Holy Qor-aan revealed in one night?
(Read the whole Soora with the Commentary at 097-All)
The Almighty God Allah created Man. He knew the potential with which man was created. He designed the conduct for man to reach his best and the characteristics to evolve continuously. He warned about the dangers that would lurk on man’s way to retard his becoming a good human being. He fixed the outer perimeters as the rules of universal application and within that framework gave man the ability to discriminate between the right and the wrong. He gifted us with the ‘choice’ to be good or bad. He provided a BOOK or Code of rules and regulations for us to follow like a programmer of a software. In His infinite wisdom He kept control on how much of the Book to reveal, to whom and when — depending on how much man had evolved and grown in intellect. Thus He sent down portions of the BOOK to His messengers to convey to their fellow beings based upon their comprehension of doing what they were told. Abraham, David, Moses and Jesus are some of the prophets on who considerable portions of the BOOK were revealed. Eventually the Holy Prophet Mohammed s.a.w received the whole Book. The completion of the BOOK occurred in the form of the Holy Qor-aan 005:004 ‘Today I have completed for you your Faith and I have completed on you My Blessing and I am pleased for you with the total submission to Me as the Faith’ – اَ لۡيَوۡمَ اَكۡمَلۡتُ لَـكُمۡ دِيۡنَكُمۡ وَاَ تۡمَمۡتُ عَلَيۡكُمۡ نِعۡمَتِىۡ وَرَضِيۡتُ لَـكُمُ الۡاِسۡلَامَ دِيۡنًا (=Ul-yao-ma-uk-mul-to-la-koom-dee-na-koom–wa-ut-mum-to-alai-koom-nae-ma-tee–wa-ra-dzee-to-la-ko-mool-is-laa-ma-dee-na).
Accordingly He declared in the Holy Qor-aan 097:002 that ‘Surely We revealed it in the most precious night’ اِنَّاۤ اَنۡزَلۡنٰهُ فِىۡ لَيۡلَةِ الۡقَدۡرِ (= Inna-un-zul-naa-ho-fee-lai-la-til-qud-re). He entrusted (= revealed, inspired, provided, sent, dispatched, gave, granted, laid down, lowered or poured down) those rules to the divinely inspired people, His Messengers, Prophets, Sages and Saints. That phenomenon described with the Arabic word اَنۡزَلۡ is best conveyed in English by the word ‘entrusted’ because the recipients had received His word as a trust. Initially the recipients implemented the ‘entrusted’ message by themselves practicing and professing it as the divine teachings – especially if no occasion had arisen by that time to create a precedent by a personal example of practicing the divine message. Ultimately they preached it evangelically to their audience including their families, disciples, tribes, immediate listeners and then on to their nations and even the whole wide world.
Admittedly the revelation of the Holy Qor-aan was spread over a period of 23 years. That is why its ‘revelation ‘in’ the one night of لَيۡلَةِ الۡقَدۡرِ’ has been interpreted, and quite differently because of the Arabic word فِىۡ which has several possible meanings including the following.
- Most interpreters have translated this word for the purposes of this verse as “during, in, inside the middle of an event, time, place, people or situation,” thus interpreting that the revelation of the Holy Qor-aan was ‘begun’ and ‘completed’ in this one night.
- Some others have interpreted it to mean that the arch-angel Gabriel visited the Holy Prophet s.a.w in this one night every year and repeated, refreshed and rehearsed all that had been revealed until that time. The last and final review of the whole Qor-aan was accomplished in said night of the last Ramdhan of the 23rd year, thus interpreting that the revelation of the Holy Qor-aan ‘begun’ in this one night was also ‘completed’ in the same night 23 years later.
- Another possible interpretation is that the whole of the Qor-aan was revealed on the Holy Prophet s.a.w in this one night, and then on for 23 years it was revealed again and again piece-meal as the circumstances required an immediate application of some of the Commandments laid bare.
- The believers professing in the ‘miraculous’ nature of the Holy Qor-aan insist that the revelation of the Holy Qor-aan was aimed at ending the period of spiritual darkness – after which the spiritual day-light was scheduled to spread and shine the world. The word فِىۡ in this context makes most sense by interpreting it as ‘regarding, concerning, for the sake of, in reference to; relative to, in the matter of, in reference to, relative to, or in relation to’. Such interpretation appears most plausible for showing the verse in its broadest possible scope and also in line with the verses that follow.
- And what (or who) will tell you what the Most Precious night is? — ‘وَمَاۤ اَدۡرٰٮكَ مَا لَيۡلَةُ الۡقَدۡرِ (=Wa-maa-ud-raa-ka-maa-lai-la-tool-qad-re) – (097:003).
- Most Precious night is better than a thousand months — لَيۡلَةُ الۡقَدۡرِ ۙ خَيۡرٌ مِّنۡ اَلۡفِ شَهۡر (=Lai-la-tool-qad-re-khai-roon-min-ulfe-shah-re) – (097:004).
- ‘It is until the rising of the dawn —هِىَ حَتّٰى مَطۡلَعِ الۡفَجر (= hay-ya-hut-ta-mut-la-il-fuj-r) – (097:006).
