considered the lifespans of his community too short for them to accomplish as many deeds as others had during their longer lives, so Allah Most High granted him the Night of Decree, which is better than a thousand months.”

It has also been said that its meaning is explained by the report that “the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw the Umayyads in a dream ascending his pulpit, caliph after caliph. This distressed him, so Allah revealed to him: ‘Indeed, We have granted you abundant goodness’ [al-Kawthar: 1], and ‘Indeed, We sent it down on the Night of Decree’ [al-Qadr: 1], ‘And what will make you know what the Night of Decree is?’ [al-Qadr: 2], ‘The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months’ [al-Qadr: 3]”—meaning the reign of the Umayyads. He said: “We calculated the duration of the Umayyads’ reign and found it to be a thousand months.”

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This interpretation implies that the Night of Decree was granted exclusively to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and those who lived in his time. This, Allah knows best, was the view adopted by those who said that the Night of Decree had been removed. That is not correct. The correct view, held by the general body of scholars and people of religion, is that it was not removed altogether; rather, what was removed was knowledge of its precise occurrence on a particular night. This is clear from the hadith in which the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “I was shown this night in Ramadan, until two men quarreled and it was lost. So seek it on the ninth, seventh, and fifth nights.” Had it been removed altogether, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would not have instructed people to seek it.

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The correct view, then, is that the Night of Decree remains for the community of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, until the Day of Resurrection. The scholars differed concerning it, holding three views. The first is that it falls on a particular night and never shifts from it, but that this night is unknown. Its merit has been made known, while its precise occurrence has been concealed, so that people may strive to seek it and thereby perform more good deeds. Those who held this view differed among themselves, adopting four positions: first, that it could be any night of the year; second, that it is in Ramadan; third, that it is among its middle ten nights; and fourth, that it is among its last ten nights.

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The second view is that it falls on a particular, known night and never shifts from it. There was disagreement among those who held