Night of Power – Laylat al-Qadr

What is the significance of the Qur’an descending on the Night of Power ( Laylat al-Qadr)?

The time of the descent of the Qur’an is mentioned and referred to in three places in the Qur’an: The month of Ramadan (is the month) in which the Qur’an was sent down as guidance for people, and as clear truths of the guidance and the Criterion (between truth and falsehood)…. (Baqara 2:185)
We have surely sent it (the Qur’an) down in the Night of Destiny and Power. What enables you to perceive what the Night of Destiny and Power is? The Night of Destiny and Power is better than a thousand months. The angels and the Spirit descend in it by the permission of their Lord with His decrees for every affair; (it is) a sheer mercy and security (from all misfortunes, for the servants who spend it in devotions in appreciation of its worth). (It is) until the rising of the dawn. (Qadr 97:1-5) By the Book clear in itself and clearly showing the truth. We sent it down on a night full of blessings…. (Dukhan 44:2-3) According to these verses, the Qur’an was sent on the Night of Power, which falls in the month of Ramadan. The month in which the Qur’an was sent down is stated in the first verse above, and the name of the specific night within this holy month of Ramadan is given in the latter.

This night, a night on which the single most important event in history unfolded, with the Archangel Gabriel descending with the blessed Book to reveal it to God’s Messenger, is alluded to in the third Qur’anic reference above as the most blessed night. One of the meanings of the word Qadr is Destiny, i.e., this is the night on which God commands His angels to fulfill and implement what is to happen – all the affairs predestined by God in the pre-time (azal). Another meaning of Qadr is veneration and honor, that is, it is a magnificent night that is venerated and honored because of its great value. The Night of Power is a night on which angels come down to the earth; so many angels come down with such a strong desire and in such a rush that they have great difficulty, as if they were passing through a turnstile in one mass; this descent lasts until the break of dawn. According to the majority of Islamic scholars, this blessed night is any one of the odd-numbered nights in the last ten days of the month of Ramadan, and is most likely to be the 27th night of Ramadan.

What we can understand from the above is that the night on which God’s angel delivered the very first Revelation to the Prophet was a night in the month of Ramadan and this was the Night of Power. The fact that the Qur’an was revealed on this night may be understood in either of two ways:
Firstly, the whole Qur’an was delivered to the angels of Revelation on this night, and later Archangel Gabriel conveyed its chapters and verses to the Prophet, by God’s command, in stages throughout his Prophethood. Secondly, this is the night on which Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, started to receive the first Revelation. Both of these meanings indicate that the Qur’an began to be sent down on this night, as the descent of the Qur’an began on the Night of Power with the Revelation of the first five verses of Sura al-‘Alaq. It is clear that all things and events have, in God’s Knowledge, an eternal existence and the Revelation of the Qur’an to the Prophet in stages have not been decided upon and arranged by God Almighty, just prior to or in time of their descent. The creation of the entire universe and every thing in it was designed and made ready by God in the pre-time. All plans of creation for humankind, the appointing of prophets from among humans, guiding them with the Books and finally sending the Prophet and the Qur’an were all prepared by God and the implementation of the last part of this eternal plan started on the Night of Power.

Akgul, Muhittin (2009). The Quran in 99 Questions (Abdullah Erdemli Trans.). New Jersey: Tughra Books. (Originally published in Turkish as Kur’an İklimine Seyahat)