Al-Qadr (4): The angels and the Spirit descend...

His saying—the Exalted—"The angels and the Spirit descend therein," is an isti'naf (a new, independent sentence) explaining the criterion of its excellence over that long duration. The pronoun in "therein" refers to the night. Some have claimed that the clause is an adjective for "a thousand months," with the pronoun referring to it, but this is baseless. Some have allowed that the pronoun refers to the angels, with "the Spirit" (al-Ruh) being the subject and "therein" being its predicate, not related to "descend," and the whole sentence being a state (hal) of the angels; but this is contrary to the apparent meaning.

The Ruh (Spirit), according to the majority, is Gabriel—peace be upon him—and he is specified for mention to increase his honor, especially since he is the one who descends with the Remembrance (the Quran). It is said that he is a magnificent angel such that if he were to swallow the heavens and the earth, they would be for him like a single morsel; in al-Taysir, descriptions of him are mentioned that bewilder the intellects, and Allah—the Exalted—knows the authenticity of the report best.

Ka'b and Muqatil said: The Ruh is a group of angels whom the other angels do not see except on that night, like the ascetics whom we do not see except on the days of Eid or Friday. It is also said they are guards over the angels, just as the recording angels are guards over us. It is also said that they are a creation from the creations of Allah—the Exalted—who eat and drink, not being from the angels nor from humankind ("And He creates what you do not know," and "None knows the soldiers of your Lord except Him"). Perhaps they are, as is said, the youths of Paradise. It is also said that it is Jesus—peace be upon him—descending to observe this community and to visit the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. It is also said that they are the souls of the believers descending to visit their families. It is also said that it is Mercy, as it is read, "Do not despair of the ruh (mercy) of Allah" (with the damma).

The first view is the one relied upon. The apparent meaning, to which the reports testify, is that the descent is to the earth. It is said that this is because of what Allah—the Exalted—mentioned later, and the discussion on it will follow—if Allah wills. It is said they descend to it to greet the believers. It is said that Allah—the Exalted—made the virtue of this night to be in occupying oneself with His worship on earth; therefore, they descend to it so that their (the believers') acts of worship become more rewarding, just as one of us goes to Makkah so that his worship becomes likewise. Thus, the purpose of the reports regarding this is to encourage humans toward worship.

'Isam al-Din said: It is possible that their descent is for the sake of realizing it (the night), since there is no night in the heavens, and the sentence then confirms what preceded, not being a basis for the reason of superiority, but in this is a view that is not hidden. Other things have been said about it to which we will point—if Allah wills. It is said that what is meant is their descent to the lowest heaven, but this is contrary to the prompt understanding. Far more subtle is the claim that what is meant by their descent is their descent from their high ranks—from being occupied with Allah—the Exalted—and being submerged in contemplating His Majesty—Mighty and Majestic—in order to greet the believers.

It is asserted that what is meant by "the angels" is all of them, but this is problematized by their immense number, which the earth cannot contain, and likewise the lowest heaven, for it is filled before their descent: "The heaven creaked, and it has the right to creak; there is not a place of a footstep in it except that there is an angel prostrating, bowing, or standing." It is answered that they descend in groups, one after another—some descending and some ascending—like the pilgrims; for despite their great number, they all enter the Ka'bah, for example, but not all at once; rather, they are between entering and exiting. In the expression "descend" (tanazzal), which signifies gradual progression, rather than "descended" (nazala), there is an allusion to this. It is also said that because they are lights, there is no congestion among them; for if light fills a room, for example, it does not prevent adding a thousand lights to it, and this is as you can see.

Some people have restricted the angels to certain of their cohorts, namely the inhabitants of the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary (Sidrat al-Muntaha), or some of them. In al-Ghunya by the Rabbinic Pole, Sheikh Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani—may his secret be sanctified—it is narrated from Ibn Abbas—may Allah be pleased with him—that he said: When the Night of Power arrives, Allah—the Exalted—commands Gabriel—peace be upon him—to descend to the earth, and with him are the inhabitants of the Lote Tree, seventy thousand angels, carrying banners of light. When they descend to the earth, Gabriel—peace be upon him—plants his banner, and the angels—peace be upon them—plant their banners in four places: at the Ka'bah, the grave of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—the Mosque of Jerusalem, and the Mosque of Mount Sinai. Then Gabriel—peace be upon him—says: "Scatter," and they scatter. No house, rock, home, or ship remains that contains a believing man or woman except that the angels—peace be upon them—enter it, except for a house in which there is a dog, a swine, wine, a person in a state of impurity (janaba) from a forbidden act, or statues/images. They glorify, sanctify, proclaim the oneness of Allah, and seek forgiveness for the community of Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—until the time of dawn. Then they ascend to the heavens, and the inhabitants of the lowest heaven meet them and say: "From where have you come?" They reply: "We were on the earth, for the night is the Night of Power for the community of Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace." The inhabitants of the lowest heaven say: "What did Allah—the Exalted—do regarding the needs of the community of Muhammad?" Gabriel—peace be upon him—says: "Allah—the Exalted—forgave their righteous ones and granted the intercession of their righteous ones for their wicked ones." Then the angels of the lowest heaven raise their voices in glorification, sanctification, and praise to the Lord of the Worlds, in gratitude for the forgiveness and pleasure Allah—the Exalted—gave this community. The angels of the lowest heaven accompany them to the second, and likewise up to the seventh. Then Gabriel—peace be upon him—says: "O inhabitants of the heavens, return," and the angels of each heaven return to their places. When they reach the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary, its inhabitants say to them: "Where were you?" They answer them as they answered the people of the heavens. Then the inhabitants of the Lote Tree raise their voices in glorification, declaration of oneness, and praise, and the Garden of Abode hears it, then the Garden of Bliss, the Garden of Eden, and the Highest Paradise. The Throne of the Most Merciful hears it, and the Throne raises its voice in glorification, declaration of oneness, and praise to the Lord of the Worlds, in gratitude for what He gave this community, and says: "My God, it has reached me that You forgave last night the righteous of the community of Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and granted the intercession of their righteous ones." Allah—Mighty and Majestic—says: "You spoke the truth, O My Throne. For the community of Muhammad—upon him be blessings and peace—I have that which no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and has not crossed the heart of any human."

In a narration from Ka'b, all the angels of the Lote Tree descend with Gabriel—peace be upon them—and none knows their number except Allah—the Exalted—and that Gabriel—peace be upon him—does not leave a single person without shaking his hand. In another narration: He does not leave a believing man or woman without greeting them, provided they are free from wine, the eating of swine, and being doused in saffron. The sign of his handshake—upon him be peace—is the shivering of the skin, the softening of the heart, and tears in the eyes. Other details regarding his descent with the angels and his ascent with them have been narrated, and the Imam and others have mentioned some of these. We ask Allah—the Exalted—for the authenticity of these reports.

Some have mentioned that Gabriel—peace be upon him—distributes on that night what descends from the mercy of Allah—the Exalted—until he exhausts the living believers. He says: "O Lord, much mercy remains, what shall I do with it?" Allah—Mighty and Majestic—says: "Distribute it to the deceased of the community of Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace." He distributes it until he exhausts them. He says: "O Lord, much mercy remains, what shall I do with it?" He—Glorified and Exalted be He—says: "Distribute it to the disbelievers." He distributes it among them, and whoever among them receives any part of that mercy dies upon faith.

"By the permission of their Lord" is related to "descend" or to an omitted term, making it a state (hal) of its doer—that is, "they are enveloped by the permission of their Lord," by His command—Mighty and Majestic. This qualification is to magnify the matter of their descent. It is said the indication is that they desire the people of the earth who are believers and yearn for them, so they ask for permission, and it is granted to them. In this is a kind of encouragement to strive in worship. The issue of this desire, given the prevalence of sins, is problematized. It is answered that they are not aware of the details of these sins, or they do not consider them an obstacle to this because they see types of obedience that they do not see in the heavens, or so they may hear the groaning of the sinners who repent. In the Hadith Qudsi: "The groaning of the sinners is more beloved to Me than the clamor of the glorifiers." Or so they may gather with those with whom they have an affinity among the Truthful (al-Siddiqin), as a performance of the rites of love; for the souls of the Truthful, stripped of the garments of the bodies, have not ceased to visit the angels—peace be upon them—in their places by ascending to them, so it is appropriate that they (the angels) should visit them and associate with them in their corners, and even if this necessitates gathering with others who are not such, that is a secondary matter.

For the sake of an eye, a thousand eyes are honored.

"Of every matter" (min kulli amr): That is, for the sake of every matter—related to the estimate for that year until the next. He—the Exalted—makes it manifest to them; this was said by more than one. Thus, "from" (min) is in the sense of the causal "for" (li), related to "descend." 'Isam al-Din said: If you say, "The decreed matters do not take place on that night, but throughout the entire year, so why do the angels—peace be upon them—descend on it for those matters?" I say: Perhaps their descent is to assign the implementation of those matters to them. And their descent "for every matter" is not in the sense of each one descending for every matter, nor each one descending for a single matter, but in the sense of the whole descending for the sake of all matters, so that the speech divides the causes over the effects. I say: It is possible their descent is to prepare the receptacles to receive what they have been commanded with. He pointed out by the division he mentioned that it is permissible for one of them to descend for several matters. As for their saying "of every matter" is related to... [the previous text has been discussed, so remember it]. Abu Hatim said "from" is in the sense of "with" (bi), meaning "descending with every matter." It is said this means of goodness and blessing, and it is said of good and evil. He made the ba (in bi) one of causality; thus the meaning returns to something like what has passed. Some made it for accompaniment, the intent being their accompaniment of it for the sake of the command regarding it; as if it were said: "The angels descend while they are commanded with every matter that will be in the year." Their descending while they are so does not necessitate their doing all that they are commanded with on that night. The apparent meaning, according to what they said, is that what is meant by "the angels" is "the regulators" (al-mudabbirat), for others have no connection to the matters related to the decree for which they descended, according to the previous meaning. This is contrary to what the traditions indicate regarding them not being restricted to the regulators, so ponder this. It is as if, for this reason, it was said that "of every matter" is related to His saying—the Exalted—...