Surah No. 97

Introduction
Merits of the Surah1

1. Most commentators have said that this is a Makkan chapter. But Tha`labi has said that according to some it is Madinan. Although Ibn `Abbas, Ibn Zubayr and `A’isha have said that it is a Makkan chapter, Waqidi has said that this was the first chapter to be revealed at Madinah (Shawkani).

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ إِنَّا أَنْزَلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ (1)

(97:1) We have indeed revealed this (Qur’an)2 in the night of Qadr.3

2. Ibn `Abbas says that Allah revealed the entire Qur’an (from Al-Lawh al-Mahfuz: Zamakhshari) in the night of Qadr in Ramadan to the firmament closest to the earth (in Bayt al-`Izzah: Ibn Kathir). From there He sent it down in segments following exigencies on the earth over twenty three years and got them arranged according to His own plan (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi).

3. Qadr is power, honor, glory, decree and destiny (Majid).
Ibn `Abbas has said that the whole of the Ramadan is the night of Qadr (Ibn Jarir).
That the night of Qadr falls in Ramadan can be deduced from the following verse (2: 185):
“It is the month of Ramadan in which the Qur’an was revealed” (Ibn Kathir).
A hadith in the Sahihayn says that whoever stood in Prayers in the night of Qadr with faith and devotion shall have his past sins forgiven (Ibn Kathir).
Sayyid notes: “It is the night which marked the beginning of the revelation of the Qur’an to Muhammad (peace be upon him), an event unparalleled in the history of mankind for its splendor and the significance it has for the life of mankind as a whole.”

4. Ibn `Uyayna has said that whenever it is said in the Qur’an, then its knowledge was given to the Prophet (saws). In contrast, when it is said, (such as in ch. 33, v.62: Au.) then its knowledge was withheld from him (Bukhari).
In other words, according to Ibn `Uyayna the Prophet knew about when exactly the night of Qadr occurs (Ibn Hajr).
The literal meaning of wa ma yudrika is: “And what would make you learn” (Au.).

وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِ (2)

(97:2) And what will tell you4 what the night of Qadr is?5

5. An abridge version of what Qurtubi and Ibn Kathir have to write at this point is as follows:
The Night of Qadr
There is no consensus of the Ummah over when the night of Qadr occurs. Some have said it falls on any night of the year. But this statement is weak. Others have said that if falls on any night in Ramadan. Yet others have said that it falls on a particular night of Ramadan, not shifting from year to year. The hadith in their support is in Bukhari. It says:
The Prophet (saws) came out of his house to inform the people of the night of Qadr. He found two people quarrelling. He said: “I had come out to tell you about the night of Qadr but found such and such of you quarrelling and its knowledge was taken away from me. However, it might be good for you. Therefore, seek it in the nights of 29th, 27th and 25th.” Obviously, if it was not to fall on a particular night, the Prophet would not have said, “I had come out to tell you about the night of Qadr,” since, it is not expected that he would have come out to inform of the night of its occurrence in that year alone. Nevertheless, the exact occurrence apart, his saying, “it might be good for you,” is from the point of view that you might Pray in all the nights of Ramadan, which will earn you much reward.
Others have said that the night may be sought in all the odd nights of Ramadan in view of another hadith in Bukhari which says:
“Look for it in all the nights of the last ten nights of Ramadan: when nine nights are left, when seven are left, when five are left.”
But some have conjectured that it might be searched in the even nights of Ramadan as the hadith of Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri in Muslim would imply (which says that “seek it after 21 days of Ramadan have passed ... after 23 days have passed ...” until the rest of the hadith. (The night that arrives after say 22nd day is the night of 23rd : Au.).
That said, there is room for its occurrence on the 27th of Ramadan. This is in view of the hadith in Muslim which records Zirr b. Hubaysh as saying:
“I asked `Ubayy b. Ka`b, 'Your brother Ibn Mas`ud says that whoever prayed in the nights the year round, will find the night of Qadr.’ He replied, 'May Allah show him mercy. What he intended perhaps is that the people should not sit back without trying. Otherwise I’m sure he knew that it falls in Ramadan, and that it falls in the last ten nights, and that it falls on the 27th night of it.’ Then he swore that it is the night of 27th of Ramadan. I asked him, 'On what basis do you say that O Abu Mundhir?’ He replied, 'By the signs that the Prophet spoke to us, such as the following day the Sun rises without its (usual, intense heat and: Au.) radiation.’”
But Malik, Thawri, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Is-haq b. Rahwayh, Abu Thawr, Al-Muzani, Ibn Khuzaymah and even Imam Shafe`i believe that it might shift from year to year. This can be supported by the hadith in Bukhari and Muslim which says that the Prophet (saws) said:
“I see that most of your dreams (about the night of Qadr) converge on the last seven nights of Ramadan. So, let him who would like to look for it, do it in the last seven nights.”
Ibn Hajr adds: It seems many of the Companions had dreamt of the night of Qadr as falling on one of the last seven nights of Ramadan. And the Prophet’s confirmation leads us to the conclusion that so long as dreams do not contradict with the Shari`ah, they hold some value (Fath).
The Prophet has also said in a hadith reported by `A’isha (ra) and preserved by Bukhari:
“Seek the night of Qadr in the odd nights of the last ten days of Ramadan.”
Imam Malik said that the best thing seems to be to increase Prayers and supplications in the entire Ramadan, specifically seeking it in its last ten nights, and concentrating on the odd nights of it.
The Prophet himself - until his death - sought seclusion (i`tikaf) in the mosque during the last third of Ramadan, that is, the last ten days. According to Bukhari and Muslim, after him, his wives also took to i`tikaf during the last ten days. `A’isha has reported in the Sahihayn: “When the last ten days entered upon him (the Prophet) he would enliven the nights (with Prayers), wake up his wives and tie up his girdle.”
The best words of supplication in these nights are to say:
“O Allah. You are the Forgiver who loves to forgive. Therefore, forgive me,” as reported by `A’isha (ra) in a hadith in Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Nasa’i and Ibn Majah, in reply to her inquiry as to what should she say if she found it. Tirmidhi has adjudicated it hasan sahih. Hakim has said that it is sahih by the criteria of Bukhari and Muslim."
Quotations from Qurtubi and Ibn Kathir end here.
The substance of what Alusi has to write about the differences in opinion regarding the night of Qadr is that we know that when it is night in one place of the globe, it is day in another place. Also, it can be an even night in one place and odd night in another. Consequently, it can be said that the night of Qadr might fall on any night - even or odd - any day of Ramadan. In fact, it could well be in Allah’s scheme that were the night of Qadr to be in a particular area of the globe, He would award full rewards to those that might happen to be living in the day-area and making their own efforts toward seeking it. In fact it is possible that each nation has its own night of Qadr.
Razi has a few novel points to offer: Allah (swt) concealed its knowledge from His slaves since his rida (Approval and Pleasure) is concealed in devotions to Him, and concealment of the night results in increase in devotions. This is following His general method. He concealed His Friend (waliyy) among the people in order that all the people might be revered. He concealed His response to supplications in order that they might resort to it oftener. He concealed the Ism al-A`zam in order that all of His Names might be revered. He concealed salah al wusta in order the people pay special attention to every Prayer. He concealed the time of death in order that people never become forgetful of it.
Again, had the night of Qadr been known, the sins of the sinners in that night would have weighed heavily against them. That is because, to commit sins on a known blessed occasion is greater in enormity than when committed on the same blessed occasion but without the sinner knowing that it is a blessed occasion. Hence it is reported of the Prophet (saws) that when he found a man sleeping in the mosque he ordered `Ali (ra) to wake him up. `Ali did so and then asked him why he had asked him to do that when he himself could have done it? The Prophet replied: “Because, had I told him to rise and he hadn’t, he would be sinning. But not responding to you he wouldn’t be sinning.”
Razi’s quotation ends here.

لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِ خَيْرٌ مِنْ أَلْفِ شَهْرٍ (3)

(97:3) The night of Qadr is better than a thousand months.6

6. Mujahid has said that the night of Qadr is better than a thousand months in the sense that Prayers and devotions of this night are better than those of a thousand months in which this night does not fall. (A thousand months is 83.34 years: Au.).
It is also reported of Mujahid that he said that an Israelite used to fight in Jihad during the day and Pray in the nights. He did that for a thousand months and Allah revealed this verse (Ibn Jarir).
Ibn Abi Hatim has a report quite similar to this coming from `Urwah ibn Zubayr (Ibn Kathir). A report to this effect has come from Ibn Mas`ud (ra) also (Qurtubi).
Some scholars have said that this could be a way for compensating this Ummah for its shorter life span when compared to that of the ancients (Au.).
Yusuf Ali rejoins: “This does not refer to our ideas of time, but to 'timeless Time.' One moment of enlightenment under Allah’s Light is better than thousands of months or years of animal life..."
Razi Remarks: The objective in stating that it is a thousand times better than ordinary nights is primarily to encourage a man to greater devotion. So that, sometimes he is told that a certain deed will be rewarded ten times more than other deeds; about another deed he is told that he will be rewarded seven hundred times more than others. At times he is told that a deed of a certain “occasion” is more valuable; at other times that a deed of a certain “place” is more valuable - all to induce him to good works, cut him from the affairs of this world and turn him to the affairs of the Hereafter. It is following this scheme that preference is declared of the House over all other places, or of Ramadan over all the other months, or of Friday over all other days of the week, or of the night of Qadr over all the other nights, and so on.
Sayyid adds: “The Islamic method of character building links worship with faith and the truth it establishes in the heart and conscience of the individual... The theoretical understanding of this truth cannot, on its own and without worship, establish it or give it the necessary impetus for its operation in the life of the individual or the life of the society.”

7. According to the great majority, it is Jibril who is meant by the Ruh of the text. Although he is automatically included when angels are mentioned, he has been specifically named in order to stress the importance of the night (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir, Shawkani and others).
The reader may also turn back to verse 38 of Al-Naba’ for a few other explanations (Au.).
Qushayri has said that Ruh is the name of a species of beings that monitor the angels. Angels do not see them as we do not see the angels (Qurtubi).

تَنَزَّلُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ وَالرُّوحُ فِيهَا بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِمْ مِنْ كُلِّ أَمْرٍ (4)

(97:4) In it descend (group after group of) angels and the Ruh,7 by the leave of their Lord, with every (blissful) decree (of the year).8

8. As Allah said elsewhere (44: 4):
“In it are decided every affair of wisdom” (Zamakhshari, Razi and others). P

سَلَامٌ هِيَ حَتَّىٰ مَطْلَعِ الْفَجْرِ (5)

(97:5) Peace it is until the break of the dawn.