Al-Qadr — The Power, Fate
سُورَةُ القَدۡرِ
Verses
5
Revealed
25th
Period
Makkan
Juz
30
Al-Qadr is a five-verse celebration of Laylat al-Qadr — the Night of Decree — the night on which the Qur'an began to be sent down. In just a few lines it establishes the immense rank of this night: it is better than a thousand months, a span longer than most human lifetimes, so that the worship of a single night can outweigh more than eighty years of devotion.
The surah then describes what happens on this night: the angels and the Spirit (Jibril) descend by the permission of their Lord with every decreed matter, and the night is pure peace until the break of dawn. Short as it is, the surah has shaped the spiritual rhythm of the believing community, who seek out this night in the last ten days of Ramadan in hope of its boundless reward.
The Night of DecreeBetter than a thousand monthsDescent of angels & the SpiritPeace until dawn
Before you begin
Start with sincerity — ask Allah to make this easy for you and to let what you learn benefit you. A short dua to begin with:
رَبِّ زِدْنِي عِلْمًا
Rabbi zidni ‘ilma — “My Lord, increase me in knowledge.” (Qur'an 20:114)
Core message
Allah announces that He sent the Qur'an down on the Night of Decree, then magnifies the night with a rhetorical question — what can make you know what it is? The answer follows: it is better than a thousand months. On this night the angels and the Spirit (Jibril) descend by their Lord's permission carrying every decreed matter, and the night is unbroken peace until the dawn breaks. A single surah captures the night's origin, its rank, its visitors, and its character.
1–2
إِنَّآ أَنزَلْنَٰهُ فِى لَيْلَةِ ٱلْقَدْرِ•وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا لَيْلَةُ ٱلْقَدْرِ
Indeed, We sent the Qur'an down during the Night of Decree. And what can make you know what is the Night of Decree?
3
لَيْلَةُ ٱلْقَدْرِ خَيْرٌۭ مِّنْ أَلْفِ شَهْرٍۢ
The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months.
4–5
تَنَزَّلُ ٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةُ وَٱلرُّوحُ فِيهَا بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِم مِّن كُلِّ أَمْرٍۢ•سَلَٰمٌ هِىَ حَتَّىٰ مَطْلَعِ ٱلْفَجْرِ
The angels and the Spirit descend therein by permission of their Lord for every matter. Peace it is until the emergence of dawn.
Memory hook — the night named three times, then peace
The phrase laylatul-qadr repeats three times across verses 1–3 — once to announce it, once in the question, once to weigh it against a thousand months. Lock onto that triple naming. Then verse 4 brings the descent (tanazzalul-mala'ikatu war-ruh) and verse 5 the close: salamun hiya hatta matla'il-fajr — peace, until dawn.
"Better than a thousand months"
A thousand months is roughly eighty-three years — longer than a typical lifetime. The verse means the worship and good done on this one night outweighs that of a lifetime without it: an extraordinary mercy compressed into a single night, which is why believers pursue it so earnestly in the last ten nights of Ramadan.
Section 1 — The Night of Decree (vv. 1–5)
أَنزَلْنَٰهُ
anzalnahu
We sent it down
v.1 — "it" being the Qur'an, begun on this night
لَيْلَةِ ٱلْقَدْرِ
laylatil-qadr
The Night of Decree / Power
v.1 — the night named; repeated in vv.2 and 3
أَدْرَىٰكَ
adraka
Make you know
v.2 — a question magnifying the night's immense rank
خَيْرٌۭ
khayrun
Better
v.3 — better than a thousand months in reward
أَلْفِ شَهْرٍۢ
alfi shahr
A thousand months
v.3 — roughly eighty-three years; the measure of its worth
تَنَزَّلُ
tanazzalu
Descend
v.4 — the angels coming down throughout the night
ٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةُ وَٱلرُّوحُ
al-mala'ikatu war-ruh
The angels and the Spirit
v.4 — the Spirit understood as Jibril
سَلَٰمٌ
salamun
Peace
v.5 — the night is pure peace until the dawn
A short, much-loved surah
Al-Qadr is five short verses, recited in well under a minute. Its gentle, repeating rhythm — especially the threefold laylatul-qadr — makes it one of the easiest surahs to memorise and a frequent choice in the nightly prayers of Ramadan.
Full surah — single rak'ah
Verses 1–5 · the natural way to recite Al-Qadr
With only five verses, Al-Qadr is recited complete in a single rak'ah. The whole arc — the descent of the Qur'an, the night's rank, the descending angels, and the peace until dawn — belongs together.
It is especially favoured during the last ten nights of Ramadan, when believers seek Laylat al-Qadr, and pairs naturally with the surrounding short surahs across the two rak'ahs of a prayer.
The closing verse — salamun hiya hatta matla'il-fajr — fades into a serene final cadence, a fitting note to end on before ruku'.
Natural stopping points
v.1
inna anzalnahu fi laylatil-qadr — the opening declaration. A complete statement on its own: the Qur'an was sent down on the Night of Decree.
v.3
laylatul-qadri khayrum-min alfi shahr — "better than a thousand months." The night's immense worth, a natural place to pause and reflect.
v.5
salamun hiya hatta matla'il-fajr — the final verse. "Peace it is, until the break of dawn" — a tranquil close, perfect before ruku'.