سورة القدر

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Allah, the Mighty, the Compeller, took His Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) up to His heaven... then He said: "O Muhammad! Recite al-Hamd," [the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said:] "So I recited it in the same manner as I had recited it the first time." Then He said: "Recite: إِنَّا أَنْزَلْنَاهُ [Indeed We sent it down], for this surah expresses your rank and the rank of your Ahl al-Bayt until the Day of Resurrection."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Ibrahim ibn Ishaq, with his chain, narrates from a person who said: I heard Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) say: "My father Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) told me: Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) recited this verse: إِنَّا أَنْزَلْنَاهُ فِی لَیْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ [Indeed We sent it down on the Night of Decree]; Imam Hasan and Imam Husayn (peace be upon them) were also present. Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) said: 'Dear father! It seems as if you feel a special sweetness from this verse in your mouth.' Imam Ali (peace be upon him) said: 'O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and O my son! I know something about this verse that you do not know. When this verse was revealed, your grandfather the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) sent for me and recited it to me, then placed his hand on my right shoulder and said: "O my brother and my successor and the ruler of my ummah after me and O warrior against enemies until the Day of Resurrection! This surah after me is for you, and after you for your children. My brother Jibril has related to me the events of the ummah, and he will tell you as he related during the time of prophethood, and this surah will have a shining light in your heart and in the hearts of your successors and appointed ones until the dawn of the rise of the Qa'im (may Allah hasten his noble relief)."'"

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): إِنَّا أَنْزَلْنَاهُ [Indeed We sent it down] is a light like the sun upon the head of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and the successors (peace be upon them). None of us intends to know anything of the matters of the earth or of the heaven, up to the veils that are between Allah and the Throne, but that one side of that light rises, and he finds the explanation of the matter he wanted written in it.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): O company of Shia! Bring proof with Surah إِنَّا أَنْزَلْناهُ فِی لَیْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ [Indeed, We sent it down in the Night of Decree] so that you may prevail. By Allah! After the noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), this surah is the proof of Allah the Great over the people, and this surah is among the distinctions of your religion and the pinnacle of our knowledge. O Shia! Argue with your enemies by means of Surah حم وَ الْکِتابِ الْمُبِینِ [Ha Mim, by the Clear Book], for this surah pertains specifically to the rulers after the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family).

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Fadl ibn Uthman said: In the presence of Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) the blessed verse إِنَّا أَنْزَلْناهُ فِی لَیْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ [Indeed, We sent it down in the Night of Decree] was mentioned. He said: "How clear is its superiority over the other surahs!" I said: "What is its superiority?" He said: "On that night the wilaya of Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) was revealed." I said: "On the Night of Qadr which we hope for in the month of Ramadan?" He said: "Yes! A night in which the heavens and the earth were measured out, and the wilaya of Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) was decreed and determined."

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): It is astonishing at one who does not recite Surah al-Qadr in his prayer — how does he expect his prayer to be accepted?

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Abu Ali ibn Rashid said: I said to Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): May I be your ransom! You wrote in a letter to Muhammad ibn Faraj: "The best surahs to be recited in the obligatory prayers are Surah al-Qadr and Surah al-Tawhid"; but [what shall I do, for] my heart feels constricted when reciting these two surahs in the Fajr prayer! The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "Your heart should never feel constricted by them, for by Allah! the merit lies in [the recitation of] these two surahs."

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): In the book Kamal al-Din wa Tamam al-Ni'ma, on the authority of Hakima, the paternal aunt of Imam Hasan al-Askari (peace be upon him), who said: The Imam commanded me to stay [with him] that night. That was the night of the birth of Mahdi (may Allah hasten his noble relief)! I was with Narjis, the mother of Qa'im (may Allah hasten his noble relief), and I continuously watched over Narjis until dawn. She was sleeping beside me and sometimes turning from side to side. Near dawn I suddenly rose and hurried toward her, pressed her to my chest, and recited the name of Allah over her. The Imam called out loudly and said: "O aunt! Recite Surah إِنَّا أَنْزَلْناهُ [Indeed, We sent it down] over her." I asked her: "How are you?" She said: "What the master said has appeared." When I began to recite Surah إِنَّا أَنْزَلْناهُ [Indeed, We sent it down], that fetus in the mother's womb was also reciting along with me, then he greeted me with salam. When I heard his voice I was terrified!

Imam al-Hadi (peace be upon him): Abu Amr al-Hadhdha said: My condition became bad, so I wrote a letter from Basra to Abu Ja'far (peace be upon him) and delivered it to the Imam (peace be upon him) through Ali ibn Mahziyar; [in the letter I wrote thus]... "My master! I would like you to tell me how I should act regarding the recitation of Surah al-Qadr. Should I confine myself to this surah alone in my obligatory prayers and at other times, or should I recite another surah along with it, or is there a specific limit for reciting Surah al-Qadr by which I should carry out my duty?" Abu Ja'far (peace be upon him) replied to my letter. When I read the Imam's (peace be upon him) reply [it had been written thus]: "Do not abandon [the recitation of] the short and long surahs of the Quran; and reciting Surah al-Qadr one hundred times during your day and night suffices you."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Whoever recites Surah إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ فِی لَیْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ [Indeed, We sent it down in the Night of Qadr] aloud is like one who has drawn his sword in the way of Allah the Mighty and Majestic; and whoever recites this surah silently [in his heart] is like one who has rolled in his own blood in the way of Allah; and whoever recites this surah ten times, Allah forgives him about a thousand of his sins.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Whoever recites إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ فِی لَیْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ [Indeed, We sent it down in the Night of Qadr] in one of Allah's obligatory prayers, a caller calls out: O servant of Allah! Allah has forgiven you what has passed, so begin your deeds anew.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Whoever recites this surah will have a reward like the reward of one who fasted the month of Ramadan; and if his recitation coincides with the Night of Qadr, he will have a reward like the reward of one who fought in the way of Allah. And whoever recites it at the door of a storehouse, Allah the Exalted will protect that storehouse from every harm and evil until its owner takes out what is in it.

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Whoever goes to the grave of his believing brother and places his hand on the grave and recites Surah إِنَّا أَنْزَلْناهُ فِی لَیْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ [Indeed, We sent it down in the Night of Qadr] seven times will be safe from the Great Terror.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Whoever recites قُلْ هُوَ اللهُ أَحَدٌ [Say: He is Allah, the One] eleven times, and the same number of إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ [Indeed We sent it down], and the same number of Ayat al-Kursi before sunrise, his wealth will be protected from what he fears. And whoever recites قُلْ هُوَ اللهُ أَحَدٌ and إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ before sunrise, he will not be tainted by any sin that day, even if Satan strives [to lead him astray]. Whenever any of you has a need, he should rise early on Thursday morning to seek it, for the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "O Allah! Place blessing for my Ummah in the early morning of Thursday." And when he leaves his house he should recite the verses from the end of Surah Al Imran, Ayat al-Kursi, إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ, and Ummul Kitab, for through these surahs the needs of this world and the Hereafter are fulfilled. Whenever Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, clothes a believer in a new garment, he should perform ablution and pray two rakats, reciting in them Ummul Kitab, Ayat al-Kursi, قُلْ هُوَ اللهُ أَحَدٌ and إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ, and then praise Allah, who has covered his nakedness and adorned him among the people. And he should say often: لَا حَوْلَ وَ لَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللهِ الْعَلِیِّ الْعَظِیمِ [There is no power and no strength except by Allah, the Most High, the Most Great]; for in this way he will not disobey Allah while wearing that garment, and in every thread of that garment there will be an angel who glorifies Allah for him, seeks forgiveness for him, and shows him mercy.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Whoever recites this surah, on the Day of Resurrection the best of creation will be his friend and companion; and if someone afflicted with crookedness of the mouth and face writes it in a new vessel and looks at it, Allah the Exalted will heal him.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Whoever recites this surah fifteen times after the Isha prayer will be in Allah's protection until the following night; and whoever recites it seven times every night will be safe that night until dawn; and whoever recites it over what he has stored of gold, silver or household goods, Allah will protect this store from anything that would harm it and increase its blessing; and if this surah is recited over a place where grain has been stored, by the permission of Allah the Exalted it will be beneficial for it.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Whoever recites Surah al-Qadr thirty-two times in a new vessel and sprinkles [the water of that vessel] on his new garment when he puts it on, as long as a single thread of that garment remains, he will live in ample provision.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Ismail ibn Sahl said: I wrote in a letter to Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): "A very heavy debt has fallen upon me [which I am unable to pay]." The Imam (peace be upon him) wrote back to me: "Increase your seeking of forgiveness (istighfar) and keep your tongue moist with the recitation of Surah al-Qadr."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): He was asked, "By what did you protect yourself from the evil of Mansur?" He said: "By recourse to Allah and by reciting Surah إِنَّا أَنْزَلْنَاهُ [Indeed We sent it down]. Then after that I said seven times: يَا اللَّهُ يَا اللَّهُ [O Allah, O Allah]. Then I recited: 'Indeed I have made Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) an intercessor, and [asked] that You give me victory over him.' So whoever is afflicted with the like of what I was afflicted with should do what I did. And were it not that we recite this surah and command our Shia to recite it, the enemies would surely destroy the Shia; but this surah is a refuge and fortress for the Shia which preserves them from calamities."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): A man went to Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) and complained of back pain and sleeplessness at night. The Imam said: Place your hand on the site of the pain and say three times: وَ ما کانَ لِنَفْسٍ أَنْ تَمُوتَ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ اللهِ کِتاباً مُؤَجَّلاً وَ مَنْ یُرِدْ ثَوابَ الدُّنْیا نُؤْتِهِ مِنْها وَ مَنْ یُرِدْ ثَوابَ الْآخِرَةِ نُؤْتِهِ مِنْها وَ سَنَجْزِی الشَّاکِرِینَ [And no soul can die except by Allah's permission — the term is fixed. Whoever desires the reward of this world, We give him of it, and whoever desires the reward of the Hereafter, We give him of it, and We shall reward the thankful] (Al Imran/145). And say seven times إِنَّا أَنْزَلْنَاهُ فِی لَیْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ [Indeed We sent it down on the Night of Qadr] to its end. By Allah's will you will be cured.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Whoever is afflicted with an illness should take a new vessel, pour water into it — he himself should pour the water — and recite Surah al-Qadr over that water thirty times slowly and distinctly; then he should drink from that water, perform ablution with it, and rub it with his hand on the site of the illness; and whatever amount of the water decreases he should add to it. If he does this for three days, Allah will cure him of that illness.