran recitation through those nights specifically because of what it describes.
إِنَّآ أَنزَلْنَـٰهُ فِى لَيْلَةِ ٱلْقَدْرِ
We sent it down on the Night of Glory.
وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا لَيْلَةُ ٱلْقَدْرِ
What will explain to you what that Night of Glory is?
لَيْلَةُ ٱلْقَدْرِ خَيْرٌ مِّنْ أَلْفِ شَهْرٍ
The Night of Glory is better than a thousand months;
تَنَزَّلُ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ وَٱلرُّوحُ فِيهَا بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِم مِّن كُلِّ أَمْرٍ
on that night the angels and the Spirit descend again and again with their Lord’s permission on every task;
سَلَـٰمٌ هِىَ حَتَّىٰ مَطْلَعِ ٱلْفَجْرِ
[there is] peace that night until the break of dawn.
Arabic text and translation (M.A.S. Abdel Haleem) via the Quran.Foundation API.
Frequently asked
Five verses.
Meccan, revealed in Makkah.
The Night of Power or Decree — the night the Quran's revelation began, described in this surah as better than a thousand months.
The Quran doesn't give an exact date; tradition places it within the last ten nights of Ramadan, most often sought on one of the odd-numbered nights.