Verses 1–8
بِسۡمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the name of Allah, the most Merciful, the most Compassionate
The central theme of this sūrah can be summarized as warning those who doubt the Book of divine punishment in this world and punishment in the Hereafter. In the context, this is explained by the fact it is a clear book (kitāb mubīn) which has been sent down from God to the one whom He sent to people in order to warn them. This book came down as a mercy from Him to His servants in the best possible way on the Night of Ordainment (laylat al-qadr), and in which every definitive matter is resolved.
But despite this, people—meaning the faithless—doubt it while playing in their tumult. They shall be overtaken by a painful punishment in this world, then they shall return to their Lord who will exact vengeance upon them after sentencing them to an eternal punishment.
Then the sūrah provides them with a parallel for the first kind of punishment in the story of Moses when he was sent to Pharaoh’s people to save the Israelites. They denied him and drowned as a result.
Next, it turns to their denial of the second of the two punishments, namely that they shall return to God on the Day of Judgement. First, it provides conclusive arguments that this day will certainly come to pass. Second, it relates some accounts of what shall befall the guilty on that day and the different kinds of punishment they will suffer. Third, it mentions the rewards of the Godwary in the form of a good life and a noble station.
The tone and context of the verses attests to this sūrah being revealed at Mecca.
Commentary
حم ١ وَالْكِتَابِ الْمُبِينِ ٢
(44:1–2) Ḥā, Mīm. By the Manifest Book!
By is used to invoke an oath, and the Manifest Book is the Qur’an.
إِنَّا أَنْزَلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةٍ مُبَارَكَةٍ ۚ إِنَّا كُنَّا مُنْذِرِينَ ٣
(44:3) Indeed We sent it down on a blessed night, and indeed We have been warning.
The blessed night in which the Qur’an was sent down is the Night of Ordainment, as indicated by the verse: Indeed We sent it down on the Night of Ordainment (). Saying it is blessed (mubārakah) means that it contains abundant goodness which disperses God’s boundless mercy throughout His creation. And God has also said: What will show you what is the Night of Ordainment? The Night of Ordainment is better than a thousand months ().
The word night suggests that this is a night like those which the earth usually experiences. The words …is resolved in it (yufraqu) suggests that this night recurs continuously. The verse The month of Ramadan is one in which the Qur’an was sent down () suggests that this night repeats with each passing Ramadan according to the lunar calendar, and it occurs once in this month every lunar year. As for the exact night, there are only allusions to this in the Qur’an, but we shall examine the narrations on this topic in our study of the narrations below.
When God says He sent down the book in the verses:
Indeed We sent it down on a blessed night…
Indeed We sent it down on the Night of Ordainment. ()
The month of Ramadan is one in which the Qur’an was sent down as guidance to mankind, with manifest proofs of guidance and the Criterion. ()
This means that the Qur’an in its entirety was sent down on this night. And the following verses do not contradict this:
We have sent the Qur’an in parts so that you may read it to the people a little at a time, and We have sent it down piecemeal. ()
The faithless say, “Why has not the Qur’an been sent down to him all at once?” So it is, that We may strengthen your heart with it, and We have recited it to you in a measured tone. ()
But when a definitive sūrah is sent down…. ()
And whenever a sūrah is sent down, they look at one another…. ()
These and other verses, not to mention countless traditions describing the particular occasions in response to which verses and even entire sūrahs were revealed do not contradict the whole Qur’an being sent down on the Night of Ordainment. This is because we can interpret this to mean that the Qur’an was revealed twice; once altogether on a single night in the month of Ramadan and another gradually over the course of twenty-three years, which is the duration of the Prophet’s mission.
However, what cannot be doubted is that the Qur’an is made up of sūrahs and verses, each of which have their own individual contexts that relate to the particular circumstances of revelation, that it could not have been sent down all at once. Some of these verses came down in relation to particular events and specific incidents connected to particular times, places, people, and circumstances, so they would make no sense without the realization of these various circumstances. So, if something else had happened in place of these circumstances, the verses would have had to differ in content to the form in which they were ultimately revealed. Therefore it is impossible that the Qur’an could have been sent down in an identical form once altogether and once gradually.
So if one was to propose that the Qur’an was sent down twice, it would be necessary to distinguish between the two by saying that once it came down generally (bi al-ijmāl) and once fully-elaborated (bi al-tafṣīl). And it is to this God refers when He says: a Book, whose signs have been made definitive and then elaborated, from One all-wise, all-aware (), and: We have made it an Arabic Qur’an so that you may apply reason, and indeed it is with Us in the Mother Book, surely sublime and firm (). And we have discussed the meanings of firmness and elaboration in our commentary on the Sūrahs Hūd and al-Zukhruf.
It is said: The Qur’an being sent down on a blessed night means that its gradual revelation began on the Night of Ordainment in the month of Ramadan, so the first verses of the Qur’an—Sūrah al-ʿAlaq or Sūrah al-Ḥamd—came down on that night.
This opinion is based on the assumption that there is some contradiction between the Book being revealed all at once on a single night and it being revealed gradually, as is indicated by the previous verses. However, as you know, there is no such contradiction between the verses. The reader will have also noticed that this interpretation contradicts the apparent meaning of the verses.
It is said: It was first sent down altogether to the heavens of this world on the Night of Ordainment, then it descended from the heavens of this world to the earth gradually over the space of twenty-three years in the course of the Prophet’s mission.
This opinion is derived from traditions that have been transmitted in explanation of clear verses that state the Qur’an came down in one go. God-willing, we will deal with these in our discussion of the narrations below.
…and indeed We have been warning: This phrase occupies a position of giving rationale. It indicates that God has been warning mankind since before sending this warning. In other words, sending down a revealed scripture like the Qur’an is not something novel or unexpected; it is nothing more than a warning, and warning mankind through sending revelation to prophets and messengers and appointing them to warn people has been God’s habit with those who came before.
فِيهَا يُفْرَقُ كُلُّ أَمْرٍ حَكِيمٍ ٤
(44:4) Every definitive matter is separated in it.
In it means in the Night of Ordainment. To separate (farq) means to divide two things in such a way as to distinguish them from one other. This stands in contrast to something being “definitive” (ḥakīm); a definitive matter means something whose parts are not distinct from one another, nor are its particular qualities or states specified. This is alluded to in the verse: There is not a thing but that its sources are with Us, and We do not send it down except in a known measure ().
With regards to the Divine Decree (al-qaḍāʾ al-ilāhī), all matters devolve to two stages: the general or indefinite stage, and the elaborated stage. Based on what this verse says, the Night of Ordainment in which every definitive matter is separated is a night on which matters move from the definitive level to that of separation and elaboration. It is on this night that the Qur’an descended, and it is one of those definitive affairs separated therein.
Perhaps God made His Prophet aware of particular events that would transpire during the course of his mission and the verses and sūrahs of His Book whose revelation would accompany them, and whose revelation these events would engender. So He informed him of what parts of the Qur’an would be revealed, and in this way the Qur’an would have descended fully-elaborated in one go before being revealed again gradually.
The upshot of this understanding is that the Prophet was made fully-aware of the Qur’an at the moment that the matter of revelation reached the level of elaboration in the Divine Decree but before it descended to the earth and inhered at the level of individuated existence. With this reading, there is no need for us to distinguish between the two stages of revelation in the form of a general revelation (ijmāl) and an elaborated one (tafṣīl) as we did in the first instance.
Some commentators appear to read Every definitive matter is separated in it as meaning to elaborate the divine teachings, laws, etc. in the Qur’an. However, this reading is refuted by the fact that the words separated in it are in the imperfect tense, signifying something that is continuous. What is continuous is the elaboration of cosmic matters on the Night of Ordainment after they have been made definitive. On the other hand, there is no continuous elaboration of the divine teachings and laws in the Qur’an. If God had meant this, it would have been more appropriate to use the perfect tense: “Every definitive matter has been separated in it.”
It is said: An affair’s being definitive means it being made firm after being separated, not the definitiveness that precedes elaboration. This would make the meaning: In that night every definitive matter that does not increase or decrease is decreed. However the reading we have presented above is closer to the apparent meaning of the text.
أَمْرًا مِنْ عِنْدِنَا ۚ إِنَّا كُنَّا مُرْسِلِينَ ٥
(44:5) As an affair (amr) from Us. Indeed We have been sending,
An affair (amr) means “a matter” (shaʾn), and it is a circumstantial qualifier (ḥāl) for matter in the previous verse. This renders the meaning: “In which is separated every matter while it is an affair from us that originates with us.” However, amr could also be read in the sense of ordinance—as opposed to “prohibition” (nahī)—in which case it would mean: “In which is separated every matter by our command.” In any case, this is connected to the verb separated, in the above verse.
Alternatively, it could be read as connected to the verb We sent it down (), meaning that the Book is either an affair of Ours or it descended by a command from us. Indeed We have been sending supports this reading to some extent, as it serves as an explanation of the reason for it. This would make the meaning: “We sent it down as an affair from Us, because it is Our habit to send prophets and messengers.”
رَحْمَةً مِنْ رَبِّكَ ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ ٦
(44:6) as a mercy from your Lord. Indeed He is the All-hearing, the All-knowing,
Meaning, the fact that it has been sent down is a mercy from your Lord, that We sent it down to shower people with mercy, or that it was sent down because of your Lord’s mercy. According to the first reading, mercy is a circumstantial qualifier, and a purposive object (mafʿūl lahu) according to the second and third.
…from your Lord represents a transition from speaking as God in the first-person, to God speaking about Himself in the third-person. This is to show His special concern for the Prophet as it is to him that He sent the Qur’an, and he is the one sent to warn people.
Indeed He is the All-hearing, the All-knowing means that He is All-hearing of what people ask, and All-knowing of their needs. He hears what they ask and knows their need for guidance from your Lord, so He sent down a book and dispatched a messenger as a mercy from Himself to them.
رَبِّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا ۖ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُوقِنِينَ ٧
(44:7) the Lord of the heavens and the earth, and whatever is between them, should you have conviction.
Because the idolaters thought that every kind of creature has its own god or gods, and perhaps one group of them will adopt a different god to another, God follows the words from your Lord with the Lord of the heavens and the earth… so that no one will imagine that this is merely the Prophet’s own personal lord as they have their own gods amongst themselves. Rather, they will understand that He is the Lord of the heavens and the earth and everything in between. And it is for the same reason that God follows this in the next verse: There is no god except Him…
When God says should you have conviction, this stipulation—as Zamakhsharī has said—is like when we might say: “This is an example of Zayd’s famous generosity, if you have heard of it.” So the phrase means: “What those with conviction know is that He is the Lord of the heavens and the earth and everything between them. And if you are one of them, you would know that too.”
لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ يُحْيِي وَيُمِيتُ ۖ رَبُّكُمْ وَرَبُّ آبَائِكُمُ الْأَوَّلِينَ ٨
(44:8) There is no god except Him: He gives life and brings death, your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers.
The previous verse restricted Lordship to God alone. This includes God’s dominion and governance over His creation. As for divinity (ulūhiyyah), this means being worthy of worship, which is a corollary of Lordship. And this is why He follows it with the profession of faith in Divine Unity, for it negates every deity besides him.
He gives life and death are two of the traits most unique to Him and they belong to the affairs of governance. And their being mentioned here to some extent prepares the ground for the warning of the Resurrection that is to come below.
Your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers states completely and unequivocally that He is their Lord and the Lord of their forefathers, so they should worship Him rather than excusing their idolatry by saying that they are following their forefathers. And to maximise the impact of this statement, there is a transition from the third-person (“He”) to the second-person (“you” [pl.]).
Both He gives life and death and your Lord and… are predicates for an implicit subject, whose meaning is “It is He who….”
Examining Narrations
- In Majmaʿ al-Bayān, concerning the words Indeed We sent it down on a blessed night ():
The blessed night is the Night of Ordainment. This is narrated from Abū Jaʿfar [Imām al-Bāqir] and Abū ʿAbd Allāh [Imām al-Ṣādiq].
- In al-Kāfī, from ʿAlī b. Ibrāhīm, from his father, from Ibn Abī ʿUmayr, from ʿUmar b. Udhaynah, from al-Fuḍayl, Zurārah, and Muḥammad b. Muslim, from Ḥamrān:
He [Ḥamrān] asked Abū Jaʿfar [Imām al-Bāqir] about the verse Indeed We sent it down on a blessed night ().
The Imam said: “Yes, it is the Night of Ordainment and it comes every year in the month of Ramadan, during the last ten nights. God only sent the Qur’an down on the Night of Ordainment; He says Every definitive matter is separated in it, meaning that on the Night of Ordainment is determined everything that will happen during the next year (like good, evil, acts of worship, sin, birth, death, and sustenance) until the next Night of Ordainment. Whatever is determined for that year and decreed is irrevocable (maḥtūm), but it still depends on God’s will.”
Author’s comments: When he says that it is irrevocable but still depends on God’s will, this means it is irrevocable from the aspect of the system of cause and effect so that nothing can prevent it from occurring unless God wills so.
- In Baṣāʾir, from ʿAbbās b. Maʿrūf, from Saʿdān b. Muslim, from ʿAbd Allāh b. Sinān:
I asked about the middle night of Shaʿbān and he told me: “I don’t know anything about that, but it is on the nineteenth night of the month of Ramadan that provisions are apportioned and appointed times written. On that night, the contracts of the pilgrim come out and God looks attentively to His servants; He forgives all but the intoxicated wine drinker. It is on the night of the twenty-third that every definitive matter is separated; this affair is terminated and that one is set in motion.”
I asked: “For who?”
He said: “For your master. And were it not for this, he would not know.”
- In al-Durr al-Manthūr, Muḥammad b. Naṣr, Ibn Mundhir, and Ibn Abī Ḥātim publicize from Ibn ʿAbbas, concerning the verse Every definitive matter is separated in it ():
On the Night of Ordainment, all the events of the coming year are transcribed from the Mother Book—whether provision, death, life, or rain—even the ḥajj pilgrim is written on this night: So-and-so will make ḥajj and so-and-so will make ḥajj.
Author’s comments: There are many reports about the Night of Ordainment, what is decreed in it and which night it falls on exactly. The most reliable of these will be discussed in our commentary on Sūrah al-Qadr, God-willing.