Commentary on Surah al-Qadr

“In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.

“Indeed, We sent it down on the Night of Decree. * And what can make you know what the Night of Decree is? * The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months. * The angels and the Spirit descend during it, by their Lord’s permission, with every command. * It is peace until the break of dawn.”

The basmala has already been discussed.

“Indeed, We sent it down on the Night of Decree.” The pronoun “We” refers here to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, while the pronoun “it” in “We sent it down” refers to the Quran. Allah Most High refers to Himself in the majestic plural—“Indeed, We sent it down”—because He, Glorious and Exalted, is the Almighty, and nothing is greater than He. Allah Most High sometimes refers to Himself in the majestic plural, as in this noble verse: “Indeed, We sent it down on the Night of Decree,” and in His statement: “Indeed, it is We who sent down the Reminder, and indeed, We will surely preserve it” [al-Hijr: 9]; and in His statement: “Indeed, it is We who bring the dead to life and record what they have sent ahead and the traces they left behind. We have enumerated all things in a clear Record” [Yā Sīn: 11].

At other times, He refers to Himself in the singular, as in: “Indeed, I am Allah. There is no deity worthy of worship except Me, so worship Me and establish prayer for My remembrance” [Tā Hā: 14]. This is because He is One and Almighty: in consideration of His greatness, the majestic plural is used, while in consideration of His oneness, the singular is used.

The object pronoun “it” in His statement, “We sent it down,” refers to the Quran, even though it was not previously mentioned, because this is well known. No one doubts that what is meant is the sending down of the Noble Quran. Allah Most High sent it down on the Night of Decree.