97- Surat Alqadr

5 Verses Meccan (revealed in Mecca)

A'auzu Bellahi mena ash-shytani ar-rajim

I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan

Bismi Ellahi Ar-rhmani Ar-rahim

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Inna anzalnahu fee layilati alqadr (1).

We have sent it down on the night of Alqadr.

Wa ma adraka ma layilatu Alqadr (2).

And what will make you know what the night of Alqadr is?.

Layilatu Alqadri khairun men alfee shahr (3).

The night of Alqadr is better than a thousand months.

Tanazzalu almalaekato wa alrouhu feeha bi-izni rabbehim men quli amr (4).

The angels and the spirit descend therein, by the permission of their lord for every affair.  

Salamun heya hatta matla'e alfajr (5).

Peace it is until the beginning of the Dawn.

Simplified interpretation:

 Surat Alqadr informs about the night in which the Holy Quran was revealed and its great bounty, it is the night of Alqadr, and it is one of the nights of the holy month of Ramadan, for Allah says in Surat Albaqarah Aya (185): "The month of Ramadan in which the Quran was revealed".

 It was said that it is called the night of Alqadr because it is the night of greatness and the night of  appreciation where Allah decrees whatever He wills of man's affair up to the equivalent night of the next year such as: the matter of death, age, sustenance and others for Allah says in Surat Aldukhan Aya (4): "In that night, is made distinct every wise matter". Then Allah gives that affairs to those who carrying out these matters, and they are four angels: Israfil, Meikael, Azrael, and Gabriel peace be upon them. 

 The night of Alqadr (decree) occurs in the last ten days of Ramadan for Our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said in narration of Ayisha radia Allahu Anha: "search for the night of Alqadr in the last ten nights of the month of Ramadan, and in another narration of Ayisha "in the odd nights of last ten days of Ramadan". The odd nights are the night of 21, 23, 25, 27, 29 of Ramadan.

 Allah says in the second verse and what will make you know what the night of Alqadr is, to inform us about its great bounty where He singled it by revealing the Holy Quran therein. And He has described it in Surat Aldukhan Aya 3: "indeed, We sent it down on a blessed night". 

 It is better than a thousand months Aya (3), and many of commentators said that any righteous deed in it is better than any deed in thousand months. For that with the start of the last ten days of Ramadan, Our Prophet Muhammad as narrated by Ayisha used to tighten his waist belt, and used to pray all the night, and used to keep his family awake for the prayers. 

 So Our Prophet used to work hard in the last ten days of Ramadan, and as Ayisha said He used to exert himself in devotion during the last ten nights to a greater extent than at any other time, and He said about the virtue of the night of Alqadr in narration of Abu Hurayrah: "Whoever established prayers on the night of Alqadr out of sincere faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven". 

 Allah says in the fourth verse that the angels and the spirit descend therein, by the permission of their Lord for every affair. The spirit here refers to Gabriel where Allah said about the Holy Quran in Surat Alshu'araa Aya (193) "The trustworthy Spirit has brought it down", and our prophet Muhammad said in narration of Anas Bin Malek: "When the night of Alqadr comes Gabriel descends with a company of angels who invoke blessing on everyone who is standing or sitting and remembering Allah who is Great and Glorious, then when their festival day comes, i.e. the day when they break their fast, Allah speaks proudly of them to His angels saying: My angels, what is the reward of a hired servant who has fully accomplished his work?, they reply: Our Lord, his reward is that he should be paid his wage in full, He says: My angels, My male, and female servants have fulfilled what I have made obligatory for them, and then have come out raising their voices in supplication, by My honor, and my majesty, and My generosity, and My dignity, and the height of My station, I will certainly answer them", then He says: return for I have forgiven you and changed your evil deeds into good deeds, He said that they then return having received forgiveness.

 The night of Alqadr is peace until the beginning of the Dawn Aya (5), this means that it have no evil in it, and its peace lasts till the rise of  Alfajr, and there are some signs of it were mentioned in narration of Ubadah Bin AS-Samit where he said that Our Prophet Muhammad said: "indeed, the sign of the night of Alqadr is that it is clear, and bright as if it had a shining moon therein, it is calm and silent, in which there is neither cold nor hot, and it is not permissible for a star to be thrown into it until morning".  

   

No one Knows its interpretation except Allah