Revealed in Makkah, Contains 5 Ayah
Bism-Allah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim
In the Name of Allah, the Giver of Mercy, the Most Merciful
97:1 Indeed, We revealed it on the Night of Decree.
97:2 And what shall make you know what the Night of Decree is?
97:3 The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months.
97:4 The angels and the Spirit descend therein by the permission of their Lord with every decree.
97:5 Peace it is, till the rising of the dawn.
Tafsir
97:1 Indeed, We revealed it on the Night of Decree.
Indeed, We revealed the Quran to Our Messenger Muhammad on the Night of Decree.
Allah will decree what will happen during the year on the Night of Decree. Abdul Allah Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, said, ‘Allah revealed the Quran to the nearest heaven to the earth on the Night of Decree. Then, Allah revealed whatever part of it when He wanted.’
The ayah refers to the Quran by the pronoun ‘it’ though it is mentioned for the first time because the Muslims always remember it.
Al-Qadr translated into decree is derived from qadr, namely, to have a high rank. The Night of al-Qadr has a great rank because the Quran was revealed during it. Allah, Exalted be He, has honored the nation of Messenger Muhammad by this night and He, out of His generosity, will give immense reward to the believers if they spend this night performing righteous deeds for His sake. It is also called the Night al-Qadr, namely, Decree, because Allah, Exalted be He, ordained what will happen on this night. The Night of al-Qadr is in the month of Ramadan. Allah says, interpretation of the meaning,
2:185 The month of Ramadan in which the Quran was revealed…
97:2 And what shall make you know what the Night of Decree is?
The ayah refers to the high rank of the Night of Decree. It is as if its sublime rank made it greater that words and phrases cannot sufficiently describe it.
What shall make you know what the significant rank of the Night of Decree is? Only Allah knows its high and exceptional rank.
97:3 The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months.
The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months because Allah revealed the Quran on it. Besides, the reward of righteous deeds performed on the Night of Decree will be far more than the reward of righteous deeds done at other times.
Little deeds of righteousness may be better than significant righteous deeds for considerations such as the time and place of their performance, and performing them sincerely and excellently. Allah, out of His wisdom and bounty, may distinguish some times, places, and people with distinctive merits.
Specifying the reward as being better than a thousand months may be intended, or it simply means that it will be a great reward.
Mujahid, may Allah have mercy on him, said, ‘The reward of righteous deeds performed on the Night of Decree will be more than the reward of righteous deeds done at other times.’
97:4 The angels and the Spirit descend therein by the permission of their Lord with every decree.
Another merit of the Night of Decree is that the angels, the first and foremost of whom is the archangel Gabriel, descend on that night. They come down in multitude to the earth by the permission of their Lord, Allah, with every decree that He, Exalted be He, wants to carry out and convey to His slaves. The angels come down on the Night of Decree and bring with them great blessings to its inhabitants.
The ayah mentions that the angels descend to earth on the Night of Decree, but it specifically mentions the angel Gabriel to emphasize his great rank among the angels. Moreover, it refers to the archangel Gabriel as the Spirit because he is responsible to bring Allah’s revelation, which revives the souls, to Allah’s prophets. Just as the body revives by the soul, Allah’s religion revives by the revelation that the angel Gabriel brings.
The angels come down to the earth by the permission of Allah as they do as He commands them and they never disobey Him.
Qatada, may Allah have mercy on him, said, ‘Allah decrees on the Night of decree what will happen in that year until the next year.’
97:5 Peace it is, till the rising of the dawn.
Another merit of the Night of Decree is that peace and safety encompass it until the rising of the dawn. All those who diligently spend the Night of Decree performing righteous deeds for Allah’s sake will enjoy peace and safety until the rise of dawn. The scholars elaborate on the merits and time of the Night of Decree. Their opinions can be summarized as follows: 1) Most scholars say that the Night Decree is on the night of the twenty-seventh of the month of Ramadan every year. It is said that Allah conceals its exact time to motivate the believers to perform righteous deeds as much as they can to attain the great reward assigned for whoever spends it on worshipping Allah and performing righteous deeds. 2) The reward of righteous deeds done on the Night of Decree will be better than the reward of righteous deeds in thousand months in which there is no the Night of Decree. 3) The sun rises bright with no rays.
Learned Lessons from Surah Al-Qadr
• The revelation of the Quran to Messenger Muhammad began on the Night of Decree.
• The Night of Decree has a great rank. Allah decrees on that night what will happen in that year until the next year.
• The reward of righteous deeds done on the Night of Decree is better than the reward of righteous done in a thousand months in which there is no the Night of Decree.
• The angels and the first foremost of whom is the archangel Gabriel descend to the earth on the Night of Decree with every matter that Allah decrees.
• One of the merits of descending of the angels to the earth on the Night of Decree is that they see many kinds of righteous deeds that the believers perform and they hear the humble invocations of the sinners, who ask Allah to forgive their sins.
• The Night of Decree is peaceful and safe until the dawn begins. The believers will be safe from evils and Satan and his soldiers cannot harm them in the least.
.jpg "Quran Surah Al-Qadr (the Night of Decree)")