Kusnetsov wrote:
Is the Night of Qadr just a part of Ramadan? What is the philosophic aspect of this Night? What the ontological meaning of the Night of Qadr for each Muslim?
If you please. And could.
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NIGHT OF QADR OR
NIGHT OF DECREE:
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Surah Qadr in the Holy Quran:
1= In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.
2= Surely, We sent it down during the Night (a) of Decree. (b)
3= And what shall make thee know what the Night of Decree is? (c)
4= The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months. (d)
5= Therein descend angels and the Spirit (e) by the command of their Lord with Divine decree concerning every matter.
6= It is all peace (f) till the rising of the dawn. (g)
(a). Generally Lail and Lailah both mean night, but according to the famous lexicographer, Marzuqui, Lail is used as opposed to Nahar and Lailah as opposed to Yaum. Lailah possesses a wider and more extensive meaning than Lail, as Yaum, which is its opposite, has a wider sense than Nahar which is the opposite of Lail. Lailah has been used as many as eight times in the Qur'an (2:52; 2:188; 44:4; twice in 7:143 and three times in the verses under comment), and elsewhere it has been used in connection with the revelation of the Qur'an and other kindred subjects. The word thus refers to the dignity, majesty and greatness of those nights in which the Qur'an was revealed.
(b). Qadr means worth; sufficiency; dignity; decree; destiny; power (Lane). In view of the different meanings of Qadr and Lailah the verse may be interpreted as follows: The Qur'an has been revealed in a night which had been specifically set apart for the manifestation of special Divine powers; or in a night which is equal in worth to all the other nights put together, or in a night of dignity, majesty and honour; or, in a night of sufficiency, i.e., the Qur'an fully meets all moral and spiritual human needs and requirements. Or, the meaning is that God has revealed it in the Night of Decree or Destiny, i.e., the Qur'an was revealed at a time when man's destiny was decreed, the future pattern of the universe was settled, and the right principles of guidance for humanity were laid down for all time to come. The time of the appearance of a great Divine Reformer is also called Lailat al-Qadr because at that time sin and vice hold widespread sway and the powers of darkness reign supreme. It has also been taken to mean the particular night among the odd nights in the last ten days of Ramadan when the Qur'an first began to be revealed. Or, it may signify the whole period of 23 years of the Holy Prophet's ministry when the Qur'an gradually was being revealed.
(c). The blessings of the Night of Decree are beyond count or calculation.
(d). Alf (a thousand), being the highest number of count in Arabic, signifies a number beyond count, and the verse means that the Night of Decree or Destiny is better than countless number of months, i.e., the period of the Holy Prophet is infinitely better than and superior to all other periods put together. The verse embodies an illusion to the appearance of Divine Reformers among the Muslim when the latter would stand in need of them. One thousand months roughly make one century and the Holy Prophet is reported to have said that God will continue to raise from among His followers, at the head of every century, a Divine Reformer who would regenerate Islam and give it a new life and new vigour (Majah). [http://www.alislam.org/topics/messiah/index.php]
(e). Al-Ruh here signifies a new spirit, awakening, zeal or determination. In the Night of Decree the angels of God descend to help the Divine Messenger or Reformer to promote and further the cause of Truth and his followers are inspired with a new life, and a new awakening to spread and propagate the Divine Message.
(f). In the time of a Prophet or Divine Reformer a peculiar kind of mental peace descends upon the believers amidst hardships and privations. The heavenly happiness, which inspires them at that time, transcends all material and sensuous joys.
(g). `Rising of the dawn' signifies the passing of the night of hardships and the rising of the dawn of predominance and ascendancy of the cause of Truth.
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Ref: (with few changes)
Chapter 97: Al-Qadr : Holy Qur'an (edited by Malik Ghulam Farid), 1994 :
http://www.alislam.org/library/links/00000070.html