'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful'

Tafsir of Surah Al-Qadr

People have differed regarding the place of the revelation of this surah. Ibn Abbas and others said: It is Medinan, while Qatadah said: It is Meccan.

His saying, exalted is He:

﴿Indeed, We sent it down on the Night of Decree﴾ ﴿And what can make you know what is the Night of Decree?﴾ ﴿The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months﴾ ﴿The angels and the Spirit descend therein by permission of their Lord for every matter﴾ ﴿Peace it is until the emergence of dawn﴾.

The pronoun in "We sent it down" refers to the Qur'an, even though it was not mentioned beforehand, due to the indication of the meaning towards it. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, and others said: Allah, exalted is He, sent it down to the lowest heaven all at once on the Night of Decree, then He revealed it to Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, over twenty years. Al-Shabi and others said: The meaning is: We began to send down this Qur'an to you on the Night of Decree. It has been narrated that the descent of the angel in Hira was in the last ten nights of Ramadan, and this interpretation is correct. It has also been narrated that the descent of the angel was on the fourteenth of Ramadan, and this interpretation is only correct according to the saying of those who say that the Night of Decree rotates throughout the entire month and is not restricted to the last ten nights of Ramadan. Some people said: The meaning of His saying, exalted is He: ﴿Indeed, We sent it down on the Night of Decree﴾: We sent down this surah regarding the Night of Decree and its virtue. Since the surah is part of the Qur'an, the pronoun refers to the Qur'an for the sake of magnification and enhancement.

And His saying, exalted is He: "on the Night of" is in the manner of the saying of Umar ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him: I feared that a Qur'an would be revealed concerning me on the night of the revelation of Surah Al-Fath, and similarly the saying of Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, in the hadith of the slander: I am too insignificant in my own self for a Qur'an to be revealed concerning me. The Night of Decree is a night that Allah, exalted is He, has distinguished with great virtue, and made it better than a thousand months in which there is no Night of Decree, as Mujahid and others said. This nation was specifically honored with this virtue when Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, saw the lifespans of his nation and found them to be short.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And what can make you know what is the Night of Decree?﴾ is an expression of its magnification. Then He, exalted is He, followed it with His saying: ﴿The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months﴾. Ibn Uyaynah said in Sahih Al-Bukhari: What is in the Qur'an and "And what can make you know" has been informed to him by Allah, exalted is He, and what is in it "And what can make you know" means that he did not know.

Ibn Abbas and Qatadah and others mentioned that it is called the Night of Decree because Allah, glorified and exalted is He, decrees in it the lifespans, provisions, and all events of the world, and He delivers that to the angels to implement it. It has been narrated similarly regarding the Night of the Half of Sha'ban. For this, there are indications from the Book of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, such as His saying: "In it is decreed every wise matter" [Al-Dukhan: 4]. As for the definitive correctness of it, it is not established. Al-Zuhri said its meaning is: the Night of Decree is great and honorable, and of great importance, as in your saying: a man has a degree. Abu Bakr the scribe said: It is called the Night of Decree because it grants whoever revives it a great degree that he did not have before, and it elevates him greatly in the sight of Allah, glorified and exalted is He. It is said: It is named so because every action in it has significant value.

The Night of Decree is in the odd nights of the last ten nights of Ramadan; this is the correct opinion relied upon. It is in the odd nights according to the completeness and deficiency of the month. Therefore, one who awaits it should anticipate it from the night of the twentieth in every night until the end of the month; for the odd nights with the completeness of the month are not the same as the odd nights with its deficiency. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "For the third, it remains; for the fifth, it remains; for the seventh, it remains." He, blessings and peace be upon him, also said: "Seek it in the third, fifth, seventh, and ninth nights." Malik said: By the ninth, he means the night of the twenty-first. Ibn Habib said: Malik means: If the month is deficient. The apparent meaning of this is that he, peace be upon him, took precautions regarding the completeness and deficiency of the month. This cannot be obtained without reviving all ten nights. It has been narrated from Abu Hanifah and others that the Night of Decree has been raised, and this is a rejected statement. What has been raised is its specification. Ibn Mas'ud said: Whoever establishes all the Sunnah will attain it. Abu Razin said: It is the first night of the month of Ramadan. Al-Hasan said: It is the night of the seventeenth, which was the day of the Battle of Badr. Many scholars said: It is the night of the twenty-third, which is the night of Abdullah ibn Anis al-Juhani. Ibn Abbas also said this, and he, along with a group of the Companions, said: It is the night of the twenty-seventh. Ibn Abbas supported his statement by saying that man was created from seven, and his provision was made in seven. Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, approved of this unanimously. Zayd ibn Thabit and Bilal said: It is the night of the twenty-fourth. Some scholars said: Allah, glorified and exalted is He, concealed it from His servants so that they strive in good deeds and do not rely on its virtue and become negligent in other deeds.

Then Allah, the Most High, magnified the matter of the Night of Decree, in a manner similar to His saying: ﴿And what can make you know what is the Day of Resurrection﴾ [Al-Haaqqa: 3], and other than that. Then He informed that it is better for whoever does an action in it than a thousand months, and it is eighty years and three years and a third of a year. It has been narrated from Al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with them, that he said when he was reproached for handing over the matter to Muawiya, may Allah be pleased with him: Indeed, Allah, the Most High, showed His Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, in a dream the Umayyads jumping on his pulpit like monkeys, so he was concerned about that. Therefore, Allah, the Most High, granted him the Night of Decree, which is better than the duration of the rule of the Umayyads, and He informed him that they would rule for this amount of time.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

Then he revealed the unseen that it was from the Sunnah of the community until the killing of Marwan Al-Jad'i for this amount of time specifically, even though the saying contradicts that they had ruled in the west of the earth for a duration other than this. And in the authentic narration from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "Whoever stands in the Night of Decree with faith and seeking reward, his previous sins will be forgiven."

And "the spirit" is Gabriel, peace be upon him, and it is said that they are a type of the guardians of the angels, peace be upon them. And His saying, the Most High: ﴿By permission of their Lord from all matters﴾, people differed about - so whoever said: "Indeed, in this night the matters are decreed for the angels" said: This descent is for that, and "from" is for the beginning of the limit, meaning: Their descent is for these decreed matters and because of them. And "peace" is a news of a new beginning, meaning: Peace this night until the beginning of its day. And this is the saying of Nafi' Al-Maqbari, Al-Farra, and Abu Al-Aliya. And some of them said: "from" means "by," meaning: by every matter. And whoever did not say "the matters are decreed in that night" said: The meaning of the verse is: The angels and the spirit descend in it by permission of their Lord with mercy, forgiveness, and bounties. Then he made His saying, the Most High: "from all matters" related to His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "Peace it is," meaning: from every frightening matter that should be safe from it, so it is peace. And Mujahid said: No one in it will be afflicted with illness. And Al-Shabi and Mansur said: "Peace" means greeting, meaning: The angels greet the believers. And Ibn Abbas, Ikrimah, and Al-Kalbi read: "from every person," meaning: He is safe in it from every evil person. So this is on the basis that "peace" means "safety." And it has been narrated from him that "peace" means "greeting." And "every person" refers to the angels, meaning: from every angel greeting the believers. And this is for those who act in worship in it. And those who say that the speech ends with His saying, the Most High: "Peace" to His saying, the Most High: "It is" is merely an indication that it is the Night of the twenty-seventh of the month; for this word is the twenty-seventh of the words of the surah. And this purpose was mentioned by Ibn Bakir, and Abu Bakr Al-Warraq, and Al-Naqqash from Ibn Abbas.

The majority of the seven reciters read: "until the rising of" with a فتح (fathah) on the لام (lam), while al-Kisai, al-A'mash, Abu Rajaa, Ibn Muhaisin, and Talhah read: "until the rising of" with a كسر (kasrah) on the لام (lam). It was said: both are sources with the same meaning in the language of Banu Tamim. It was also said: with the فتح (fathah) it is a source, and with the كسر (kasrah) it indicates the place of rising according to the people of Hijaz. The reading with the فتح (fathah) has various interpretations based on this statement, while the other reading is derived through a figurative meaning, as if the time is confined to that place and is completed therein. The كسر (kasrah) can also be understood in another way, which is that there are some exceptions from these sources that have a كسر (kasrah), like المَعْجِزَة (the miracle) and their saying: عَلاهُ المُكَبِّرُ - with a فتح (fathah) on the ميم (meem) and a كسر (kasrah) on the باء (baa) - and among them is المَحِيضُ (the menstruation). Thus, "المَطْلَعُ" (the rising) runs as a source in the same manner as what is exceptional. In the letter of Ubayy ibn Ka'b: "Peace is until the rising of dawn."

The interpretation of Surah [Al-Qadr] is complete, and all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.