What are the signs of Laylat al-Qadr and what is the minimum for i'tikaf?
2026-09-21
F63 · Selected fatwas
Shaykh Ibn Bāz
الشيخ عبد العزيز بن باز
Original Q&A · Complete published question and answer
The complete published question and answer are included, with presenter follow-ups and closing remarks where present. The browsing title is editorial.
النص العربي
السؤال الأصلي
هل لليلة القدر صفات تميزها عن غيرها؟
الجواب
جاء في حديث أُبَيٍّ أن صبيحتها تطلع الشمس لا شعاع لها، وكان يحلف على ذلك أنها ليلة القدر، تطلع الشمس في صبيحتها ليس لها شعاع، هذه من علامات ليلة القدر.
س: من قال الهواء في ليلة القدر يكون هادئًا؟
الشيخ: الله أعلم، الله أعلم، ما عليه دليل واضح.
س: مقدار الاعتكاف كم؟
الشيخ: ما له حد محدود.
س: ليلة القدر ما تكون إلا في شهر رمضان؟
الشيخ: أبدًا، في العشر الأخيرة خاصة.
س: الاعتكاف خاص هل هو خاص...؟
الشيخ: لا ما هو بخاص، الاعتكاف مشروع في شوال وفي غيره، قال الله جل وعلا: وَلَا تُبَاشِرُوهُنَّ وَأَنْتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ [البقرة:187] عبادة، قُرْبة، متعلقة بالمساجد، لكن في رمضان أفضل، وفي العشر الأخيرة أفضل.
English translation
English translation prepared for SalafAlSalih.com from the cited Arabic source. It is not an official translation.
Original question
Does the Night of Decree have characteristics that distinguish it from other nights?
Answer
The hadith of Ubayy states that on its morning the sun rises without rays. He used to swear on that basis that it was the Night of Decree: on its morning the sun rises without rays. This is one of the signs of the Night of Decree.
Question: What about the statement that the air is calm on the Night of Decree?
Shaykh: Allah knows best. Allah knows best. There is no clear evidence for it.
Question: How long is iʿtikāf?
Shaykh: It has no fixed limit.
Question: Does the Night of Decree occur only in Ramadan?
Shaykh: Certainly—specifically in the last ten nights.
Question: Is iʿtikāf restricted—is it restricted…?
Shaykh: No, it is not restricted. Iʿtikāf is prescribed in Shawwāl and at other times. Allah, majestic and exalted, says: “Do not have intimate relations with them while you are in retreat in the mosques” [al-Baqarah 2:187]. It is an act of worship and drawing near to Allah connected with mosques. But in Ramadan it is better, and in the last ten nights it is better.
Source and editorial notes
Official Ibn Bāz website fatwa 22642
الموقع الرسمي للشيخ عبد العزيز بن باز
Official website of Shaykh ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Bāz
Arabic checked against the complete official published transcript. Text is preserved; spacing is normalized and legacy honorific glyphs are expanded. The English translates every displayed paragraph; Quran quotations are translations of their meanings.