Sunan Abi Dawud: Book 6, Hadith 8
Zirr (b. Hubaish) said: I said to Ubayy b. Ka’b: Tell me about lailat al-qadr, O Abu al-Mundhir, for our companion (Ibn Mas’ud) was questioned about it, and he said: Anyone who gets up for prayer every night all the year round will hit upon it (i.e. lailat al-qadr). He replied: May Allah have mercy on Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman. By Allah, he knew that it was in Ramadan, (Musaddad’s version goes) but he disliked that the people should content themselves (with that night alone); or he liked that the people should not content themselves (with the night alone). According to the agreed version: By Allah, it is the twenty-seventh night of Ramadan, without any reservation. I said: How did you know that, Abu al-Mundhir? He replied: By the indication (or sign) of which the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) informed us. I asked Zirr: What is the sign ? He replied: The sun rises like a vessel of water in the morning following that night; it has no rays until it rises high up.
حَدَّثَنَا سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ، وَمُسَدَّدٌ، – الْمَعْنَى – قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ، عَنْ عَاصِمٍ، عَنْ زِرٍّ، قَالَ قُلْتُ لأُبَىِّ بْنِ كَعْبٍ أَخْبِرْنِي عَنْ لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ، يَا أَبَا الْمُنْذِرِ فَإِنَّ صَاحِبَنَا سُئِلَ عَنْهَا . فَقَالَ مَنْ يَقُمِ الْحَوْلَ يُصِبْهَا . فَقَالَ رَحِمَ اللَّهُ أَبَا عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ وَاللَّهِ لَقَدْ عَلِمَ أَنَّهَا فِي رَمَضَانَ – زَادَ مُسَدَّدٌ وَلَكِنْ كَرِهَ أَنْ يَتَّكِلُوا أَوْ أَحَبَّ أَنْ لاَ يَتَّكِلُوا ثُمَّ اتَّفَقَا – وَاللَّهِ إِنَّهَا لَفِي رَمَضَانَ لَيْلَةُ سَبْعٍ وَعِشْرِينَ لاَ يَسْتَثْنِي . قُلْتُ يَا أَبَا الْمُنْذِرِ أَنَّى عَلِمْتَ ذَلِكَ قَالَ بِالآيَةِ الَّتِي أَخْبَرَنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم . قُلْتُ لِزِرٍّ مَا الآيَةُ قَالَ تُصْبِحُ الشَّمْسُ صَبِيحَةَ تِلْكَ اللَّيْلَةِ مِثْلَ الطَّسْتِ لَيْسَ لَهَا شُعَاعٌ حَتَّى تَرْتَفِعَ .
Sunan Abi Dawud: Book 6, Hadith 8
This hadith is from the Sunan Abi Dawud collection of hadiths. Sunan Abi Dawud is a cornerstone of Sunni Islamic scholarship and one of the six canonical hadith collections. It was meticulously compiled by the renowned scholar Abu Dawud al-Sijistani in the 9th century. The work contains over 4,800 narrations detailing the sayings, actions, and approvals of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). These are systematically organized into thematic books focusing on practical aspects of faith, including prayer, purification, fasting, charity, marriage, and civil justice. Its authority is derived from the compiler’s critical methodology, where he often annotated the reliability of each hadith, prioritizing those with strong, authentic chains of transmission for legal matters.
Use the tags to drill down deeper and find connections and new streams of information to help you fill gaps in knowledge and better connect the dots. Eman and Life is a growing database of knowledge with the mission to help further us in our pursuit of the best lifestyle through the guidance of the Quran and Sunnah.
For more Hadith in Book 6: Prayer (Kitab Al-Salat): Detailed Injunctions about Ramadan