Tafsir of Al-Qadr 97:3

(His saying, Exalted is He, "The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months" is a summary statement regarding its status, following the stimulation [of interest] by the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to know it, for that expresses the promise of being granted knowledge of it.)

It is narrated from Sufyan ibn Uyaynah that every instance in the Quran where it says "What will make you know" (ma adraka), Allah the Exalted has informed His Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, about it; and whatever instances contain "What will make you know" (ma yudrika), He, the Mighty and Majestic, has not informed him of it. The manner of parsing the two phrases has already passed. In manifesting "The Night of Decree" in both places, there is an emphasis on glorification and magnification that is not hidden.

The intent behind "Its descent therein" is its descent entirely, all at once, from the Preserved Tablet to the lowest heaven. It has been authentically narrated from Ibn Abbas that he said: "The Quran was sent down on the Night of Decree all at once to the lowest heaven, and it was at the positions of the stars (mawaqi' al-nujum). Allah the Exalted would send it down to His Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, one part after another." In another narration, in place of "and it was at the positions of the stars," it states: "Then it was sent down after that in twenty years."

In another narration from him, it is said: "The Quran was sent down all at once until it was placed in the House of Honor (Bayt al-Izzah) in the heaven, and Gabriel, peace be upon him, brought it down to Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in response to the speech and deeds of the servants." In yet another, it was sent down in the month of Ramadan, on the Night of Decree, all at once, then sent down according to the positions of the stars, in segments over months and days.

That the descent afterward took twenty years is a view held by some. Others—and it is the most famous—say twenty-three years; another says twenty-five. This stems from the disagreement over the duration [the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, spent] in Mecca after the Call. Al-Sha'bi said: "The intent is that we began its descent therein." It is famous that the first of the verses to be revealed was "Read!" (Iqra'), and that its revelation was in Hira during the day. Yes, in Al-Bahr, it is narrated that the descent of the angel in Hira was in the last ten days of Ramadan; if this is authentic and the intent was that it occurred at night, then so be it. Otherwise, the apparent meaning of Al-Sha'bi's statement is not straight, unless one says that he meant the beginning of its descent to the lowest heaven [occurred] therein, and it is not required that the beginning of its descent to the heaven and the beginning of its descent to him, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in time be one and the same.

Furthermore, in "We sent it down," as mentioned, there is a metaphorical attribution (majaz fi al-isnad), because He attributed to the whole what is for the part, or it is a metaphor of the edge (majaz al-taraf), or an inclusion (tadmin). It is said that its descent from the Tablet to the lowest heaven was fragmented over the nights of Qadr, provided that "Night of Decree" refers to the generic; for it has been said that the Quran was sent down to the lowest heaven over twenty, twenty-three, or twenty-five nights of Qadr, and on each night, Allah the Exalted would send down what He decreed to be sent down throughout the year, then He, the Exalted, would send it down in stages throughout the year. This view was mentioned by the Imam as a possibility and transmitted by Al-Qurtubi, as Ibn Kathir said regarding Muqatil, but it is something not to be relied upon. The correct and relied-upon view, as Ibn Hajar said in his commentary on Al-Bukhari, is that it was sent down all at once from the Preserved Tablet to the House of Honor in the lowest heaven; indeed, some have reported a consensus on this.

Yes, it is not far-fetched to say that the Scribes there staged it for Gabriel, peace be upon him, on the aforementioned nights. Sayyid Isa al-Safawi answered this, noting a difficulty based on the permissibility of [a construction like] "I speak" (atakallamu) as an informative report of the speech, regarding which there is disagreement between Al-Dawani and others, as mentioned in his treatise regarding the question of the "deaf caution."

Or it is said that the pronoun refers to the Quran in consideration of its totality, disregarding its parts; thus, he informs about the whole that "We sent it down," even if "We sent it down" is part of the whole, being included in it without a unique parallel. They have mentioned that a part, from the perspective of being a part, is distinct from it from the perspective of being contained within the whole. In Al-Itqan, it is narrated from Abu Shamah: "If you say, 'We sent it down'—if it is not part of the Quran that was sent down all at once, then it was not sent down all at once. And if it is part of the whole, what is the meaning of this expression?' I say: It has two meanings. The first is that the intent is 'We decreed its descent on the Night of Decree, judged it, and predestined it in pre-eternity.' The second is that the word 'sent down' is past, but its meaning is future, i.e., 'We will send it down all at once on the Night of Decree.'" It did not appear to me that either of his meanings, may Allah have mercy on him, is sound, so delay your judgment on that; perhaps you will see.

It is also said that the meaning is "We sent it down in the virtue of the Night of Decree or in its matter and right." Thus, the speech is based on the assumption of an added term (mudaf), or the adverbial usage is metaphorical, as in the statement of Umar, may Allah be pleased with him: "I feared that it might be sent down in a Quran [verse]," and the statement of Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her: "No, I am too insignificant in myself that a Quran [verse] should be sent down about me." Some made the "in" (fi) here signify causality. As for the pronoun, it is said to refer to the Quran in the sense that oscillates between the whole and the part, or it is said to mean the Surah. This is not prevented by "We sent it down therein," based on what has passed, so there is no need to say that the intent of "therein" is [the night] excluding "We sent it down on the Night of Decree." It is also said it may refer to the whole because it contains that [verse]. In any case, carrying the verse on this meaning is not to be relied upon; what is to be relied upon is what preceded. The intent of "descent" is the manifestation of the Quran from the world of the unseen to the world of the witnessed, or its establishment before the Scribes there, or similar things that do not cause difficulty in their attribution to the Quran.

They have differed regarding that night. It is said that it is [for a reason]—but that is, as Al-Kirmani said, a mistake, because the end of the report refutes it, and the intent is the lifting of its determination therein. From Ikrimah, it is that it is the night of the middle of Sha'ban; this is a strange and anomalous view, as stated in Tuhfat al-Muhtaj, and the appearance of what is here—along with the appearance of His saying, "The month of Ramadan in which the Quran was revealed"—refutes it. From Ibn Mas'ud, it is that it rotates through the nights of the year, occurring in a different night each year; Al-Nawawi attributed this to Abu Hanifah and his two companions.

The majority are of the view that it is in the month of Ramadan. From Ibn Razin, it is the first night thereof. From Al-Hasan al-Basri, it is the seventeenth, because the Battle of Badr took place the morning after it. This is also reported from Zayd ibn Arqam and Ibn Mas'ud. From Anas, in a raised (marfu') report, it is the nineteenth. It is also narrated in a raised report from Ibn Mas'ud. From Muhammad ibn Ishaq, it is the twenty-first, due to what is in the two Sahihs and others from the hadith of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: "I have been shown this night—the Night of Decree—then I forgot it. I saw myself prostrating on the morning after it in water and mud." Abu Sa'id said: "It rained that night, and the mosque leaked, and my eyes saw the Messenger of Allah, and on his forehead and nose was the trace of water and mud on the morning of the twenty-first." In Muslim, it is the morning of the twenty-third. From this and what preceded, Al-Shafi'i, may Allah have mercy on him, inclined to the view that it is the twenty-first or the twenty-third night.

Ahmad, Muslim, and others narrated from Abdullah ibn Unays that he was asked about the Night of Decree, and he said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say: 'Seek it on the twenty-third night.'" Ahmad, Abu Dawud, Ibn Jarir, and others narrated from Bilal that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: "The Night of Decree is the twenty-fourth night." In Al-Itqan and elsewhere, it is the night on which the Quran was revealed. Ibn Abi Shaybah narrated from Abu Dharr that he was asked about the Night of Decree, and he said: "Umar and Hudhayfah, from the companions of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not doubt that it is the twenty-seventh night." Ibn Nasr and Ibn Jarir in his Tahdhib narrated from Muawiyah that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: "Seek the Night of Decree in the last night of Ramadan." In a narration of Ahmad from Abu Hurayrah, in a raised report: it is the last night.

It is also said it is in the middle ten days, alternating therein; it is said on its odd nights, and it is said on its even nights. Ahmad, Al-Bukhari, Muslim, and Al-Tirmidhi narrated from Aisha that she said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: "Seek the Night of Decree on the odd nights of the last ten days of the month of Ramadan." There are two other hadiths narrated by Ibn Jarir and others from Jabir ibn Samurah and Abdullah ibn Jabir that indicate what was mentioned, and the authentic reports indicating this are many.

In sum, the views regarding it are very varied, but the majority hold that it is in the last ten days due to the many authentic hadiths concerning that, and most of them hold that it is on the odd nights for the same reason. Many of them went to the view that it is the twenty-seventh night of those odd nights. It is authentically narrated from the transmission of Imam Ahmad, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Al-Tirmidhi, Al-Nasa'i, Ibn Hibban, and others that Zirr ibn Hubaysh asked Ubayy ibn Ka'b about it, and he swore, without making an exception, that it is the twenty-seventh night. He said to him: "On what do you base that, O Abu al-Mundhir?" He replied: "By the sign (ayah) and mark (alamat) that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, mentioned, which is that it rises on the morning of that day, the sun having no rays." Some reports from Ibn Abbas are apparent in this, and in some, there is solace for it by what points to the majesty of the number seven, which they said is a perfect number, in that the heavens are seven, the earths seven, the days seven, the pebbles [for stoning] seven, the circumambulation of the House seven, prostration on seven [limbs], and so on, to what he mentioned, as you know from the concurrent authentic reports. It is the time of the body, and in it, the reward of deeds increases, and it is the time of strength of readiness for the manifestations due to increased purification. That it is on the odd nights is more hopeful for the hadiths, besides that Allah the Exalted is Odd and loves the odd.

Ibn Hajar al-Haytami said: "A group chose the view that it does not adhere to a specific night of the last ten, but rotates among its nights, so for a year or years, it is odd—the first or the third or others—and for a year or years, it is even—the second or the fourth or others." They said: "The conflicting hadiths regarding it can only be reconciled through this." The statement of Al-Shafi'i, may Allah be pleased with him, in reconciling the hadiths necessitates this. It is not hidden that reconciling the conflicting hadiths regarding it absolutely through this is not possible; rather, it is only possible to reconcile them through this by looking at the [entire] ten.

It is said in reconciliation absolutely that it rotates, and what is authentically fixed in terms of specification in general or in investigation is carried upon a specific Night of Decree in the month of Ramadan, such that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, knew that it was in the beginning of a Ramadan month on such-and-such night, so he said: "It is such-and-such night"—meaning in this specific month of Ramadan. And he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, knew that it was in the month of Ramadan after it on such-and-such night—different from the night he mentioned before—so he said: "It is such-and-such night." And he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, knew that it was in another [Ramadan] in the last ten days, so he said: "It is in the last ten days"—meaning of this specific month, and so on. This is as you see.

Upon the view of its rotation, some claimed that if the first of the month is such-and-such night, then it is the twenty-seventh, and if it is such-and-such night, it is the twenty-first, until the end of what he said. We have mentioned this with its verse in Al-Tiraz al-Mudhahhab, and there is nothing in that which constitutes a proof against others.

In some reports, signs for it are mentioned. In a hadith of Imam Ahmad, Al-Bayhaqi, and others from Ubadah ibn al-Samit: "Among its signs is that it is a bright, clear, calm night, neither hot nor cold, as if there is a shining moon in it, in which no star is thrown until the morning." Ibn Jarir in his Tahdhib and Ibn Mardawayh narrated something similar from Jabir ibn Abdullah in a raised report. This—if authentic—is carried upon a specific Night of Decree in a specific month of Ramadan, as it is determined (ta'yin) because it is not consistent nor the majority case, as far as it appears.

The wisdom in its concealment is that one who seeks it should strive in worship during other nights so as to coincide with it, such as by keeping alive all the nights of the month of Ramadan, as was the custom of the predecessors. The Imam has, in this place, speech that is too exalted for one to talk about, but by my life, he has erred clearly in it, and he brought forth in it what is close to indicating his ignorance.

The meaning of "Night of Decree" (Laylat al-Qadr) is the Night of Predestination (Laylat al-Taqdir). It was named that because it is narrated from Ibn Abbas and others that in it, what will occur in that year—of rain, provision, life, and death—is decreed and fulfilled until the coming year. The intent is the manifestation of His, the Exalted, decree of that to the angels, peace be upon them, who are assigned to cosmic events. Otherwise, His, the Exalted, decree of all things is pre-eternal, before the creation of the heavens and the earth.

However, some eminent scholars said that the decree being on this night is problematic due to the statement of many that it is the night of the middle of Sha'ban, and it is the intended "Blessed Night" about which Allah the Exalted said: "In it every wise matter is made distinct." They answered that there are three things here:

1. The actual decreeing of affairs, i.e., the determination of their quantities and times; this is in pre-eternity.
2. The manifestation of those quantities to the angels, peace be upon them, by writing them in the Preserved Tablet; this is on the night of the middle of Sha'ban.
3. The establishment of the quantities in copies and handing them over to their possessors among the managers (the angels). Thus, the copy of provisions, plants, and rain is handed to Michael, peace be upon him; the copy of wars, winds, armies, earthquakes, thunderbolts, and sinkings to Gabriel, peace be upon him; the copy of deeds to Israfil, peace be upon him; and the copy of calamities to the Angel of Death. This is on the Night of Decree.

It is said that on the night of the middle [of Sha'ban], life spans and provisions are decreed, and on the Night of Decree, those matters that have in them goodness, blessing, and safety. It is said that in this [night] is decreed what relates to the honoring of the religion and what has great benefit for the Muslims, while on the night of the middle [of Sha'ban], the names of those who will die are written and handed to the Angel of Death. Allah the Exalted knows the reality of the matter.

Al-Zuhri said the meaning is the Night of Grandeur and Honor, from their saying, "A man has qadr (standing) with so-and-so," meaning status and honor. It was named that because whoever performs acts of obedience in it becomes possessed of standing and honor with Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, or because the acts of obedience have that [status] in it. It is said it is because a book of great status was revealed in it, via an angel of great status, to a messenger of great status, for a nation of great status. It is said it is because angels of great status descend in it.

Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad said the meaning is the Night of Constriction (from qadara 'alayhi rizquhu—to narrow/constrict his provision). It was named that because the earth constricts in it with the presence of the angels, peace be upon them.

Its being "better than a thousand months" is, according to the majority, in terms of worship, meaning worship in it is better than worship in a thousand months. No one knows the extent of its superiority over them except He, the Exalted and Almighty. This is a favor from Him, the Exalted, and to Him, the Mighty and Majestic, belongs [the right] to specify what He wills with what He wills. Often a small deed is better than a large deed. This does not contradict the principle that everything that is greater and more difficult is better, due to the report of Muslim that he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her: "Your reward is in accordance with your exertion," because that is [general] majority, as many have said. There is no doubt that a deed may be superior to a [greater] quantity in consideration of time, or in consideration of place, or in consideration of the manner of performance, such as a single prayer performed in congregation, which equals twenty-five times a similar prayer performed alone, and so on. Yes, this superiority might be grasped in some cases and might not, as in the case we are in. There is no restriction on Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, and nothing of what is with Him, the Exalted, is known except to Him, the Glorious.

Regarding the specification of the thousand [months] by mention, it is said it is either for the sake of exaggeration (takthir), as in His saying: "One of them wishes if he could be granted life a thousand years," and often that is intended by numbers. In Al-Bahr, there is an account that the meaning is that it is better than the whole of time.

Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abi Hatim, and Al-Bayhaqi in his Sunan narrated from Mujahid that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, mentioned a man from the Children of Israel who wore armor for the sake of Allah for a thousand months. The Muslims were amazed at that, and their own deeds seemed small to them, so Allah the Exalted sent down the Surah. Ibn Abi Hatim narrated from Ali ibn Urwah that he said: "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, mentioned one day four of the Children of Israel who worshipped Allah for eighty years and did not disobey Him for the blinking of an eye." He mentioned Job, Zechariah, Ezekiel (Hizqil) the son of the old woman, and Joshua the son of Nun. The companions of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, were amazed at that. Gabriel, peace be upon him, came to him and said: "O Muhammad, your nation has wondered at the worship of these people for eighty years; Allah the Exalted has sent down to you something better than that." He then read to him, "We sent it down..." and said: "This is better than what you and your nation were amazed at." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was pleased with that.

It is said that in the past, a man was not called a "worshipper" until he worshipped Allah the Exalted for a thousand months, so they were given a night that, if they revived it, they would be more deserving to be called "worshippers" than those worshippers. Abu Bakr al-Warraq said: "The kingdom of both Solomon and Dhu al-Qarnayn was five hundred months each, so Allah the Exalted made the deed in this night for whoever attains it better than their kingdom." There is a view on this because if the first Dhu al-Qarnayn is intended, then according to that view, he ruled for much longer than that, and if the second—the slayer of Darius—is intended, he ruled for much less than that.

It is said that he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was shown the lifespans of all nations and found the lifespans of his own nation to be short, so he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, feared they would not reach the same level of deeds as others did through long life. Thus, Allah granted him the Night of Decree and made it better than a thousand months for other nations. This was mentioned by Imam Malik in Al-Muwatta.

You have heard what indicates that the thousand is a reference to the kingdom of the Umayyads, and it was, as Qasim ibn al-Fadl said, a thousand months, not increasing by a day nor decreasing by a day, which is—as it is said—eighty years; it is approximately a thousand months because it is eighty-three years and four months. The kingdom of the Umayyads in the island of Andalusia afterward does not conflict with this, as it was a minor kingdom in some parts of the earth, and the end of the Arab settlement, and for this reason, those who ruled there among their caliphs were not counted, and they said their extinction was with the destruction of Marwan the Donkey.

Judge Abd al-Jabbar attacked the idea that the verse is a reference to what was mentioned, saying that the days of the Umayyads were blameworthy (i.e., in consideration of the majority), so it is far-fetched to say regarding that night that it is better than a thousand blameworthy months. Did you not see the sword lose its worth if it is said that the sword is better than a stick? It was answered that those days were great according to worldly happiness, so it is not far-fetched that Allah the Exalted said: "I have given you a night in religious happiness that is better than those in worldly happiness." Thus, no benefit remains.

They differed on whether those days are followed by their days or not. Al-Sha'bi said: "Yes, its day is like it." It is said that perhaps the aspect of it is that the mention of nights entails the days, just as if one vows to perform i'tikaf for two nights, they become obligatory with their two days. Many say not. But it is said that striving in its day is a sunnah, as it is a sunnah during it. For this reason, it came in its description that the sun rises on the morning after it and has no rays, as preceded, i.e., due to the greatness of the lights of the angels ascending and descending in it. For there is no benefit in that except knowing its day, and there would be no benefit in that if striving in it were not a sunnah. It was blocked by saying: "It is possible that the benefit is to know it itself so one may strive in it the following year, based on the view that it does not rotate."

The appearance of the verse is that it is better than the night of Jumu'ah (Friday). The issue is disputed, and the majority of the Imams are on the view that it is better than it, due to the verse and because Allah the Exalted revealed the Quran in it, and it is what it is, and He did not reveal it in another, and because He, the Exalted, commanded that it be sought. From Ibn Abbas, he said regarding His saying, "And seek what Allah has written for you the Night of Decree." And because He, the Mighty and Majestic, made it the night of discrimination and judgment, saying, "In it every wise matter is made distinct," and named it, Glorious and Exalted is He, the Night of Decree, i.e., Predestination. And because it is narrated from Ka'b that he said: "Allah the Exalted chose the hours and chose the times of prayer; He chose the days and chose the day of Jumu'ah; He chose the months and chose the month of Ramadan; and He chose the nights and chose the Night of Decree." So it is the best night in the best month. And because the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, encouraged deeds in it, for it is authentically established: "Whoever stands [in prayer] on the Night of Decree, believing and seeking reward, his past sins will be forgiven," and in one narration, "and his future [sins]." He, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade singling out the night of Jumu'ah for standing [in prayer] and its day for fasting. And because He, the Exalted and Almighty, concealed it and did not specify it, just as He concealed His greatest name, the Mighty and Majestic, and just as He concealed the best of prayers, which is the middle prayer, and so on.

Most of the Hanbalis, like Abu al-Hasan al-Jazari, Abdullah ibn Battah, Abu Hafs al-Barmaki, and others, went to the view that the night of Jumu'ah is better, due to what Muqatil narrated from Al-Dahhak from Ibn Abbas, who said the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: "Allah the Exalted forgives on the night of Jumu'ah all the people of Islam." This is a virtue that did not come for another. Something similar is narrated from Ibn Mas'ud, who said the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: "There is no night of Jumu'ah except that Allah the Exalted looks at His creation three times, and He forgives whoever does not associate anything with Allah." And because Ibn Bashkuwal narrated in his book Al-Qurbah ila Rabb al-Alamin with his chain to Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, that he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: "Increase [the frequency of] prayer upon me on the Radiant Night and the Resplendent Day: the night of Jumu'ah and the day of Jumu'ah." The radiant (ghurrah) of a thing is its best. And because many, including Imam Ahmad, narrated that its day is the master of days and the greatest of them, and greater with Allah the Exalted than the day of Fitr and the day of Adha. Ibn Hibban authenticated the report: "The sun does not rise or set on a day better than the day of Jumu'ah," so it is therefore the master of nights and the greatest and best of them. And because it is fixed and witnessed; it is witnessed by the special and the general, by male and female, small and old, the sighted and the blind, and its blessing reaches the living and the dead, whereas the Night of Decree is not fixed, so only a few benefit from it, and so on.

Those [who favor the Night of Decree] answered regarding the verse that since the intent is "better than a thousand months" that do not have a Night of Decree, as Qatadah and others said, let it also be meant that it is better than a thousand months that do not have a night of Jumu'ah. Both things are indicated by the fact that most of the preceding causes of revelation indicate that the intent of "months" is the months of those who preceded us, and they did not have a Night of Decree nor a night of Jumu'ah. They answered regarding the other proofs that some are contradicted and some do not indicate anything more than its virtue, which is something no one has denied. The former [the Hanbalis] answered their proofs with something similar to what they answered.

Due to the conflict, Ahmad ibn al-Husayn ibn Ya'qub ibn Qasim al-Muqri from the Hanbalis said that both views on the issue are widespread among the companions, but evidence points to the correctness of both, so it is not proper for anyone to label the proponent of either as being in error. After contemplating the evidence of both sides and standing upon their conditions, you will find the superiority of the Night of Decree to be clear, as well as [the superiority of] the night of Jumu'ah.

There is an intermediate view between the two: Judge Abu Ya'la transmitted that Abu al-Hasan al-Tamimi, also from the Hanbalis, used to say: "The Night of Decree in which the Quran was revealed is better than the night of Jumu'ah because of the great goodness that occurred in it which did not occur in others; as for similar nights of Qadr, the night of Jumu'ah is better than them." It is said that its equal is in the night of the Ascension (Mi'raj) compared to the night of Jumu'ah, and so on. Then, the apparent speech of some Hanafis, like the author of Al-Jawharah, is that the night of Sacrifice (Nahr) is better than the Night of Decree and all other nights of the year. The appearance of the verse also refutes this; perhaps he would answer in a manner similar to what preceded.

Al-Tahtawi, may Allah have mercy on him, transmitted in his marginal notes on Al-Mukhtar from some Shafi'is that the best nights are: the night of his birth, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, then the Night of Decree, then the night of the Night Journey (Isra'), then the night of Arafah, then the night of Jumu'ah, then the night of the middle of Sha'ban, then the night of the Eid. I do not see that there is anything to be relied upon in that, and Allah the Exalted knows best.

What has been pointed to regarding it being from the characteristics of this nation is what is necessitated by most of the reports narrated concerning the cause of revelation, and Al-Haytami and others explicitly stated it. Al-Qastallani said that it is challenged by the hadith of Abu Dharr in Al-Nasa'i, where he said: "O Messenger of Allah, does it exist with the Prophets, and when they die, is it lifted?" He said: "Rather, it is remaining." Then he mentioned that the basis for those who say that is the report we presented regarding the cause of revelation from his seeing, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, the shortening of the lifespans of his nation compared to the lifespans of other nations. He followed this up by saying: "This is subject to interpretation, so it does not push aside the explicit [nature of the] hadith of Abu Dharr, as stated by the two memorizers, Ibn Kathir in his commentary and Ibn Hajar in Fath al-Bari."

The truth is the former, and explicit [nature] is in the realm of denial. Al-Daylami narrated from Anas from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that he said: "Verily, Allah the Exalted bestowed the Night of Decree upon my nation and did not give it to those who were before them." So contemplate and do not be heedless.