Surah Inna Anzal na
(chapter 97)
1. Verily,
We have sent it down in the Night of Al-Qadr. 2. And what will make you know what the Night of Al-Qadr
is 3. The Night of
Al-Qadr is better than a thousand months. 4. Therein descend the angels and the Ruh by their Lord's
permission with every matter. 5. There
is peace until the appearance of dawn
Ibn
`Abbas and others have said, "Allah sent the Qur'an down all at one time
from the Preserved Tablet (Al-Lawh Al-Mahfuz) to the House of Might
(Baytul-`Izzah), which is in the heaven of this world. Then it came down in
parts to the Messenger of Allah based upon the incidents that occurred over a
period of twenty-three years.''
Prophet
Muhammad was restless about the moral evils and idolatry that were rampant among
his people. Humanity was passing through a difficult period of time. For hours,
Muhammad would reflect on the state of humanity. He used to spend periods of
time in retirement among the hills, in the neighborhood of Mecca in solitude.
One of his favorite places was the cave of Hira in the mount Al-Nur. Here in
the cave, he often remained plunged in thought deep in communion with the
unseen yet all-pervading God of the universe. In his fortieth year of his life,
he was in prayer during Ramadan in cave Hira, supplicating, when the light of
revelation suddenly burst upon him. A glorious Angel aroused him from sleep,
three times his mighty voice sounded in his ears, and three times a powerful
grasp was laid upon him. He as very confused and perplexed and could not decide
on what he should do. But when the Angel called on him the third time, the Holy
Prophet took up the message of his lord. This important event has been
described in Sahih Bukari in the following words:
“After the period of true
visions, solitude became dear to him, and he would go to a cave, hira, to
engage himself in devotion there for a certain number of nights before returning
to his family and then he would return to them for provision for a similar
stay. At length unexpectedly, the truth (angel) came to him and said “recite”.
I cannot read he (Muhamad) said. “Then he took me and squeezed me vehemently
and let me till I was exhausted”/
Then he said: “Recite in
the name of thy lord”; I said “I cannot
recite. He squeezed me for a third time and then let me go and said: “recite in
the name of thy lord, who created man from a clot of blood, for thy lord is beneficent”.
The Prophet repeated these verses. He was trembling with fear. At this stage,
he came to his wife Khadija, who said: “God will never bring you any disgrace.
You unite uterine relations; you bear the burden of the weak, you help the poor
and need, you entertain the guests, and endure hardship in the path of truthfulness”
Thus the first verses of the Quran were revealed.
It took a total of 23 year for the entire quran to be revealed to the Prophet.
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And those who disbelieve say: Why is not the Quran revealed to him all
at once? Thus (it is sent down in parts), that We may strengthen your heart
thereby. And We have revealed it to you gradually, in stages.” [25:32].
“And We have revealed it to you gradually, in
stages,” means We revealed it slowly and sent it gradually. All of this
indicates that Allah was taking care of His Book, the Quran, and His Messenger,
Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), as He sent down His Book
in accordance with the situations faced by the Messenger and as needed to
address unfolding issues.
And
what do you know what the Night of Glory is? The Night of Glory is better than
a thousand months.
The
commentators in general have understood this to mean that the good acts
performed in this Night are superior in value to the good acts of a thousand
months in which Lailat-ul-qadr is not included. There is no doubt that this is
in itself correct and the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) has described great
excellencies and virtues of the good acts and devotions of this Night. Hadrat
Abu Hurairah, the Holy Prophet said: The one who remained standing in worship
in the state of belief and for the sake of rewards from Allah during
Lailat-ul-qadr, would have all his previous sins forgiven."( related in Bukhari
and Muslim)
It is also the Night when all ordainments for the
year are decreed. Allâh ta'ala said, which means:
{By the manifest Book
(the Qur'ân) that makes thing clear. We sent it (this Qur'ân) down on a Blessed
Night (i.e. the Night of Qadr) in the month of Ramadhân. Verily We are ever
warning [mankind that Our Torments will reach those who disbelieve in Our
Oneness of Lordship and in Our Oneness of Worship]. Therein (that night) is
decreed every matter (amran) of ordainment}[The Smoke 44:2-5]
Signs of Lailatul Qadr
Allâh and His Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam
provided us some signs of its occurrence:
Allâh subhanahu wa ta'ala describes
the night as “..peace until the rise of the morn.” [97:5] In various sayings, the Prophet
sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam described the night as serene, tranquil, and
peaceful. The sun at sunrise would appear reddish and without its normal
blazing and sharp rays. Ubayy radiallaahu 'anhu said : "On the morning of the night
of Qadr the sun would rise without any beams; (it is like) a wash basin until
it raises." [Muslim]
Abu Hurairah radiallaahu 'anhu said : "We mentioned the night
of Qadr to the Messenger of Allaah (S) and he said: "Which of you
remembers when the moon rises and it is like half a bowl." [Muslim]
Ibn Abbaas radiallaahu 'anhu said that
the Messenger of Allaah (S) said : "The
night of Qadr is a night of generosity and happiness, it is not hot and neither
is it cold. The sun comes up in its morning weak, reddish." [Tabaranee, Ibn Khuzaimah and Bazzaar]
The Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa
sallam added that “the angel
of earth on that night of Qadr will be more numerous than all the pebbles of
the earth.”
