this view concerning its precise date. They held four positions: first, that it is the twenty-first night, based on the hadith of Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī; second, that it is the twenty-third night, based on the hadith of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Unays al-Juhanī; third, that it is the twenty-seventh night, based on the hadith of Ubayy ibn Kaʿb and that of Muʿāwiyah. All these hadiths are authentic. The fourth position is that it is either the twenty-third or the twenty-seventh night. This was the view of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās, may Allah be pleased with them both.

It is related that ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb summoned a group of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and asked them about the Night of Decree. They said, “We used to think it was among the middle ten nights, but then we learned that it was among the last ten.” They spoke at length to him about this, whereupon Ibn ʿAbbās said, “I certainly know which night it is.”

ʿUmar asked, “Which night is it?”

He replied, “Either the seventh of the last ten nights to pass, or the night with seven remaining.”

ʿUmar asked, “How do you know that?”

He replied, “I observed that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, created seven heavens, seven earths, and seven days through which time revolves. He created man in seven stages; man eats seven kinds of food and prostrates on seven parts of his body. Circumambulation consists of seven circuits, and there is also the stoning of the pillars.” He mentioned other similar examples.

ʿUmar asked him, “What do you mean when you say that Allah created man in seven stages and that he eats seven kinds of food?” He then recited the words of Allah, Mighty and Majestic:

“We certainly created man from an extract of clay” [al-Muʾminūn: 12]. “Then We placed him as a sperm-drop in a secure resting place” [al-Muʾminūn: 13]. “Then We made the sperm-drop into a clinging clot, then made the clot into a lump of flesh, then made the lump into bones, then clothed the bones with flesh; then We brought him into being as another creation. So blessed is Allah, the best of creators” [al-Muʾminūn: 14].

Ibn ʿAbbās said, “As for his eating seven kinds of food, this is indicated by the words of Allah Most High:

‘We caused grain to grow therein’ [ʿAbasa: 27], ‘and grapes and fresh greens’ [ʿAbasa: 28], ‘and olives and date palms’ [ʿAbasa: 29], ‘and gardens of dense foliage’ [ʿAbasa: 30], ‘and fruit and pasture’ [ʿAbasa: 31].

“The pasture is for livestock, while the seven are for man.”

This report also relates that, on that day, ʿUmar asked the group of Companions present about the meaning of the revelation of the surah beginning, “When Allah’s help comes, and victory” [al-Nasr: 1]. They hesitated and said no more than that Allah had commanded His Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to glorify Him and seek His forgiveness when He granted him victory.

ʿUmar asked, “What do you say, Ibn ʿAbbās?”

He replied, “Besides that, O Commander of the Faithful, Allah was announcing the Prophet’s death to him and informing him that He would take him when the Arabs entered the religion in multitudes.”

ʿUmar was pleased by this and said, “Do you blame me for keeping this young man close?”

Ibn Masʿūd said, “If he were our age, none of us would attain even a tenth of his knowledge. What an excellent interpreter of the Quran is Ibn