Sūrah Ad-Dukhān The Smoke

الدخان

Al-Qurṭubī examines the "blessed night" verse and its identification debate laylat al-qadr or laylat al-barāʾah and derives the legal status of special worship on these nights across school positions.

DetailInformationClassificationSignificance

SurahAd-DukhānMeccanDivine decree and the signs of judgment

Key Fiqh IssueLaylat al-mubārakah blessed night identification and its ʿibādah obligationsSunnah to worship on / disputed nightAffects which night gets intensified worship

School ComparisonḤanafī: recognizes laylat al-barāʾah (15 Shaʿbān) for special prayer; Mālikī: focuses on laylat al-qadr; Shāfiʿī: recognizes 15 Shaʿbān; Ḥanbalī: rejects 15 Shaʿbān special prayer as bidʿahSunnah / Bidʿah (disputed)School positions on non-Ramaḍān night worship

Uṣūl PrincipleTaʿyīn al-ʿibādāt specification of acts of worship by textual evidenceCannot add obligatory worship without textPrevents innovation in worship forms

Al-Qurṭubī documents the major exegetical debate over "a blessed night" in verse 3: the majority of scholars identify it as laylat al-qadr in Ramaḍān, since the Qurʾān was revealed in Ramaḍān. A minority identify it as the 15th of Shaʿbān (laylat al-barāʾah), based on some ḥadīth traditions. Al-Qurṭubī sides with the majority view but acknowledges the minority position.

The legal consequence of this debate is significant: if laylat al-barāʾah is a textually established night, special prayers on it are sunnah; if it lacks solid textual basis, designating special prayers for it becomes bidʿah. The Ḥanbalī school (and Ibn Taymiyyah following them) rejects any special congregational worship on the 15th of Shaʿbān as an innovation. Al-Qurṭubī applies the uṣūl principle of taʿyīn: worship forms must be established by text, not by scholarly opinion alone.

إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةٍ مُّبَارَكَةٍ Innā anzalnāhu fī laylatin mubārakatin Meaning: "Indeed We sent it down on a blessed night" Al-Qurṭubī: "it" refers to the Qurʾān; "blessed night" is laylat al-qadr per the majority; since Ramaḍān is specified elsewhere (2:185), this verse is consistent with laylat al-qadr identification; the minority Shaʿbān identification creates a textual tension.

فِيهَا يُفْرَقُ كُلُّ أَمْرٍ حَكِيمٍ Fīhā yufraqu kullu amrin ḥakīm Meaning: "In it every precise matter is decided" Al-Qurṭubī: "every matter decided" refers to annual decrees; this is consistent with laylat al-qadr in Ramaḍān; the verse implies special divine attention to this night, making worship in it particularly valuable.

Majority identification of "blessed night": laylat al-qadr in Ramaḍān supported by Qurʾān 2:185 and the isnād traditions.
Minority identification: 15th of Shaʿbān (laylat al-barāʾah) textually weaker but accepted by Ḥanafī and Shāfiʿī schools as basis for recommended worship.
Ḥanbalī school: designating 15th Shaʿbān for special congregational prayer is bidʿah (innovation) no authentic basis from the Prophet or early community.
The uṣūl principle: worship specifications (taʿyīn) require textual evidence scholarly opinion cannot create new obligatory or sunnah worship acts.
All schools agree that intensifying worship during laylat al-qadr in the last ten nights of Ramaḍān is strongly sunnah.

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