What follows are four lesser-known facts about Laylat al-Qadr, the Night of Power or Destiny, during which the Qur'an was revealed and which is better than a thousand months.

First - Mystery and Mercy of Laylat al-Qadr in the Qur'an

Laylat al-Qadr is mentioned in two different places in the Qur’an: in a short Surah called “Al- Qadr” (verses 1-5), which is entirely dedicated to that miraculous night, and briefly at the beginning of Surah Al-Dukhkhan (verses 1-8). 

In Surah Al-Qadr, the Qur'an introduces Laylat al-Qadr as something that was previously unknown, highlighting the most remarkable features of what can be considered the greatest gift of Almighty Allah to His servants.

The Night, by definition, is a miracle. Therefore, the focus of the Surah is brief and narrow, yet encompassing its most wondrous aspects that benefit humanity and its existential purpose. What is provided is only what is necessary for humanity’s spiritual needs in this world.

The true identity and value of Laylat al-Qadr are too magnificent for the limited capacities of humans. They were intentionally withheld. If they were revealed as they truly are, they would overwhelm and consume one's being completely. Instead of being beneficial, they would become a distraction.

Instead, the merits of Laylat al-Qadr are described in a way that is understandable in earthly terms, without losing its true otherworldly significance. Thus, Surah Al-Qadr uses language that is both extraordinary and relatable—unworldly yet worldly—such as the phrases stating that Laylat al-Qadr is better than a thousand months, that many angels along with the archangel Jibreel descend on that Night for every matter, and that the Night represents the essence of peace, which is the most desired yet often the most elusive asset on earth.

One almost gets the feeling that the brief content of Surah Al-Qadr was premeditated, sufficiently revealing the importance and magnitude of the Night while maintaining its mysterious and supernatural character. This approach constantly enhances its charm and attraction. The Surah may seem like an advertisement, appealing to a believer’s spiritual yearnings, or even like a portal through which a longing soul can enter and dwell in another dimension.

However, at the outset of Surah Al-Dukhkhan, Laylat al-Qadr is referred to as something already known, which means the mention is not an introduction but a supplementary explanation. The information provided is framed within a larger context where broader messages are intended to be conveyed.

Surah Al-Dukhkhan does not speak about the Night as an independent idea but as part of a larger model where different components are organically interrelated and work together towards the realization of an ontological end.

Consequently, the Night is not depicted as a miracle of “power” or “destiny,” but as a night that is “blessed,” in line with the continuous blessings bestowed upon man and existence as a whole. Moreover, while the introductory Surah Al-Qadr reveals that the Qur’an was sent down during Laylat al-Qadr, Surah Al-Dukhkhan elaborates on this, pointing out the operational value of the Qur’an.

According to the latter (verses 2-7), the Qur’an is a book that enlightens and clearly shows the truth. By revealing the Qur’an on Laylat al-Qadr, Allah intended to warn people, demonstrating a divine pattern of sending prophets to all people. Prophets are sent and revelations are given—such as the final revelation of the Qur’an on Laylat al-Qadr—as a mercy from Allah. In this sense, the Night is viewed as both the source of goodness and generosity and the beginning of a process that culminated in the completion of the revelation of the Qur’an twenty-three years later.

And finally, while Surah Al-Qadr states that angels descend for every affair during the Night, Surah Al-Dukhkhan emphasizes that these affairs (commands) are “wise” and come at a behest from Allah, who is all-hearing and all-knowing.

Here too the expanded practical dimension of Laylat al-Qadr is drawn attention to. The wording is in passive form, omitting the mention of angels and suggesting that, ultimately, what the Night represents is meant solely for humankind and its earthly development. All "wise matters" determined during and commonly associated with the Night constitute an axis between man and his Creator, Almighty Allah.

Second - One Night, Two Revelations

On Laylat al-Qadr, the Qur'an has both been revealed and begun to be revealed. The former truth is evident in the contents of Surahs Al-Qadr and Al-Dukhkhan, while the latter is supported by the reality of Prophet Muhammad's mission.

The two truths are reconciled as follows. On Laylat al-Qadr, Allah Almighty revealed the Qur’an in its entirety and at once from the Preserved Tablet (al-Lawh al-Mahfuz) to the first or earthly heaven, possibly to its Ka’bah (Baytullah or the House of Allah). As a small digression, each of the seven heavens has its own Ka’bah, in addition to the terrestrial Ka’bah in Makkah.

Then from the lowest earthly heaven, the Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) gradually over a period of twenty-three years, as the circumstances of his mission required. On the Night of Qadr, the Qur’an was revealed completely to the first heaven, and from there, the first set of verses began its piecemeal revelation to the Prophet. The first revelation occurred in the Cave Hira’ and included the first five verses of Surah Al-‘Alaq.

Upon careful examination, the Qur’an regularly alludes to both types of revelation. Analyzing contexts is critical for understanding the intended messages and for discerning between the two revelations. An excellent tip is that the Qur’an typically uses the verb “anzala” for the instant and total revelation and the verb “nazzala” for its piecemeal counterpart. Both verbs are translated as “revealed” or “sent down”; nevertheless, the nuanced differences between them are rarely noted. 

Third - Fate, Free Will, and the Night of Destiny

Laylat al-Qadr is called “the Night of Destiny” because during it, the decrees for the coming year are written down, including lifespan, provision, and what will generally happen until the end of the year. This continues until the Laylat al-Qadr of the next year, when the same process occurs for the following year, and so on until the Day of Judgment.

However, there is a sound hadith narrated by Muslim in his “Sahih” where the Prophet informed us that Allah had decreed the destinies of His creatures, including man, fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth.

This begs the question of how one can harmonize this hadith with the dramatic events that unfold during the Night of Destiny.

The answer is somewhat similar to the total and gradual revelations of the Qur’an. As discussed by the commentators of the Qur’an, specifically regarding the Surahs in question and their verses, fifty thousand years before the creation of the universe, Allah recorded the destinies of His creation and deposited them in the Preserved Tablet (al-Lawh al-Mahfuz).

Through this, Allah demonstrated His infinite authority and absolute knowledge that is not bound by time and space. Based on His wisdom and benevolence, Allah determined matters that are beyond people's choices and free selections. However, for those matters that fall within the scope of people's freedom, He also recorded them due to His divine foreknowledge. Writing down the latter does not imply predetermination or coercion, as some people mistakenly believe, but rather reflects the mere knowledge and registration of people's free expressions and choices.

Indeed, the Islamic concept of destiny (qada’ and qadr as a fundamental pillar of faith) sharply contrasts the smallness and inconsequentiality of man and his world with the greatness and splendor of His Creator and His world. It also encourages people to begin observing existence, both physical and metaphysical, as it truly is and to start building appropriate relationships with its many dimensions. Misconceptions lead to misjudgments and misbehaviors, which in turn result in missed opportunities and unfulfilled potential, and most painfully, to existential failures.

Once written on the Preserved Tablet, the destinies were kept under Allah’s divine jurisdiction as part of His exclusive knowledge. Following the beginning of the human story on earth, on each Laylat al-Qadr, the decrees for one year are transferred from the Tablet to the angelic scribes, who then write them down. In other words, from Allah’s absolute and personal knowledge and authority, a set of decrees for one year is transmitted to the knowledge and mandate of the assigned angels, after which the yearly implementation occurs at the levels of the created worlds.

Fourth - From the Night of Power to the Night of the Grave

Allah knows best, but it appears that Laylat al-Qadr has always existed, though its prominence and worth were not made known until the prophethood of Muhammad. Given this, it is fitting that the greatest revelation, the Qur'an, which was given to the greatest prophet, Muhammad, was revealed during the greatest of nights: Laylat al-Qadr.

As if the three were meant and kept for each other since the beginning of time. Individually, the three command unsurpassable distinction, but together they form what can be described as the raison d’etre and even the ethos of existence. Towards this end are the words of the Prophet, as recorded by al-Tirmidhi in his “Jami’,” that prophethood was established for him while Adam was between (being) soul and body.

This is made emphatically clear in Surah Al-Qadr, where the concept of Laylat al-Qadr is introduced for the first time. Upon this introduction, Allah asks: “And what will and can make you (O Muhammad) know what Laylat al-Qadr is?” The lesson here is that without Allah and His revelation, not only the Prophet but all of humanity would be unable to know anything about Laylat al-Qadr.

Looking deeper, the message presented is far more critical than it may seem at first glance. It is about epistemology as a catalyst for culture and civilization. Allah calls attention to the hierarchy of knowledge, which is crowned by His revealed knowledge. As such, the latter serves as both a source and guidance, as well as a point of reference and validation for other types of knowledge, such as empiricism and rationalism. It is only with revealed knowledge onboard that the rest of the knowledge hierarchy will make sense and become genuinely productive resources.

That only on account of the epistemological intervention of Allah were the three most generous gifts—the Qur’an, the Prophet, and Laylat al-Qadr—bestowed upon humanity implies that Allah alone is the way to fulfill human potential and hopes, and to realize ambitions and dreams. Without Allah, man will be forever trapped in a suffocating state of emptiness and inconsequentiality, shackled by doubts, anxieties, and self-worship.

Hence, without exaggeration, Laylat al-Qadr is the night of human epistemological-cum- ideological liberation when human beings and their diverse potentials were set free. Upon their activation, man was told that only in such a state was the sky the limit for the desired pursuits of individual and collective actualization. Indeed, life's successes and failures depend on how much people cling to or reject this life paradigm.

Finally, if Allah introduced this epistemological model with the words “what will and can make you (O Muhammad) know?” (wa ma adraka) - with which the entire Islamic civilizational life spectacle began and with which every Muslim individual's religious life story was inaugurated - it is not surprising that with the same words each person's life account will be concluded.

The Prophet tells us, as narrated by Abu Dawud in his “Sunan,” that once settled in his grave, which is the first stage of the hereafter following one's departure from this world, a person will be held accountable for his individual life legacy. He will be asked four questions, representing the most important exam; if he passes them, he will pass every subsequent exam, and vice versa.

The first three questions will be about Allah, Islam, and the Prophet, but the fourth will be: “What made you know (wa ma yudrika)?” This question specifically concerns the answers to the first three questions and generally relates to all that a person knew and did in this world.

A believer’s response will be: “I read the book of Allah, believed in it, and considered it true in both theory and practice.”

With this, the process that was initiated during Laylat al-Qadr was completed. It all started with the introduction of the Qur'an as the gifted knowledge of Allah and ended with it as a person's savior in the hereafter. It began with a question to the Prophet in connection with Laylat al-Qadr: “Wa ma adraka?” and concluded with a question to his followers in the grave: “Wa ma yudrika?”

Without a doubt, the Qur'an is the guarantor of knowledge, guidance, and happiness; its absence guarantees their opposites: ignorance, falsehood, misery, and self-delusion. A righteous person discovers this truth both in life and after death, whereas a wicked one only realizes it after death, when it is too little, too late.

Put differently, the whole process started on Laylat al-Qadr and ended on Laylat al-Qabr (the Night of the Grave).