Some later scholars—both from our own school and from others—have maintained that it is recommended to enliven this night with the prayer they call “al-Alfiyya,” so named because Sūrah al-Ikhlāṣ, “Say: He is God, the One,” is recited in it one thousand times. Some of them even regard fasting on that day as desirable. Their chief proof for this practice is the ḥadīth they attribute to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, on the subject.

They may also appeal to the broad scriptural evidences under which such a prayer could be included, to the reports extolling the merit of this particular night, to narrations that encourage reviving it with worship, and to long-standing custom, arguing that the benefits and advantages involved justify deeming it recommended, just as with other devotional acts.

Yet the Prophetic report specifically concerning this “millennial” prayer is, by unanimous verdict of the ḥadīth specialists, a fabricated falsehood.

Granted, the general texts that praise voluntary prayer are sound; nevertheless, a given practice is declared recommended either because a distinct proof singles it out, or because it realizes a widely recognized purpose. The general purpose by itself, however, does not warrant declaring that precise form recommended. Even so, those who approved it went on to list it among the fixed non-obligatory prayers, such as the Duḥā prayer and the Tarāwīḥ, and that is a mistake. For this reason none of the acknowledged Imāms—early or late—has ever mentioned it.

The censure of singling out this night arose only because it confers special status, in both belief and practice, on something that possesses no such distinction, just as it is disapproved