Surah 97 · Meccan · 5 Verses
القدر
SURAH AL-QADR
The Power
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بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
إِنَّآ أَنزَلْنَٰهُ فِى لَيْلَةِ ٱلْقَدْرِ
Indeed, We sent it [i.e., the Qur’ān] down during the Night of Decree.
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وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا لَيْلَةُ ٱلْقَدْرِ
And what can make you know what is the Night of Decree?
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لَيْلَةُ ٱلْقَدْرِ خَيْرٌۭ مِّنْ أَلْفِ شَهْرٍۢ
The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months.
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تَنَزَّلُ ٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةُ وَٱلرُّوحُ فِيهَا بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِم مِّن كُلِّ أَمْرٍۢ
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About This Surah
Surah Al-Qadr announces that the Quran was sent down on the Night of Decree, a night better than a thousand months. Angels and the Spirit descend by their Lord’s permission for every matter, and the night is peace until dawn. The chapter establishes the night’s exceptional value while leaving its exact annual date unstated and offering no fixed-count recitation formula.
The surah begins with the Quran’s descent on Laylat al-Qadr and asks what could make the reader know its significance. The answer is qualitative: the night is better than a thousand months. This revealed comparison should not be converted into an automatic personal reward calculation detached from sincere worship.
Angels and the Spirit descend by their Lord’s permission with every matter. The unseen scene should remain within the wording of the text. An editorial page must not add visual details, private encounters, or paranormal techniques that the surah does not teach.
The final verse describes peace until dawn. The Quran itself does not state a fixed Gregorian date or identify the twenty-seventh night as an annual certainty. Authentic hadith directs believers to seek Laylat al-Qadr in the last ten nights of Ramadan, especially the odd nights. That guidance concerns seeking the night; it does not establish a guaranteed outcome from repeating Surah Al-Qadr a self-selected number of times.
Core Themes
- Revelation as the night’s central significance
- Sacred time valued beyond ordinary measure
- Angelic descent by divine permission
- Peace extending until dawn
Reading Guide
Separate Quranic description from hadith guidance
The surah describes revelation, value, angelic descent, and peace. The hadith sources guide when to seek the night. Keeping those layers distinct makes each claim traceable.
Resist reward arithmetic and date certainty
Read “better than a thousand months” as revealed value, not a marketing calculation for a self-designed ritual. Do not present the twenty-seventh night as Quranic certainty every year.
Key Passages
Revelation on the Night of Decree — 1
The chapter’s first statement makes the Quran’s descent central to the night’s identity. The significance of sacred time is tied to revelation rather than to folklore or private experience. Its placement in the chapter connects the preceding argument with the response that follows, so the surrounding verses should remain in view.
Better than a thousand months — 3
The comparison communicates extraordinary value without authorizing a mechanical reward formula. Its proper response is sincere worship and attentiveness, not certainty about an individual calculation. The surrounding verses define both its immediate purpose and the limits that prevent a careless or overbroad modern application.
Angelic descent and peace — 4-5
The angels and the Spirit descend by divine permission, and peace continues until dawn. The verses affirm an unseen reality while setting a clear boundary against invented visual or paranormal detail. Read this language within the chapter’s full movement before drawing broader theological, legal, or devotional conclusions from a single passage.
Recitation Note
Sahih al-Bukhari 2017 directs believers to seek Laylat al-Qadr in the odd nights of Ramadan’s last ten nights, while Sahih al-Bukhari 2020 reports seeking it within the last ten nights. These reports guide the search for the night; they do not guarantee an outcome from reciting this surah a fixed number of times.
Interpretation Limits
- The Quran does not state that Laylat al-Qadr is certainly the twenty-seventh night every year.
- The angelic descent should not be turned into claims of private contact, visions, or paranormal techniques.
- The thousand-month comparison is not an automatic reward formula for a specified repetition count.