سورة الدخان

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): On the Night of Qadr, all that will happen throughout the coming year until the next year — whether of good deeds or bad, obedience or disobedience, birth or death, and provision and sustenance — is determined; therefore whatever is determined and made certain for that year will definitely take place. However, this determination and certainty cannot restrain the will and intention of Allah the Mighty and Majestic [in other words, nothing, not even the finalisation of the decrees on the Night of Qadr, can restrain the will of Allah].

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): A zindiq (irreligious) man came to Amir al-Mu'minin Ali (peace be upon him) and said to him: "If there were no disagreement and contradiction among the [verses of the] Qur'an, I would surely embrace your religion!" ... The zindiq asked: "Who are these divine proofs [on the earth]?" The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "... They are the possessors of the command about whom Allah has said: Obey Allah! And obey the Messenger [of Allah] and the possessors of authority among you. (Nisa/59) ..." The zindiq asked: "What is meant by that command?" The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "It is that with which the angels descend on the night in which every wise affair is arranged and made distinct according to wisdom, and it includes creation, sustenance and provision, deaths, deeds, life and death, knowledge of the unseen of the heavens and the earth, and the miracles — the very miracles that befit Allah, His vicegerents [on earth] and the emissaries who are [the intermediaries] between Allah and His creation; and these vicegerents and emissaries are the very Face of Allah about which He has said: So wherever you turn, there is the Face of Allah. (Baqarah/115) They are the very treasures of Allah — meaning al-Mahdi (may Allah hasten his noble relief) ... And if this matter which [descends on the Night of Qadr and] I have explained to you [were such that] Allah would inform only His Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) of it and it did not include others (that is, his true successors), then the wording of the verse (On that night the angels and the Spirit descend by their Lord's command to carry out affairs. (Qadr/4)) would have had to indicate a past tense (perfect) act, not an act indicating the continuity of this matter into the future (that is, the present-future tense), and Allah would have had to say: 'نَزَلَتِ الْمَلَائِکَةُ [the angels descended]' and 'فُرِقَ کُلُّ أَمْرٍ حَکِیمٍ [every wise affair was arranged and made distinct according to wisdom]', and would not have said: تَنَزَّلُ الْمَلَائِکَةُ [the angels descend]. (Qadr/4) and [would not have said:] یُفْرَقُ کُلُّ أَمْرٍ حَکِیمٍ [every wise affair is made distinct]."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Narrated from Harith ibn Mughira al-Basri and ... from Hisham [ibn al-Hakam]: I said to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "[What is meant by] this saying of Allah the Exalted [which] in His Book [says:] فِیها یُفْرَقُ کُلُّ أَمْرٍ حَکِیمٍ [Therein every wise affair is made distinct]?" He said: "What is meant is the Night of Qadr, in which is written the journey of the pilgrims [to Mecca] and everything that will happen in the coming year of obedience, disobedience, death and life; and Allah brings into being in the night and day of Qadr whatever He wills, then entrusts it to the master of the earth." Harith ibn Mughira al-Basri said: I asked: "Who is the master of the earth?" He said: "Your master (the infallible Imam (peace be upon him))."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): On the night in which every wise affair is arranged according to wisdom, all that will happen during the coming year until the following year — whether good or evil, sustenance and provision, an event or death and birth — all is sent down; and on that night the journey of the pilgrims to Mecca is written. So whoever's name is written among the pilgrims in that year cannot refrain from [going on] this journey, even if he is poor and sick; and whoever's name is not written among the pilgrims in that year cannot perform the Hajj, even if he is wealthy and healthy.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): The meaning of Laylat al-Qadr (the Night of Decree) is that Allah on that night decrees the deaths, the provisions, and everything that will occur within one year — whether death or life, fertility or drought, good or evil — as Allah has said: فِیها یُفْرَقُ کُلُّ أَمْرٍ حَکِیمٍ [Therein every wise affair is made distinct].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) that concerning the verse فِیها یُفْرَقُ کُلُّ أَمْرٍ حَکِیمٍ [Therein every wise affair is made distinct] he said: "What is meant by that night is Laylat al-Qadr (the Night of Decree), on which the events of the year from that night until the following year are determined — including [journeying for] Hajj and Umrah, provision, incidents or death, travel, marriage or the bearing of children, and the other things that the son of Adam encounters, whether they are in his favour or against him, in the remainder of that year from that night until the like of it in the coming year; and that night is within the last ten days of the month of Ramadan. So whoever witnesses this night beside the grave of Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) — [here the narrator was uncertain about the Imam's expression and says:] or he said [is present at the grave of Imam Husayn (peace be upon him)] — and there prays two rak'ahs, or as much as he is able, and asks Allah for Paradise and seeks refuge with Him from the fire of Hell, Allah will grant him what he has asked and will protect him from [the harm of] that from which he has sought refuge ..."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Sama'a ibn Mihran said: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said to me: "If you have the strength, on each of the two nights of the twenty-first and the twenty-third of the month of Ramadan, perform one hundred rak'ahs of prayer besides the thirteen rak'ahs (eleven rak'ahs of the night prayer and two rak'ahs of the nafilah of the morning prayer), and stay awake on those two nights until morning, for it is recommended that [on those two nights] you be engaged in prayer, supplication, humility and beseeching, because it is hoped that Laylat al-Qadr (the Night of Decree) is one of those two nights, and Laylat al-Qadr is better than a thousand months (Qadr/3)." I said to him: "How is it better than a thousand months?" He said: "[Performing] a good deed on that night is better than [performing] a good deed in a thousand months in which there is no Laylat al-Qadr; and that night is in the month of Ramadan, and therein every affair is decreed and made distinct on the basis of [divine] wisdom." I said: "What things are decreed on that night?" He said: "Whatever will happen throughout the year [is determined on it], and on such a night the journey of the pilgrims to Mecca is written."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Zayd ibn Usamah narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) that regarding this verse he said: This is Laylat al-Qadr, on which the affairs of the year are decreed... and it is in the last ten days of Ramadan, and whoever attains it — or he said: is present — beside the grave of Husayn (peace be upon him) and prays two rak'ahs or whatever he is able beside him, and asks Allah for Paradise and seeks refuge with Allah from the Fire, Allah will grant him what he has asked and protect him from what he has sought refuge from. And in it is a great reward.

Imam al-Jawad (peace be upon him): Whoever visits Husayn (peace be upon him) on the twenty-third night of the month of Ramadan — which is the night that is hoped to be Laylat al-Qadr and فِیها یُفْرَقُ کُلُّ أَمْرٍ حَکِیمٍ [therein every affair is decreed and made distinct on the basis of [divine] wisdom] — the spirits of twenty-four thousand angels and prophets (peace be upon them) shake hands with him, all of whom on that night seek permission from Allah to visit Imam Husayn (peace be upon him).

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): On the nights of the seventeenth, nineteenth, twenty-first, and twenty-third of the month of Ramadan, ask Allah for [the success of performing] the Hajj; for the Hajj journey each year is written on Laylat al-Qadr, as Allah the Mighty and Majestic has said: therein every affair is decreed and made distinct on the basis of [divine] wisdom.

Imam Baqir or Imam Sadiq (peace be upon them): On the nineteenth night, the journey of the pilgrims [to Mecca] is written, and on that night every affair is decreed and made distinct on the basis of [divine] wisdom.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): On the nights of the nineteenth, twenty-first and twenty-third of the month of Ramadan, perform ghusl, and strive to keep vigil on the nights of the twenty-first and twenty-third. And the Imam (peace be upon him) stated that Laylat al-Qadr is expected to be one of the two nights, the twenty-first or the twenty-third. And he said: "The night of the twenty-third is the night in which every matter is decreed and made distinct according to [divine] wisdom. And on this night, the journey of the pilgrims [to Mecca] and everything that will occur from this year until the next is written."

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): The meaning of the verse فِیها یُفْرَقُ کُلُّ أَمْرٍ حَکِیمٍ [Therein every wise affair is made distinct] is this: [on that night] every firm and established matter, to which no addition or subtraction will occur, is determined; in such a way that on that night the deaths, provisions and other affairs of one year until Laylat al-Qadr of the following year are apportioned.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Ishaq ibn Ammar said: I heard that people asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "Are the provisions apportioned on the night of the middle of Sha'ban?" He said: "By Allah, no. This matter only takes place on the nineteenth night of the month of Ramadan and the twenty-first night and the twenty-third night, in such a way that on the nineteenth night two matters are gathered, and on the twenty-first night every firm matter is made distinct, and on the twenty-third night whatever Allah the Mighty and Majestic wills in this regard is realised, and that night is Laylat al-Qadr, about which Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: خَیْرٌ مِّنْ أَلْفِ شَهْرٍ [better than a thousand months]." I said: "What is the meaning of this saying that two matters are gathered?" He said: "On that night Allah gathers whatever He wills of His advancing and delaying and His will and His decree." I said: "And what is the meaning of this saying that it is realised on the twenty-third night?" He said: "That [gathered matter] on the twenty-first night, [the manner of] its being realised is made distinct, and there is bada' (alteration of decree) for Allah the Exalted in it; then when the twenty-third night arrives, Allah brings it into effect, and thus it becomes definite, and no bada' occurs in it from Allah the Blessed and Exalted."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Humran said: "I said to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The Ahl al-Sunnah believe that on the night of the middle of Sha'ban the deaths are written and the provisions are apportioned and the warrant [for the journey] of the pilgrims is issued. [Is it so?]" His Eminence said: "Such a matter is not correct with us; rather, when the nineteenth night of the month of Ramadan arrives, the deaths are written and the provisions are apportioned and the warrant [for the journey] of the pilgrims is issued, and Allah looks upon His servants, and no believer remains except that Allah will forgive him, except for one who is a drinker of intoxicants; when the twenty-third night arrives, on that night every matter is decreed and made distinct according to [divine] wisdom. And Allah endorses it and then conveys it." I said: "May I be your ransom! To whom [does He convey it]?" His Eminence said: "To your master (that is, the infallible Imam (peace be upon him)), and if such a conveyance did not take place, the events of that year would not be determined."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Kumayl ibn Ziyad said: I was sitting with my master Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) in the mosque of Basra, together with a group of his companions, when one of them asked: "What is the meaning of this statement of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, [who says]: فِیها یُفْرَقُ کُلُّ أَمْرٍ حَکِیمٍ [Therein every wise affair is made distinct]?" The Imam said: "It refers to the night of the middle of Sha'ban. By the One in whose hand is the soul of Ali (peace be upon him)! There is no servant except that everything of good and evil that befalls him until the night of the middle of Sha'ban of the coming year is apportioned for him on the night of the middle of Sha'ban; and there is no servant who stays awake in worship on such a night and recites the supplication of Khidr (peace be upon him) [known as Du'a Kumayl] except that it is answered."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): When the first night of the month of Ramadan arrives, say: "O Allah! O Lord of the month of Ramadan! ... [I ask You] on the Night of Qadr, among that which You decree and ordain, from those affairs that are arranged according to wisdom and the decree that is irrevocable and unalterable, to write my name [also] among the pilgrims of Your House ..."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Humran said: "I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about what is decreed on the Night of Qadr — is it the same things that Allah ordains [by His power]?" The Imam said: "The power of Allah cannot be described. Only [what can be said in this matter is that on the one hand] He Himself has said: فِیها یُفْرَقُ کُلُّ أَمْرٍ حَکِیمٍ [Therein every wise affair is made distinct]; [and on the other hand we know that] something which has been arranged can only be firm and well-established [but as for what things Allah ordains, that is not clear to us, because] the divine power cannot be described [such that by describing it one could become aware of its decrees], for Allah brings into existence whatever He wills [and everything is in His hands]."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): When the Night of Qadr arrives, [that same night in which] every affair is arranged and made distinct according to [divine] wisdom, on that night a caller calls out from within the Throne: "Allah has forgiven whoever visits the grave of Husayn (peace be upon him) on this night."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Mas'ada narrates from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): ... It is something by which Allah, Blessed and Exalted, decrees every year. Then the Imam recited this verse: فِیها یُفْرَقُ کُلُّ أَمْرٍ حَکِیمٍ [Therein every wise affair is made distinct]. So Allah, Blessed and Exalted, decrees the hardship, ease, rain or other things that He wills to occur in that year.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): On the Night of Qadr, Allah decrees whatever hardship, ease, or [descent of] rain there will be until the Night of Qadr of the following year, in whatever measure He Himself wills.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): فِیهَا یُفْرَقُ کُلُّ أَمْرٍ حَکِیمٍ [Therein every wise affair is made distinct]; that is, Allah [on the Night of Qadr] determines all matters — both truth and falsehood — and all the events of an entire year, and He is able to bring about change and alteration in deaths, sustenances, calamities, misfortunes and illnesses, advancing whichever of them He wills and delaying whichever He wills, and increasing in them whatever He wills and decreasing whatever He wills. [Then Allah conveys these decrees to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)], and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) conveys them to Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him), and Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) conveys them to the Imams (peace be upon them), until they finally reach the Imam of the Age (may Allah hasten his noble relief).

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): As for [the inner meaning of] this saying of Allah [where He said]: فِیهَا یُفْرَقُ کُلُّ أَمْرٍ حَکِیمٍ [Therein every wise affair is made distinct]; [it is that] from Hazrat Zahra (peace be upon her) an abundant good is spread, which is a wise man (that is, Imam Hasan (peace be upon him)) and a wise man (that is, Imam Husayn (peace be upon him)) and a wise man (that is, Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him), down to the last Imam, all of whom are from the progeny of Hazrat Zahra (peace be upon her) and are the perfect embodiment of the abundant good).

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): O company of Shia! Debate and argue [against your opponents] by means of Surah إِنَّا أَنْزَلْنَاهُ so that you may prevail, for by Allah, this surah, after the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), is the proof of Allah the Blessed and Exalted upon mankind, the master of your religion, and the utmost of our knowledge. O Shia! Debate and argue by means of حم وَ الْکِتابِ الْمُبِینِ إِنَّا أَنْزَلْناهُ فِی لَیْلَةٍ مُبارَکَةٍ إِنَّا کُنَّا مُنْذِرِینَ [Ha Mim. By the Clear Book. Indeed, We sent it down in a blessed night. Indeed, We were ever warners], for these verses, after the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), belong exclusively to those entrusted with the affair of Imamate. O Shia! Allah the Blessed and Exalted says: وَ إِنْ مِنْ أُمَّةٍ إِلَّا خَلا فِیها نَذِیرٌ [And there is no community but that a warner has passed within it] (Fatir/24). A person said: "O Aba Ja'far (peace be upon him)! The warner of the Muslim community is the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)?" The Imam said: "You have spoken correctly; but while he (peace be upon him and his family) was alive, was he not carrying out the [duty of] warning through messengers sent to every corner of the earth?" He said: "No." Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said: "Tell me, were his messengers not warners on his behalf, just as the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) was himself the envoy of Allah the Mighty and Majestic and His warner?" He said: "Yes indeed!" The Imam said: "Therefore, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) also has an envoy and a warner for the time after his death, and if you say it was not so, [you must say] the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) abandoned those of his community who would be born after him!" The man said: "Is the Qur'an not enough for them?" The Imam said: "Yes [it is enough, but] only if they have a [true] commentator for the Qur'an." He said: "Did the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) not explain the Qur'an?" The Imam said: "Yes, but he explained it to only one person, and to the rest he made known the rank and station of that one person, who is Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him)" … .

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him)- Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: My father Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) was performing tawaf of the Kaaba when suddenly a veiled man appeared, interrupted my father's tawaf and took him to a house beside Mount Safa ... and he said: "... O Abu Ja'far (peace be upon him)! If you wish, you inform me, and if you wish, I will inform you" ... My father said to him: "If you wish, I will inform you about that [verse]." He said: "Yes, I wish so." My father (peace be upon him) said: "If our Shia say to our opponents: 'Allah the Mighty and Majestic says to His Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): We sent down the Quran on the Night of Qadr ... Did the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) receive new knowledge on the Night of Qadr which he did not know on other nights, or did Jibra'il (peace be upon him) not bring it to him on nights other than that?' The opponents will say: 'No.' Say to them: 'Did he have any option other than making that knowledge manifest?' They will say: 'No.' Say to them: 'Was there any contradiction in what the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) made manifest from the knowledge of Allah, Mighty is His remembrance?' If they say: 'No,' say to them: 'Then someone who claims to rule by the ruling of Allah and yet contradictions and differences exist in his ruling — has he opposed the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)?' They will say: 'Yes.' And if they say: 'No,' they have contradicted and invalidated their earlier statement [that whatever is from Allah contains no contradiction]. And say to them: The true interpretation of those mutashabih [ambiguous] verses is known only by Allah and those firmly rooted in knowledge. (Aal Imran/7). If they say: 'Who are those firmly rooted in knowledge?' Say: 'The one in whose knowledge there is no contradiction.' If they say: 'Who is he?' Say: 'The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) possessed this knowledge; did he convey this knowledge to the people?' If they say: 'Yes, he conveyed it,' say: 'When he passed away, was there a successor in his place who possessed knowledge without contradiction?' If they say: 'No,' say: 'The successor of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) must be confirmed [by Allah], and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) would not make anyone his successor except one who rules by his ruling and is like him in every respect except in the station of prophethood. And if the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) did not appoint any successor in his knowledge, [then it must be said that] he abandoned to their own devices those of his ummah who would be born after him.' If they say to you: 'The knowledge of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) was only from the Quran [which is still present among the ummah and to which they can refer],' [in reply] say: "حم وَ الْکِتابِ الْمُبِینِ إِنَّا أَنْزَلْناهُ فِی لَیْلَةٍ مُبارَکَةٍ إِنَّا کُنَّا مُنْذِرِینَ فِیها ... إِنَّا کُنَّا مُرْسِلِینَ [Ha Mim. By the clear Book. Indeed We sent it down on a blessed night; indeed We were warning therein ... indeed We were sending down]." If they say to you: 'Allah the Mighty and Majestic sends down this matter only upon a prophet,' [in reply] say: 'This matter which on the Night of Qadr is arranged according to wisdom — is it sent down from the angels and the Spirit from one heaven to another heaven, or from the heaven to the earth?' If they say: 'From one heaven to another heaven,' [this is not correct,] because there is no one in the heavens who turns from obedience to disobedience [so as to be in need of the divine command]. And if they say: 'From the heaven to the earth, and the people of the earth are more in need of this matter,' say: 'Then should not these people of the earth have a master and a greater one to whom they may go for judgment [and resolution of differences]?' If they say: 'The caliph is their ruler and judge,' [in reply] say: Allah is the guardian and protector of those who believe; He brings them out of the darknesses into the light. [But] those who disbelieved, their guardians are the tawaghit [false idols] who bring them out from the light into the darknesses; they are the people of the fire and will remain in it forever. (Baqarah/257). By my own life! There is no walī (guardian) of Allah, mighty is His remembrance, in the earth or the heaven except that he is confirmed [by Allah], and whoever is confirmed never errs; and there is no enemy of Allah, mighty is His remembrance, in the earth except that he is forsaken, and whoever is forsaken never attains the truth. Just as it is necessary that the command be sent down from the heaven so that the people of the earth may judge according to it, likewise it is necessary that a ruler [from Allah] be appointed. If they say: 'We have no knowledge of this matter,' say to them: 'Say whatever you wish, for Allah the Mighty and Majestic has never willed that after Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) He should leave His servants without a proof [and an imam]' ... .

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Imam Jawad (peace be upon him) that he said: Imam Ali (peace be upon him) used to say frequently: "Whenever Abu Bakr and Umar were in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and he was reciting Surah إِنَّا أَنْزَلْناهُ [Indeed, We sent it down] with humility and weeping, those two would say to him: 'How intense is the tenderness of heart and humility you have before this surah!' The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) would say: 'It is because of what my eye has seen and my heart has grasped, and because of what the heart of this man (Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him)) will see after me.' The two said: 'What is it that you have seen and that he will see?' The Prophet would write for them [with his finger] on the dust: تَنَزَّلُ الْمَلائِکَةُ وَ الرُّوحُ فِیها بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِمْ مِنْ کُلِّ أَمْرٍ [The angels and the Spirit descend therein by the permission of their Lord for every affair] (al-Qadr/4). Then he would say: 'After Allah the Mighty and Majestic has said "kulli amr" [every affair], does anything remain?' They said: 'No!' Then he would say: 'Do you know upon whom this affair is sent down?' They said: 'Upon you, O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)!' He said: 'Yes! Will the Night of Qadr also exist after me?' They said: 'Yes!' He said: 'And will that affair also descend on the Night of Qadr?' They said: 'Yes!' He said: 'Upon whom?' They said: 'We do not know!' Then the Prophet would place his hand on my head and say: 'If you do not know, then know now that after me that person is this man.' [Continuing,] Imam Ali (peace be upon him) said: 'After the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), those two would recognise the Night of Qadr from the intensity of the terror that would fall upon their hearts.'"