Did Prophet pbuh know exact day of Laila-tul-Qadr?

[Hidaya]

Salam, peace.  Some people ask how come the Prophet (pbuh) did not know the exact date when he received the first revelation?

[Heba E. Husseyn]

Wa'salam.   That query is based on the time tracking facilities we have in modern times.  It was a whole lot different back then.  For example, today if you wake up in the morning and aren't sure which day or date it is,  you can immediately verify from the calendar or computer or phone or television or radio.  There was no such recourse in ancient times.  It was hard even to confirm the time of when a person may have attended a certain event.  Many people in that era didn't even know their birthdays because time tracking was neither easy nor important.  There was nothing to assist them except their memory which is very often not reliable as far as accuracy is concerned.  When the Prophet (pbuh) unexpectedly received the first Divine Revelation, it was a very emotional, nervous and life-changing event for him.  He (pbuh) was focused on his future responsibilities that came with the confirmation of his Prophethood rather than remembering the day and time for future commemorations.  It is very likely that a few days later or a week or two later he (pbuh) may have tried to recall the date and time but was unclear and unsure which is very understandable.  The fact that they all knew which month it was, was enough to know in those days.  Allah Almighty of course knows every detail, which day, which time and which minute/second is Leialtul Qadr.  But HE chose not to disclose it for which HE has His reasons.  One reason may likely be the equal distribution of worship throughout the upcoming months of Ramadan rather than worship being concentrated in one particular day of Ramadan which quite certainly would have happened if the exact date of Leilatul Qadr was known to us. 

[Hidaya]

If I am not mistaken, I think there is a hadith that says the Prophet knew the date and then suddenly Allah caused him to forget. 

[Heba E. Husseyn]

That comes from a useless and unreliable hadith, as usual, totally unwarranted from Quranic perspective.   

Bukhari chapter 2 'Belief' Hadith #47 claims the Prophet (pbuh) received the information about the exact date of Laylat al-Qadr from Allah in a dream. He went to tell the Sahabah about that date.  At that point. he saw two people fighting, got distracted and forgot what the date was because Allah took the knowledge of Al Qadr from him. 

Completely senseless and unsupported by the Noble Quran.

[Hidaya]

Which specific hadith says to seek Leilatul Qadr in last 10 nights of Ramadan?

[Heba E. Husseyn]

There are quite a few contradictory ahadith from Bukhari and Muslim on this topic.  The commonest one that circulates is, quote: "The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, 'Seek it in the last ten days, on the odd nights.' ” (From Bukhari and Muslim).

Another one, probably Bukhari or Albani claims “Seek the Night of Decree on the last night of Ramadan,”  narrated by Muawiyah bin Abu Sufyan (both he and his dad were notorious arch enemies of Islam).   This forged hadith claims that Leilatul Qadr was not on one of the last odd 10 or 5 nights of Ramadan, but that it was on the last night.
 
There is yet another forged Bukhari hadith #232, Section 32 narrated Ibn Umer claiming, quote:  "Some men amongst the companions of the Prophet were shown in their dreams that the night of Qadr was in the last seven nights of Ramadan. Allah's Apostle said, 'It seems that all your dreams agree that (the Night of Qadr) is in the last seven nights, and whoever wants to search for it (i.e. the Night of Qadr) should search in the last seven (nights of Ramadan).' "  Anyone can discern that this hadith is not only false but also carries a very cunning insinuation.  It's trying to pretend that the Prophet (pbuh) sought help from the dreams of others to confirm the date for Leilatul Qadr.   May Allah Almighty punish these liars.

Sunni Muslims presume Leilatul Qadr is in one of the odd nights during the last 10 nights of Ramadan.  Shiia Muslims presume it is either in 19th, 21st or 23rd.  However both Sunnis and Shiias observe it officially on the 27th, that is, extra prayers on the night of 26th and 27th in accordance with the pre-Islamic calendar of new day starting at 12.01 night.
 
The truth is, only Allah knows the exact date when the Quran began being revealed.  We only know it was in the month of Ramadan.  This is certain.  Alhumdulilah.  The Quranic information for Leilatul Qadr is in Surah 97 which does not mention the exact day and in Verse 2:185 where Allah confirms that the Quran was revealed in the month of Ramadan.