Commentary
And when He magnified it, He mentioned the aspect of its greatness to be a notification after ambiguity, and this is more impactful on the soul. So he said, beginning: ﴿It descends﴾ meaning a gradual descent, which is originally at the utmost of lightness and speed, as indicated by the omission of the 'taa'. ﴿The angels﴾ meaning this great type which is all good, ﴿and the Spirit﴾ meaning Gabriel, blessings and peace be upon him. He specified him to clarify his virtue, or he is with the noble angels, or he is a creation greater than the angels, or he is a matter to which the souls of the knowers find tranquility and through which good fortune and blessing are attained. ﴿In it﴾ and he indicated the concealment of that descent by omitting the 'taa' of descent, along with what has preceded of indications. And it indicated the increase of blessing in that descent and the great obedience of the angels by His saying: ﴿By permission of their Lord﴾ meaning by the knowledge of the Benefactor towards them, their Nurturer, and His enabling them. They descend to the earth or the lower heaven, or they are brought closer to the believers, beginning their descent ﴿From every matter﴾ meaning the comprehensive matters in which they differentiate by permission of [Allah], the details of the matters that He, glorified and exalted is He, wants in that year at its times from that night to its like in the coming year, or for the purpose of decreeing everything that will be in that year. And he expressed the thing by the matter to inform that they do not do anything except by His command.
Explore Other Scholars on This Verse
Compare different scholarly perspectives on Surah Al-Qadr verse 4