Ramadan TimetableLaylat al-Qadr
What Laylat al-Qadr is, what the Quran says about it, how Muslims commonly seek it in the last ten nights of Ramadan, and how the nights are counted.
Laylat al-Qadr, "the Night of Power" or "of Decree", is the night on which, according to the Muslim tradition, the Quran was first revealed. The Quran dedicates a short chapter to it (chapter 97) and describes it as better than a thousand months.
Which night?
The Quran does not give the date. Muslim tradition places it in the last ten nights of Ramadan, and many people look for it in the odd nights: the 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th and 29th. Many communities, especially in South Asia, give special importance to the 27th night. Because the date of Ramadan itself differs by a day between places, the nights fall on different evenings in different countries.
How people mark it
Many Muslims spend these nights in prayer, reading the Quran and asking forgiveness, often in the mosque, and some practise itikaf, staying in the mosque for the last ten days. Customs differ and it is a matter of choice.
Dates of Ramadan depend on the sighting of the moon and can differ by a day between countries and communities (in India, often a day after Saudi Arabia). Times are calculated and may differ by a minute or two from your mosque's printed timetable, which often adds a few minutes of caution to the start of the fast. This page is not a religious ruling; follow your local mosque or a trusted scholar.