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A brief explanation of "Surah Al-Qadr"
This sura was
revealed on The Holy Prophet (s)
in Makkah.
Bismillah Hir Rahmaanir Raheem
Inna Anzalnaho Fi Lailatul Qadre Wa Ma Adraaka Ma Lailatul Qadr
Lailatul Qadre
Khairum Min Alfe Shaher Tanazzalul Malaikatu War Ruhu Fiha Beizne
Rabbehim Min
Kulle Amrin Salamun Hiya Hatta Matla’il Fajr
In The Name
of Allah, The Beneficent, The
Merciful
Surely, We
sent it (The Qur’an) down on the
night of Honor.
And what
makes you know what the Night of
Honor is?
The Night of
Honor is better than a thousand
nights.
The Angels
and the Spirit descend on
descend therein by their Lord’s
leave of every affair.
Peace! It is
still the rising of the dawn.
Allah says in
Sura Al-Baqara verse 185 “Ramazaan
is the month in which was sent
the Qur’an” which conveys the
notion that the whole Qur’an was
descended in this month.
The first
verse of Sura al-Qadr contains
two pronouns; one is “it”
referring to Qur’an and the
other “we”relates to Almighty
Himself. Together with these two
pronouns the very fact that it
was revealed on the Night of
Honor manifests the importance
of The Holy Qur’an.
The
revelation was of two kinds: one
was that the whole Qur’an came
down, at once, in one night on
the heart of the Holy Prophet(s)
or, the Bait-ul-Mamoor, or from
the “Preserved Tablet” or“Lauh-e-Mahfooz”.
The second kind of revelation
was the Holy Qur’an came down in
portions, gradually, during the
life time of the Holy
Prophet(s).
This
explanation is further supported
by the fact that the two
different Arabic words like “Inzaal”
and“Tanzeel” have been used in
the Noble Qur’an. Inzaal has a
broad meaning and here it
implies “bringing down all at
once” while Tanzeel implies
bringing down gradually.
The Night of
Honor is better than thousand
nights which is about eighty
years. It is reported that the
Holy Prophet(s) said “one of the
members of the Israelites had
spent one thousand months
wearing his fighting dress on
and prepared to fight on the
path of Allah”
On hearing
this, the companions wished if
they could also do the same.
Hence this verse was revealed.
The word “tanazzala”
is a future term showing
continuity and hence the Night
of Honor
comes every
year. About the meaning of word
“Ruh” Imam Jaffer al-Sadiq
(a.s.) said
“Gibraeel is
one of the angels and “Ruh” is
greater than the angels. Has
Allah, the Exalted, not said
“The Angels and the Spirit
descended”. The objective for
the descend is to proportionate
and assign the fates and to
bring any blessings and goodness
on that night.
Sura Al-Dukhan
verse 3 and 4 reads “that We
have revealed the Qur’an on a
blessed night to warn mankind.
On this night, every absolute
command coming from Us becomes
distinguishable.”Other
traditions corroborate to this
fact that every human’s
sustenance, life span and other
important events for the next
year are decided by Allah on
this night. This does not in any
way obstructs an individual’s
independence of actions as it is
reflected by his purity of
intentions, knowledge, faith
etc. Qazaa-o-Qadr has already
been discussed in a separate
article.The fact that the angels
and the Ruh descends every year
points to the existence of an
infallible on the earth till the
last day of this universe.
The last
verse of the sura which says
“Peace! It is till the rising of
the dawn” It is a night on which
both the Qur’an has descended
and worship and vigilance is
equal to a thousand months.
Imam Baqir
(a.s.) when asked as to which
night was the Night of Honor,
replied “How do we not know it,
whereas angels go round us
therein”
There are
narrations that on that night
the destinies and affairs of men
are determined; sustenance,
death and other affairs are made
distinct and clear. It is called
the Night of Honor:
1.
Because it is
very important.
2.
Also because
the Holy Qur’an was revealed to
the Grand Apostle of Allah by
means of His Grand Angel.
3.
A person who
keeps vigil on that night
obtains a grand rank.
As to the
question that which night is the
Night of Honor, it is suggested
as 1st, 17th,
19th,
21st,
23rd, 27th
and 29th of Ramazaan.
Imam Jaffer al-Sadiq (a.s.)
suggested to be 21st
or 23rd.
Virtues of
reciting Sura al-Qadr:
The Holy
Prophet(s) said “He who recites
Sura al-Qadr will be rewarded
like the one who has fasted the
whole month of Ramazaan and has
kept vigil the night of the
Qadr.
Imam Muhammad
Baqir (a.s.) said “He who
recites Sura al-Qadr loudly and
openly like a person who fights
in the Holy War on the path of
Allah and he who recites
hiddenly like a person who swims
in his own blood for the sake of
Allah.”
Allah has
kept his love obscured in
different prayers, obligatory or
recommended, so that people will
turn towards them. He has kept
hidden His Wrath in sins so that
people will abstain from
disobedience and committing
sins. He has kept his friends
secret so that people will
respect every one. He has kept
acceptance of prayers in
different supplications so that
people will rush towards
prayers. He has kept hidden His
Isme Aazam in Asma-ul-Husna so
that people will recite all
names of Allah. Allah’s names
has been mentioned in Duaa-e-Jaushan-e-Kabeer
which contains His one thousand
names. And lastly, He has kept
the time of death secret from
people so that they should
always be prepared for it.
Is it possible to have one Night of
Honor in different cities? The
answer to this question will be
clear by studying what is night.
At any moment, half of the globe
is in darkness and because the
earth is moving on its axis and
completes one revolution in 24
hours. Hence, the Night of Honor
may be one complete revolution
during which time every part of
the earth will be in darkness. |
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