Tafseer of The Power, Fate · Al-Qadr · 97:1
Indeed, We sent the Qur'an down during the Night of Decree.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of His statement, the Exalted: إِنَّا أَنْزَلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ (1) ("Verily, We sent it down on the Night of Decree").
Allah, whose praise is exalted, says: Verily, We sent down this Qurʾān in its entirety, all at once, to the lowest heaven on the Night of Decree (laylat al-qadr). This is the Night of Decree, in which Allah decrees the ordainment for the year. It is a verbal noun (maṣdar) derived from their expression: "Allah decreed (qadara) this matter for me," so He decrees (yaqdur) a decree (qadran).
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to me, saying: Dāwūd related to us, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: The Qurʾān was sent down in its entirety, all at once, on the Night of Decree in the month of Ramadan to the lowest heaven. And when Allah willed to bring something to pass on the earth, He sent down a portion of it, until He brought it together.
Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb related to us, saying: Dāwūd related to us, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: Allah sent the Qurʾān down to the lowest heaven on the Night of Decree, and when Allah willed to reveal something of it, He revealed it. That is His statement: إِنَّا أَنـزلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ ("Verily, We sent it down on the Night of Decree").
He said: Ibn Abī ʿAdī related to us, on the authority of Dāwūd, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, and he mentioned something similar, and he added: And between the first of it and the last of it lay twenty years.
He said: ʿAmr ibn ʿĀṣim al-Kilābī related to us, saying: al-Muʿtamir ibn Sulaymān al-Taymī related to us, saying: ʿImrān Abū al-ʿAwwām related to us, saying: Dāwūd ibn Abī Hind related to us, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, that he said concerning Allah's statement: إِنَّا أَنـزلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ ("Verily, We sent it down on the Night of Decree"): The beginning of the Qurʾān was sent down on the Night of Decree.
Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Ḥuṣayn informed us, on the authority of Ḥakīm ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: The Qurʾān was sent down in a single night in its entirety, all at once, from the highest heaven to the lowest heaven, and thereafter it was distributed over the years. And Ibn ʿAbbās recited this verse: فَلا أُقْسِمُ بِمَوَاقِعِ النُّجُومِ ("Nay, I swear by the places where the stars set"). He said: It was sent down in portions.
Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Dāwūd, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, concerning His statement: إِنَّا أَنـزلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ ("Verily, We sent it down on the Night of Decree"), he said: It has reached us that the Qurʾān was sent down in its entirety, all at once, to the lowest heaven.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Salama ibn Kuhayl, on the authority of Muslim, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: The Qurʾān was sent down in its entirety, all at once, and thereafter our Lord sent down on the Night of Decree: فِيهَا يُفْرَقُ كُلُّ أَمْرٍ حَكِيمٍ ("Therein every wise matter is distinguished").
He said: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement: إِنَّا أَنـزلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ ("Verily, We sent it down on the Night of Decree"), he said: The Qurʾān was sent down in its entirety, all at once, on the Night of Decree to the lowest heaven, and it was at the places where the stars set, and Allah sent it down to His Messenger, one portion after another. Then he recited: وقالوا لَوْلا نُزِّلَ عَلَيْهِ الْقُرْآنُ جُمْلَةً وَاحِدَةً كَذَلِكَ لِنُثَبِّتَ بِهِ فُؤَادَكَ وَرَتَّلْنَاهُ تَرْتِيلا ("And they said: 'Why has the Qurʾān not been sent down to him all at once?' Thus it is, that We may strengthen your heart thereby, and We have arranged it in a careful recitation").
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the people of interpretation have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning (laylat al-qadr, the Night of Decree): the Night of Decree.
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning إِنَّا أَنـزلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ ("Verily, We sent it down on the Night of Decree"), he said: the Night of Decree.
Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Sūqa, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: On the Night of Decree, permission is granted to the pilgrims, and they are written down with their names and the names of their fathers; not one of them is left out, not a single one is added to them, and not one of them is subtracted.
Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, saying: Rabīʿa ibn Kulthūm related to us, saying: A man said to al-Ḥasan, while I was hearing it: Does the Night of Decree occur every Ramadan? He said: Yes, by Allah, besides whom there is no god, it truly occurs in every Ramadan, and it truly is the Night of Decree. فِيهَا يُفْرَقُ كُلُّ أَمْرٍ حَكِيمٍ ("Therein every wise matter is distinguished") — therein Allah decrees every life-term, every deed, and every provision, until the next night like it.
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar, who said: The Night of Decree is in every Ramadan.
