Additional material on the Night of Decree

The Shaykh : The scholars differed on more than forty opinions regarding the identification of the Night of Decree. Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar mentioned more than forty opinions in his commentary on al-Bukhari. As for the disagreement over whether it remains or has been lifted:
The correct view, without a doubt, is that it remains. What is mentioned in the hadith about it being raised means that the knowledge of its specific time was raised in that hour, because this is how the hadith was reported. The meaning of the statement that it was raised is that the knowledge of its designation in that year was raised. Therefore, the truth is that it remains until the Day of Resurrection.
The second issue is whether the Night of Decree is in Ramadan or in another month? We say that there is no doubt that it is in Ramadan, based on a collection of evidence. Among this evidence is the saying of Allah the Exalted: Yes, in Ramadan. And He said: If you combine this with that, it becomes established that the Night of Decree is in Ramadan, because if it were in a month other than Ramadan, it would not be correct to say "the month of Ramadan in which the Qur'an was revealed." So, the Night of Decree is certainly in Ramadan, and there is no doubt about it based on the evidence of the Qur'an. However, this is a composite evidence, and a composite evidence cannot be used for deduction unless each piece of evidence is combined with the other. Composite evidence has examples, including this example and the minimum duration of pregnancy. The minimum duration of pregnancy in the womb of its mother, for a fetus that remains alive after birth, is six months. How did we know this? From the saying of Allah the Exalted: And He said in another verse: So in this second verse, the mention of the pregnancy was omitted, and it was stated that weaning is in two years. The two years are twenty-four months. If the period of pregnancy and weaning is thirty months, add six to twenty-four to make thirty. By this, it is known that the minimum duration of pregnancy is six months. This is called composite evidence. So, we return to the original issue: the Night of Decree is in Ramadan.
On which night of Ramadan? The first night, the last night, or somewhere in between? All of this is possible from the Qur'an, because the Qur'an does not specify it. However, it is established in the hadiths that it is in the last ten nights of Ramadan. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed i'tikaf in the first ten nights of Ramadan seeking the Night of Decree, then he performed i'tikaf in the middle ten nights. Then it was said that it is in the last ten nights, and it was shown to him, peace and blessings be upon him, meaning the rain poured from its roof. The Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) mosque was on a wooden structure, so it became clear by this that it was the night of the twenty-first in that year.
So it is in the last ten nights. It was shown to a group of the Companions that the Night of Decree is in the last seven nights, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: meaning your visions agreed. Based on this, the last seven nights are the most likely of the last ten nights, unless the meaning of the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) statement is that it was in that specific year. This is possible because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to perform i'tikaf in the entire last ten nights until he died. It is possible that the meaning of his statement is that in that specific year, the Night of Decree was only in the last seven nights, and it does not mean that in every future Ramadan it will be in the last seven nights. So it remains now in the last ten nights, starting with the night of the twenty-first and ending with the last night of the month.
The third issue: Is the Night of Decree on one specific night every year, or does it move? There is disagreement among the scholars on this, and the correct view is that it moves. So it is the night of the twenty-first in one year, the night of the twenty-ninth in another year, the night of the twenty-fifth in another year, and the night of the twenty-fourth in another year, and so on. It moves, because the hadiths that were transmitted cannot be reconciled except on this view that it moves. The wisdom of its moving is very clear, because if it were on a specific night, the lazy person would not stand in prayer except on that night. But if it moves and every night becomes a possibility for it to be the Night of Decree, the person stands in prayer on all the nights of the ten. This is part of the wisdom in not designating it to a specific night, so that the diligent are distinguished from the lazy, and those who desire good from those who are indifferent to good.
The fourth issue: The correct view is that it moves, but the most likely night is the twenty-seventh, as the author mentioned. The fifth issue...
The student: The fourth.

The Shaykh : Well, and by Allah, I think it is the fifth, yes.
The fifth issue: Why is it called the Night of Decree? Why is it called the Night of Decree? It is called the Night of Decree because what will happen in that year is decreed in it. What will happen in that year is decreed in it. What will occur in that year is written in it. This is part of the wisdom of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and the manifestation of the perfection of His creation and making. There is a first writing before the creation of the heavens and the earth by fifty thousand years in the Preserved Tablet, and this writing does not change or alter, as Allah the Exalted said: This is the original, to which all writing returns. The second writing is for the duration of a lifetime. What the fetus will do, its outcome, and its provision are written on it while it is in the womb of its mother, as established in the authentic hadith, the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud, agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
The third writing: The annual writing, which is what happens on the Night of Decree. So it is called the Night of Decree because what will happen in that year of good and evil, general or specific, is decreed in it. The evidence for this is the saying of Allah the Exalted: It is detailed and clarified: And all of Allah's command is wise. It was also said that it is called the Night of Decree from "qadr" meaning honor, as you say so-and-so is of great honor.