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Surah 97 · Makkah · 5 āyāt
Phase 02 · Going public — and the persecution(c. 10–8 BH) — view in timelineAl-QadrThe Decree / The Night of Power
القدر
A short, luminous Makkan surah announcing that the Qurʾān was sent down on Laylat al-Qadr — a single night whose worth outweighs a thousand months. It moves from the fact of the revelation's descent, to a rhetorical question raising its immense value, to a description of angels and the Spirit descending with every decree, and closes with the night's defining quality: peace, until the break of dawn.
Why it was revealed
The surah speaks of the night in which the Qurʾān began to be sent down — understood by the majority of commentators as the night in Ramaḍān when revelation started in the Cave of Ḥirāʾ, though the surah itself does not narrate a specific incident tied to a cause of revelation.
There is no sound, specific occasion of revelation (sabab al-nuzūl) narrated for this surah beyond its general connection to the night the Qurʾān's descent began. Reports about why it was named 'al-Qadr' or about a vision of the Prophet ﷺ regarding the short lifespans of earlier nations, sometimes quoted from al-Suyūṭī's collections, are not established with a reliable chain and should not be presented as fact.
Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm on Sūrat al-Qadr; al-Wāḥidī, Asbāb al-Nuzūl (no authenticated sabab given for this surah)In the Prophet's ﷺ life
The Qurʾān's descent begins
The Qurʾān began to be sent down to the Prophet ﷺ in the Cave of Ḥirāʾ during Ramaḍān, an event this surah refers to as taking place 'on the Night of Decree'.
Recalled in āyah 1
إِنَّآ أَنزَلْنَٰهُ فِى لَيْلَةِ ٱلْقَدْرِ
Indeed, We sent it down during the Night of Decree.
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 3; Ibn Kathīr on 97:1
The descent: a Book sent down on a single night
Allah states plainly that He sent the Qurʾān down on Laylat al-Qadr, the Night of Decree. The verb 'anzalnāhu' — 'We sent it down' — ties the whole surah to this one act of revelation.
إِنَّآ أَنزَلْنَٰهُ فِى لَيْلَةِ ٱلْقَدْرِ
Indeed, We sent it down during the Night of Decree.
From the tafsīr
Allah informs that He sent the Qurʾān down in Laylat al-Qadr, which is in Ramaḍān, as stated in Sūrat al-Baqarah (2:185) — 'the month of Ramaḍān in which the Qurʾān was sent down'. Most commentators explain this as the Qurʾān's descent, in full, to the lowest heaven, from where it was revealed in stages according to events.
— Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm
The pronoun 'it' (-hu) in 'anzalnāhu' refers back to the Qurʾān even though the Qurʾān is not named in this surah, because its mention was already known and understood by the addressees.
— Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān
Key takeaways
- The Qurʾān's arrival in history is tied to a specific, named night, not a vague span of time.
- Guidance was not earned by the world — it was sent down as a gift, all at once in origin.
Reflect
What does it change for you to know the Qurʾān has an exact night of origin?
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What does the pronoun in 'We sent it down' point to?
The question: what do you know of this night?
A rhetorical question — 'And what can make you know what Laylat al-Qadr is?' — is a Qurʾānic device signalling that what follows is too immense to be conveyed by ordinary description alone.
وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا لَيْلَةُ ٱلْقَدْرِ
And what can make you know what the Night of Decree is?
From the tafsīr
This form of question ('wa mā adrāka...') is used by Allah to magnify the importance of the matter being introduced, before then explaining it in what follows.
— Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm
Even addressed to the Prophet ﷺ, who was himself informed of its reality by revelation, the question underscores that the night's true weight surpasses what words alone convey.
— Al-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān
Key takeaways
- Some realities are announced first as unknowable in scale, then explained — teaching humility before divine value.
- The very structure of the verse builds anticipation for what comes next.
Reflect
Which blessings in your life have you underestimated before learning their true worth?
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What purpose does the rhetorical question in āyah 2 serve?
Better than a thousand months
The night is declared better than a thousand months — roughly 83 years, a full lifetime of ordinary worship compressed into a single night's reward for the one who seeks it sincerely.
لَيْلَةُ ٱلْقَدْرِ خَيْرٌ مِّنْ أَلْفِ شَهْرٍ
The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months.
From the tafsīr
Worship on this one night outweighs worship across a thousand months in which it does not occur — a mercy from Allah to this ummah, whose lifespans are shorter than those of earlier nations.
— Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm
Scholars differ on whether this superiority is restricted to reward for worship performed that night, or extends more broadly; the stronger view ties it to the immense reward available for sincere devotion on this night.
— Al-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān
Key takeaways
- Allah's mercy compresses immense reward into a single accessible night rather than demanding a lifetime.
- The comparison to 'a thousand months' — not a round number chosen arbitrarily — signals totality, a virtually unmatched span.
- This verse is the scriptural basis for the Prophetic encouragement to seek this night in the last ten nights of Ramaḍān.
Reflect
How would your Ramaḍān change if you treated one night as worth more than eighty years of routine?
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Approximately how many years does 'a thousand months' represent?
The angels and the Spirit descend
On this night the angels and the Spirit (Jibrīl عليه السلام) descend by their Lord's permission, carrying every decree — a scene of intense heavenly activity converging on the earth.
تَنَزَّلُ ٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةُ وَٱلرُّوحُ فِيهَا بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِم مِّن كُلِّ أَمْرٍ
The angels and the Spirit descend therein by permission of their Lord for every matter.
From the tafsīr
'Al-rūḥ' here refers to Jibrīl عليه السلام, singled out for mention due to his honour, alongside the angels who descend in great numbers 'by permission of their Lord, for every matter' — i.e., carrying what Allah decrees for that year.
— Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm
'Min kulli amr' ('for every matter/decree') is understood by many early commentators in light of 44:4 — that on this night, matters of provision, life, and other affairs for the coming year are made distinct and apportioned.
— Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān
Key takeaways
- The descent of angels signals mercy and attention, not merely a symbolic label for a special night.
- Everything decreed unfolds within Allah's permission — nothing, not even the angels' movement, is independent of Him.
Reflect
Does knowing angels descend that night change how you spend it?
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Who is 'al-rūḥ' understood to be in āyah 4?
Peace until the rise of dawn
The surah closes by naming the night's essential quality: it is peace (salām) — safety and tranquility — lasting until the break of dawn.
سَلَٰمٌ هِىَ حَتَّىٰ مَطْلَعِ ٱلْفَجْرِ
Peace it is until the emergence of dawn.
From the tafsīr
'Salām hiya' — the night is entirely peace, in which Satan can do no harm and no evil dominates, continuing until dawn appears.
— Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm
Some early exegetes explained the peace as the angels' greetings of salām to the believers they pass by during the night, others as the night's general security from harm.
— Al-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān
Key takeaways
- The surah ends not on power or awe but on peace — the emotional register the whole night carries.
- The night's blessing has a defined limit — dawn — teaching that even the greatest opportunities are time-bound.
Reflect
What would it mean to end your worship, like the surah, on a note of peace rather than exhaustion?
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What limit is placed on the night's peace in āyah 5?
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Roots from this surah
Learn the three-letter root and you unlock every word built from it — across the whole Qur'an, not just this surah.
ق د ر
āyāt 1, 2, 3to measure, decree, or determine with precision and power
- قَدْرmeasure, decree, worth
- قَدَّرَhe decreed, ordained
- قَادِرone who is capable, able
- مِقْدَارan amount, extent
ن ز ل
āyāt 1, 4to descend, come down
- أَنزَلَhe sent down
- تَنَزَّلُdescend (repeatedly, gradually)
- مَنزِلa dwelling, stage
- نُزُولdescent
ل ي ل
āyāt 1, 2, 3night, the period of darkness
- لَيْلnight
- لَيْلَةa night (single instance)
- لَيَالٍnights (plural)
خ ي ر
āyāt 3goodness, that which is preferable or superior
- خَيْرgood, better
- خِيَارthe choicest, the best
- خَيِّرone who is good, generous
ر و ح
āyāt 4spirit, breath of life
- رُوحspirit
- رَيْحَانfragrant plants, comfort
- رَاحَةrest, ease
أ م ر
āyāt 4command, matter, affair
- أَمْرmatter, command
- أَمَرَhe commanded
- إِمَامleader, one followed in a matter
س ل م
āyāt 5safety, soundness, peace
- سَلَامpeace
- سَلِمَhe was safe, sound
- إِسْلَامsubmission (to Allah)
- مُسْلِمone who submits
ف ج ر
āyāt 5to split open, burst forth — hence dawn's first light breaking through darkness
- فَجْرdawn
- فَجَّرَhe caused to gush forth
- تَفْجِيرa bursting, explosion
Carry this with you
- The Qurʾān's descent is anchored to a real, specific night, not an abstract idea.
- A single night of sincere worship can outweigh what would take a lifetime to otherwise accumulate.
- Allah's mercy to this ummah compresses immense reward into an accessible act, not an impossible one.
- Angels descending signals divine attention and mercy converging on the believer, not mere symbolism.
- Nothing occurs — not even the angels' movement — outside Allah's permission and decree.
- The night's defining quality is peace, not merely power or awe.
- Every blessing, however immense, is bound by time — the night's grace ends at dawn.
- Seeking this night (in the last ten nights of Ramaḍān) is a Prophetic practice grounded directly in this surah's meaning.
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Al-Qadr · The angels and the Spirit descend
According to the tafsīr, who is meant by 'the Spirit' in āyah 4?
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