97. Al-Qadr
Destiny
Asad's Introduction
OPENING with a reference to the revelation of the first five verses of the preceding surah - that is, to the beginning of Muhammad's prophetic mission - Al-Qadr undoubtedly belongs to a very early part of the Mecca period.
BEHOLD, from on high have We bestowed this [divine writ] on Night of Destiny.
And what could make thee conceive what it is, that Night of Destiny?
The Night of Destiny is better than a thousand months:2
in hosts descend in it the angels, 3 bearing divine inspiration by their Sustainer's leave; from all [evil] that may happen
does it make secure, until the rise of dawn.
Asad's Commentary (5 notes)
Or: "of Almightiness" or "of Majesty" - thus describing the night on which the Prophet received his first revelation (see introductory note to the preceding surah). On the basis of several Traditions it may be assumed that it was one of the last ten nights - probably the twenty-seventh - of the month of Ramadan, thirteen years before the Prophet's emigration to Medina.
Sc., "in which there was no similar night" (Razi).
The grammatical form tanazzalu implies repetition, frequency or multitude; hence - as suggested by Ibn Kathir - "descending in hosts".
Lit., "and [divine] inspiration". For this rendering of ruh, see first sentence of 16:2 and the corresponding note 2. The present instance is undoubtedly the earliest example of the Qur'anic use of this term in the sense of "divine inspiration".
Lit., "it is salvation (salam, see surah 5, note 29) - i.e., it makes the believer secure from all spiritual evil: thus Mujahid (as quoted by Ibn Kathir), evidently implying that a conscious realization of the sanctity of this night acts as a shield against unworthy thoughts and inclinations.