Ad-Dukhan: (3) Indeed, We sent it down in...

"Indeed, We sent it down"—that is, the Clear Book, which is the Quran, according to the relied-upon opinion—"in a blessed night": which is the Night of Decree (Laylat al-Qadr), as narrated on the authority of Ibn Abbas, Qatadah, Ibn Jubayr, Mujahid, Ibn Zayd, and al-Hasan, and it is the view of the majority of exegetes, and the literal meanings are with them.

Ikrimah and a group said: It is the night of the middle of Sha'ban. It is called the Night of Mercy, the Blessed Night, the Night of the Decree (al-Sakk), and the Night of Immunity (al-Bara'ah). The reason for its naming with the latter two is that when a tax collector (al-bindar) collects the tribute from its people, he writes for them an immunity (bara'ah). Likewise, the decree (sakk) is that Allah, Exalted and Majestic is He, writes for His believing servants immunity and a decree on this night. The obvious implication of their speech here is that bara'ah—which is the verbal noun of bari'a-bara'atan when one is freed from something—is applied to the certificates of deeds, debts, and what resembles them, and that this has been narrated in the traditions; it is a well-known metaphor that has become like a polysemous term. In al-Maghrib, "he is free (bari') from debts and defects," and from this comes the bara'ah for a document of release, the plural being bara'at (while barawat is a colloquialism).

Most linguists hold that it is heard from the Arabs and that it is purely colloquial, even if it is from the category of broad metaphor. Ibn al-Sayyid said in al-Muqtadab: "Bara'ah is originally the verbal noun of bari'a-bara'atan. As for the bara'ah used in the craft of scribes, its naming as such is either because it is from 'he is free (bari'a) from his debt' when he pays it, or 'you are free (bari'ta) from the affair' when you withdraw from it; as if the one requested is an affair for which one is acquitted (tabarra'a) to the seeker or withdrawn from. It is also said its origin is that when a criminal committed a crime and the king pardoned him, he wrote him a letter of safety from what he feared; thus it was said: 'The Sultan wrote a bara'ah for so-and-so.' Then this was generalized for whatever is written by the rulers and their like."

They mentioned many reports regarding the merit of this night. Among them is what Ibn Majah and al-Bayhaqi in Shu'ab al-Iman recorded on the authority of Ali (may Allah honor his face), who said: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "When the night of the middle of Sha'ban arrives, stand in prayer during its night and fast during its day, for Allah, Exalted is He, descends therein at the setting of the sun to the lowest heaven and says: 'Is there anyone seeking forgiveness that I may forgive him? Is there anyone seeking provision that I may provide for him? Is there any afflicted one that I may heal him? Is there such and such?' until the dawn breaks." And what was recorded by al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Abi Shaybah, al-Bayhaqi, and Ibn Majah on the authority of Aisha, who said: I missed the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) one night, so I went out looking for him and found him at al-Baqi', raising his head toward the sky. He said: "O Aisha, did you fear that Allah and His Messenger would deal unjustly with you?" I said: "That is not it, but I thought you had gone to some of your wives." He said: "Indeed, Allah, Exalted and Majestic is He, descends on the night of the middle of Sha'ban to the lowest heaven and forgives more than the number of hairs on the sheep of the tribe of Kalb." And what was recorded by Ahmad ibn Hanbal in the Musnad on the authority of Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-Aas that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "Allah, Exalted is He, turns toward His creation on the night of the middle of Sha'ban and forgives His servants, except for two: the one harboring hatred and the killer of a soul." Some mentioned a specific prayer for it, and that it is equivalent to twenty accepted Hajj and twenty years of accepted fasting. A long tradition was narrated regarding this on the authority of Ali (may Allah honor his face), and al-Bayhaqi recorded it then said: "It is likely that this tradition is fabricated and rejected; its narrators are unknown." The preachers have spoken at length about this night, mentioning its virtues and characteristics, and they mentioned several reports stating that lifespans are transcribed therein. In al-Durr al-Manthur, there is no small amount of that, and we shall mention some of it, if Allah, Exalted is He, wills. In al-Bahr, the Hafiz Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi said: "Nothing regarding it is authentic, nor is the transcription of lifespans therein; this is not devoid of rashness, and Allah, Exalted is He, knows best."

The intention by "sending it down in that night" is its descent therein to the lowest heaven from the Preserved Tablet; for the gradual descent over twenty-three years or less was from the lowest heaven. This has been narrated on the authority of Ibn Jarir and others, and it was mentioned that the place into which He sent it down is that heaven—the Frequented House (al-Bayt al-Ma'mur)—which is aligned with the Ka'bah, such that if it were to fall, it would fall upon it.

Sa'id ibn Mansur recorded from Ibrahim al-Nakha'i that he said: "The Quran descended in its entirety upon Gabriel (peace be upon him), and Gabriel (peace be upon him) used to bring it afterwards to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)."

More than one person said: The intention is the beginning of its descent on that night, using a figure of speech regarding the time boundary or attribution. This was considered problematic because the beginning of the year is Muharram or the month of Rabi' al-Awwal, because the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was born therein, and from it the chronology of his life (peace and blessings be upon him) was calculated until the Caliphate of Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), and this is the most correct view. Revelation came to him (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) at the head of forty years of his life (peace and blessings be upon him) according to the most famous of several opinions. How, then, can the beginning of the descent be on the Night of Decree in the month of Ramadan or the Night of Immunity in Sha'ban? It was answered that the beginning of revelation occurred in the month of Rabi' al-Awwal, but it was not through the descent of any of the Quran; the revelation while awake that accompanied the descent was on a Monday, the seventeenth of the month of Ramadan—it is said the seventh, and it is said the twenty-fourth. You know the great disagreement of opinions in this area, so whoever claims the beginning of its descent in a month is committed to whatever it does not reject.

There is disagreement regarding the first of what was revealed of it. In Sahih Muslim, it is "O you who cover yourself," but al-Nawawi commented on it in his commentary, saying: "It is weak, nay, invalid. The correct view is that the first of what was revealed absolutely is 'Read in the name of your Lord,' as stated explicitly in the hadith of Aisha. As for 'O you who cover yourself,' its descent was after the pause in revelation, as stated explicitly in the narration of al-Zuhri from Abu Salamah from Jabir."

As for the statement of those exegetes who said the first was Al-Fatiha, its invalidity is more apparent than to be mentioned. The discussion on this is fully covered in al-Itqan, so let him who desires it refer to it.

The description of the night as "blessed" is because the descent of the Quran entails all religious and worldly benefits, or because of the descent of the angels, the mercy, the answering of supplications, and the virtue of worship therein, or because of that, plus the ordaining of provisions and the settlement of judgments—such as lifespans and others—and the granting of the fullness of intercession to him (peace and blessings be upon him). This is based on the premise that it is the Night of Immunity, for it has been narrated that he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) asked on the thirteenth night of Sha'ban for his nation, and he was given one-third of them; then he asked on the fourteenth night, and he was given two-thirds; then he asked on the fifteenth night, and he was given all of them, except for the one who flees from Allah as a camel flees.

Regardless, it has been said: Reasoning is only needed based on the view chosen by Izz ibn Abd al-Salam that places and times are all equal in themselves and none is superior to another except by the deeds and the like that occur in them. Some added: or because of the place that contained him (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), for it is the most superior of places, both earthly and heavenly, to the point that it was said—and I hold this view—that it is superior to the Throne.

The truth is that it is not unlikely for Allah, Glorified be He, to favor some of them with additional honor such that it becomes an incentive for the responsible individual to perform deeds therein, or for another wisdom. The clause "Indeed, We sent it down" is the answer to an oath, and in that is an exaggeration similar to the saying: "And your incisors, that they are like pearls."

And His saying, Exalted is He: (3) "Indeed, We have been warners" is a resumption meant to justify the descent.