Surah al-Qadr is the 97th chapter of the Qur’an and comprises of five verses. Ibn Abi Hatim has reported from Mujahid (as mursal hadith) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was told about a mujahid [warrior in the cause of religion] from amongst the Children of Israel who carried weapons of war on his shoulders for a thousand months during which time he never laid down his arms. The Companions were amazed when they heard this. On that occasion, this surah was revealed which describes that worship in the Night of Qadr granted to this Ummah exceeds by more than a thousand months of jihad persistently fought by that warrior. According to another narration of Mujahid cited in Ibn Jarir, a worshipper from among the Children of Israel used to worship Allah the whole night, and as soon as the dawn broke, he would arm himself and fight the whole day. This continued consecutively for a thousand months. This Surah was thus revealed. This shows the superiority of the Ummah of the Holy Prophet ﷺ and that the Night of Qadr is a special characteristic of this ummah. One meaning of the word Qadr is 'greatness, honour or dignity'. Al-Zuhri and other scholars have assigned this meaning to it. The night is called the Night of Qadr because it is a night of greatness, honour, majesty and dignity. Abu Bakr Warraq has stated that this night is so called because a person becomes a man of honour and dignity on account of repentance, seeking pardon and righteous acts during this night, whilst prior to this he might have lacked honour and dignity on account of unrighteous life he might have led.

Dua laylatul-qadr: Aisha رضي الله عنها reported: I said: “O Messenger of Allah, I see that you know which night is the Night of Decree. What should I say during it?” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Say: O Allah, you are pardoning, you love pardon, so pardon me/قُولِي اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّكَ عُفُوٌّ تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ فَاعْفُ عَنِّي.” [Sunan al-Tirmidhī 3513]