Laylat al-Qadr

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Laylat al-Qadr (Arab., ‘night of power’). One of the later nights—generally thought to be the 27th—of the month of Ramaḍān. It is the title of sūra 97 of the Qurʾān, which describes this night as ‘better than a thousand months’, since during it the angels (malāʾika) descend to earth; it is ‘peace until the rising of the dawn’. Many Muslims like to spend this night in prayer and retreat (ʿItikāf) in a mosque.