Ramadhan is the (month) in which the Qur’an was sent down.

Ramadhan is the (month) in which the Qur’an was sent down...[^4] From the apparent reading of this verse (just mentioned), the entire Qur’an was revealed in this month and in the first verse of Suratul Qadr we are additionally told: إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ Surely We sent it (the Qurʾan) down on the Night of al-Qadr.

Even though in the above mentioned verse, the word ‘Qur’an’ is not explicitly mentioned, however it is certain that the objective pronoun existing in the phrase “إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ” refers to the Qur’an and its being mentioned in this format is to show its greatness and importance.

The phrase “إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ” – “Surely We sent it” is another indicator which shows the importance of this great Heavenly-Sent book for which Allah(s) has attributed its descent to Himself – and that too by using the plural pronoun, ‘We’, which further shows the Qur’an’s greatness.

The descent of the Qur’an on the Night of Ordainment, the very night on which the fate of each and every human being is decided, is another reason to show the importance of this Divine Book in its role in forging the destiny of people in this world. With the combination of the meaning of this verse, as just stated, and the above verse from Suratul Baqarah, we can conclude that the Night of Ordainment is in the month of Ramadhan – however which of the nights is it?

It is not clearly understood from the Qur’an which of the nights of the month of Ramadhan is the Night of Ordainment, and indeed this has been left as a mystery for us, however there are many indicators about it in the narrations which will be dealt with later in the exegesis of this chapter. Here, a question arises regarding the history and the content of the Noble Qur’an in connection with the events in the life of the Noble Prophet .

Most clearly, this Heavenly Book was gradually revealed over the period of 23 years, so then how does this fit with the above verse which says: Surely We sent it (the Qur’an) down on the night of al-Qadr during the month of Ramadhan?

The reply to this question, as many scholars have said, is to say that the Qur’an has two kinds of revelation: The first is the revelation of the entire Qur’an at one time, in one night to the blessed heart of the Noble Prophet or to Bayt al-Mamur, or from the Lawh al-Mahfuẓ (the Preserved Tablet) to the lowest sky of this world.

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