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44 - Ad
Support this website Dukhan
(Drought)
5 Tafsir(s) related to
Quran chapter
44 - Ad Dukhan (Drought)
verse 44.3
Verse 3 Go

Al-Jalalayn

Indeed We revealed
it on a blessed night,
the Night of
Ordainment (laylat
al-qadr), or the eve of
the middle of
Sha‘bān, in which it
was revealed from
the Mother Book,
from the seventh
heaven to the heaven
of this world. Indeed
We have been
warning, We have
 been causing
[people] by it to have
fear [of God].

Al-Tustari

Indeed We revealed
it on a blessed
night"He said:God
sent the Qurʾān
down as a whole on
the Night of Great
Merit (Laylat al-Qadr)
to the House of Might
(bayt al-ʿizza) in the
heaven of this world,
from the Preserved
Tablet in the hands
of the recording
angels (malāʾik
safara). It was then
sent down to the
spirit (rūh)̣of
Muha ̣mmad, which is
the blessed spirit
(rūh ̣mubārak), and
thus He called the
Night of Great Merit a
 blessed night (layla
mubāraka) due to the
[spiritual] link
between one
[descent of] blessing
and the other. His
words, Exalted is He:

Ibn Al Kathir

The Qur'an was

revealed on Laylatul-
Qadr

Allah tells us that He

revealed the
Magnificent Qur'an
on a blessed night,
Laylatul-Qadr (the
Night of Decree), as
He says elsewhere:
َ ‫إﻧﱠﺎ َأ‬
‫ﻧﺰﻟْﻨَـ ُﮫ ﻓِﻰ ﻟَْﯿﻠَ ِﺔ اﻟْﻘَ ْﺪ ِر‬ ِ
(Verily, We have sent
it down in the Night
of Al-Qadr) (97:1).
This was in the
month of Ramadan,
as Allah tells us:

‫ﻧﺰ َل ﻓِﯿ ِﮫ‬ ُ ‫ﺎن اﻟﱠﺬى‬

‫أ‬ َ ‫ﻀ‬َ ‫ْﺮ َر َﻣ‬
ُ ‫ﮭ‬‫ﺷ‬َ
ِ ِ
ُ‫اﻟْﻘُ ْﺮآن‬

(The month of
Ramadan in which
was revealed the
Qur'an) (2:185). We
have already quoted
the relevant Hadiths
in (the Tafsir of)
Surat Al-Baqarah,
and there is no need
to repeat them here.
َ ‫إﻧﱠﺎ ُﻛﻨﱠﺎ ُﻣﻨ ِﺬر‬
‫ﯾﻦ‬ ِ ِ
(Verily, We are ever
warning.) means,
telling them what is
good for them and
what is harmful for
them, according to
Shari`ah, so that the
proof of Allah may be
established against
His servants.

‫ﯿﻢ‬ ‫ﻜ‬
ِ َ ‫ﻓِﯿﮭَﺎ ﯾُ ْﻔ َﺮ ُق ُﻛ ﱡﻞ َأ ْﻣ ٍﺮ‬
‫ﺣ‬
ٍ
(Therein (that night)
is decreed every
matter, Hakim.)
means, on Laylatul-
Qadr, the decrees
are transferred from
Al-Lawh Al-Mahfuz to
the (angelic) scribes
who write down the
decrees of the
(coming) year
including life span,
provision, and what
will happen until the
end of the year. This
was narrated from
Ibn `Umar, Mujahid,
Abu Malik, Ad-
Dahhak and others
among the Salaf.

‫َﺣ ِﻜﯿ ٌﻢ‬

(Hakim) means
decided or
confirmed, which
cannot be changed
or altered. Allah
says:

‫َأ ْﻣﺮاً ﱢﻣ ْﻦ ِﻋ ْﻨ ِﺪﻧَﺂ‬

(As a command from

Us.) meaning,
everything that
happens and is
decreed by Allah and
the revelation that He
sends down -- it all
happens by His
command, by His
leave and with His
knowledge.
َ ِ‫إﻧﱠﺎ ُﻛﻨﱠﺎ ُﻣ ْﺮ ِﺳﻠ‬
‫ﯿﻦ‬ ِ
(Verily, We are ever
sending,) means, to
mankind, sending
Messenger who will
recite to them the
clear signs of Allah.
The need for this was
urgent.

ُ ‫اﻟﺴ ِﻤ‬
‫ﯿﻊ‬ ‫َر ْﺣ َﻤ ًﺔ ﱢﻣﻦ ﱠرﺑﱢ َﻚ إِﻧﱠ ُﮫ ُھ َﻮ ﱠ‬
‫ض‬ ‫ر‬ ْ ‫َت َواﻻﱞ‬ ‫ـﻮ‬ ‫ﻤ‬
َ ‫ﱠ‬
‫اﻟﺴ‬ ‫ﱡ‬
‫ب‬ ‫ﱠ‬
‫ر‬ ‫ﻢ‬
ُ ‫ﯿ‬ ‫ﻠ‬ َ
‫ﻌ‬ ْ‫اﻟ‬
ِ ِ ِ
‫َو َﻣﺎ ﺑَ ْﯿﻨَ ُﮭ َﻤﺎ‬

((As) a mercy from

your Lord. Verily, He
is the All-Hearer, the
All-Knower. The Lord
of the heavens and
the earth and all that
is between them,)
means, the One Who
sent down the
Qur'an is the Lord,
Creator and
Sovereign of the
heavens and the
earth and everything
in between them.
َ ِ‫إن ُﻛﻨﺘُ ْﻢ ﱡﻣﻮﻗِﻨ‬
‫ﯿﻦ‬ ِ
(if you (but) have a
faith with certainty.)
Then Allah says:

‫ﯿﺖ‬ُ ‫ﻻَ إﻟَـ َﮫ إﻻﱠ ُھ َﻮ ﯾُ ْﺤﻰ َوﯾُ ِﻤ‬

ِ ِ ِ
َ‫َرﺑﱡ ُﻜ ْﻢ َو َر ﱡب ءَاﺑَﺂﺋِ ُﻜ ُﻢ اﻻﱞ ﱠوﻟِﯿﻦ‬

(La ilaha illa Huwa.

He gives life and
causes death -- your
Lord and the Lord of
your forefathers.)
This is like the Ayah:
‫ُ ﱠ‬
ِ‫ﺎس إِﻧﱢﻰ َر ُﺳﻮل اﷲ‬ ُ ‫ﻗُ ْﻞ ﯾََﺄﯾﱡﮭَﺎ اﻟﻨﱠ‬
‫إِﻟَْﯿ ُﻜ ْﻢ َﺟ ِﻤﯿﻌًﺎ اﻟﱠِﺬى ﻟَ ُﮫ ُﻣﻠْ ُﻚ‬
‫َت َواﻻﱞ ْرض ﻻ إﻟَـ َﮫ إﻻﱠ‬ ‫ﱠ‬
ِ ‫اﻟﺴ َﻤـﻮ‬
ِ ِ ِ
ُ ‫ُھ َﻮ ﯾُ ْﺤﻰ َوﯾُ ِﻤ‬
‫ﯿﺖ‬ ِ
(Say: "O mankind!
Verily, I am sent to
you all as the
Messenger of Allah --
 to Whom belongs the
dominion of the
heavens and the
earth. La ilaha illa
Huwa. He gives life
and causes death...)
(7:158)

Sayyid Abul Ala

Maududi - Tafhim al-
Qur'an

The meaning of
taking an oath by
"the lucid Book" has
been explained in
E.N. 1 of Surah
Zukhruf. Here also
what has been sworn
by is that
Muhammad (upon
whom be Allah's
peace) is not the
author of this Book
but "We", and this
Book by itself is
enough to provide a
proof of this.
Furthermore, it has
been said chat the
night in which it was
sent down was full of
blessings. That is,
the foolish and
ignorant people, who
have no idea of their
own well-being or
otherwise, regard the
revelation of this
Book as a disaster
for themselves and
are deeply anxious
as how to get rid of it.
But, as a matter of
fact, the Hour when
"We" decided to
send down this Book
to arouse the
heedless, was highly
blessed for them and
for all mankind

Some commentators
have expressed the
opinion that the
meaning of sending
down the Qur'an in
that night is that its
revelation began
during that night,
and some others
think that the whole
of the Qur'an was
transferred from
Umm alKitab and
entrusted to the
bearers of Revelation
(angels), and then
revealed to the Holy
Prophet as and when
required and
demanded by the
occasion and
circumstances during
23 years. As to what
actully happened
Allah alone has the
best knowledge.

The night implies the

same night which
has been called
lailat-ul-qadr in
Surah Al-Qadr (97),
There it has been
said: `We sent it
down in a Night of
Glory," and here:
`We sent it down in a
blessed Night." Then
the Qur'an itself has
told that it was a
night of the month of
Ramadan (Al-
Baqarah).

The word amr-

in-,hakim as used in
the Text has two
meanings:

(1) That the

Command is wholly
based on wisdom:
there is no likelihood
of any error or
weakness in it; and

(2) that it is a firm

and stable decision:
it lies in no one's
power to change it.

In Surah AI-Qadr,
this same thing has
been expressed
thus: `The angels
and the Spirit (Angel
Gabriel) descend in it
with every decree, by
the leave of their
Lord." This shows
that it is such a Night
in the Divine
administration of
Allah in which He
decides the destinies
of the individuals and
nations and countries
and entrusts His
decisions to His
angels, who then
implement them
accordingly. Some
commentators
among whom Hadrat
`Ikrimah is most
prominent, have
been involved in the
misunderstanding
that this is the 15th
night of Sha'ban, for
in some traditions it
has been said that
the destinies of
people are decided
during that night. But
Ibn 'Abbas, Ibn
`Umar, Mujahid,
Qatadah, Hasan
Basri, Sa' id bin
Jubair, Ibn Zaid, Abu
Malik, Dahhak and
many other
commentators are
agreed that this is
the same night of
Ramadan, which has
been called lailat-ul-
qadr, for the Qur'an
itself has stated this,
and where any
Qur'anic statement
exists, no other view
can be formed on the
basis of random
reports. Ibn Kathir
says, "The traditions
that Imam Zuhri has
related from 'Uthman
bin Muhammad that
destinies are decided
from one Sha`ban to
the next Sha`ban is
an indirect tradition
and such traditions
cannot be cited as
against the clear
texts of the Qur'an. "
Qadi Abu Bakr Ibn
al-`Arabi says: "No
Hadith in respect of
the 15th of Sha'ban
is reliable, either in
respect of its merit,
or about this that
decisions with regard
to the destinies are
taken in it; therefore,
they do not merit
attention, (Ahkam ul-
Qur'an).

That is, "It was not

only a demand of
wisdom to send a
Messenger with. this
Book but also of
Allah's mercy, for He
is the Providence,
and Providence
requires that not only
should arrangements
be made for
nourishing the
servants' bodies but
they should also be
afforded right
guidance by
knowledge, that they
should be made
aware of the
distinction between
right and wrong and
that they should not
be left wandering in
darkness."

The object of
mentioning these two
attributes of Allah in
this context is to
warn the people of
the truth that He
alone can give
correct knowledge for
He alone knows all
the realities. Not to
speak of one man,
even if all men join to
determine a way of
lift for themselves,
there can be no
guaranty of its being
the right way, for
even the whole of
mankind together
cannot become all-
hearing and all-
knowing. It does not
lie in its power to
comprehend all
those realities whose
knowledge is
essential for
determining a correct
way of life. This
knowledge is only
with Allah: He alone
is All-Hearing and
AII-Knowing.
Therefore, He alone
can tell what is
guidance for Man
and what is
falsehood, what is
the Truth and what is
wrong, what is good
and what is evil.

The Arabs
themselves admitted
that Allah alone is
the Lord (Master and
Providence) of the
Universe and of
everything in it.
Therefore, it has
been said to them: "If
you arc not admitting
only verbally but are
really conscious of
His being the
Providence and are
convinced of His
being the Master,
you should admit
that: (1) It is the very
demand of His
Mercifulness and
Providence that He
should send a Hook
and a Messenger for
the guidance of man;
and (2) it is His right
as the Master and
your duty as His
servants that you
should obey every
Guidance and submit
to every Command
that comes from Him.
"

The real God Who

alone has the right
that He should be
worshiped and
served.

That is, "There is no

god other than Allah,
nor can there be.
Therefore, it is
against reason that
you should disdain
the worship of Him
Who breathed life
into dead matter and
made you a living
man, and Who
possesses full
powers to keep you
alive as long as He
likes and bring your
life to an end
whenever He likes, or
you serve any other
than Him, or start
worshiping others
besides Him."

There is a subtle
allusion in it to this:
"He was also Lord of
those of your
ancestors who took
other gods besides
Allah; they had not
done the right thing
by giving up their
real Lord and serving
others that you
should be justified in
imitating them and
regard their conduct
as an argument for
the soundness of
your creed. They
ought to have served
only Him, because
He alone was their
Lord.

In this brief sentence

an allusion has been
made to an important
truth. Even atheists
or polytheists do
come across
occasions when their
bean from within
says; There is
somewhere some
weakness in the
creed that you have
adopted. The atheist
may apparently be
very firm in his denial
of God, his heart at
one or the other time
does bear the
testimony that this
wonderful and wise
system which
extends from the
particle of dust to the
galaxies and from a
blade of grass to the
creation of man,
could not come into
existence without an
All-Wise Designer.
Likewise, a polytheist
may be deeply
submerged in his
polytheism, his heart
also sometimes cries
out: Those whom you
have adopted as
deities cannot be
God. But this
testimony of the
heart neither leads
the atheist and the
polytheist to the
conviction about, the
existence and
Oneness of God, nor
to conviction and
satisfaction about
their creed of
atheism and
polytheism itself.
Instead, their
religion, in fact, is
based on doubt, no
matter how
convinced they might
appear to be of its
truth. As for the
question: Why
doesn't this doubt
make them restless,
and why don't, they
seek the truth
seriously so as to
obtain a satisfactory
ground for their
convictions? the
answer is: they lack
seriousness in
religious matters. W
hat they really regard
as important are the
worldly earnings and
acquisitions and their
enjoyment, in search
of which they expend
all their powers and
abilities of the heart
and mind and body.
As for the religious
matters, they are in
fact no more than
fun, a mere pastime,
amusement, or a
mental diversion for
them, for which they
cannot spare even a
few moments of
serious study.
Religious rites are
being performed as
an entertainment;
discussions about
denial and atheism
are being engaged in
as an amusement;
no one can spare a
few moments from
his worldly pursuits
to consider whether
he has turned away
from the Truth, and if
so, what would be its
consequences.
Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min
Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs

(Lo! We revealed it)

We sent Gabriel with
the Qur'an; this is
why Allah swore,
Allah sent down
Gabriel to the nether
heaven to dictate the
Qur'an to the scribes
among the angels,
who are the dwellers
of the nether heaven
(on a blessed night)
wherein there is
mercy, forgiveness
and grace, this is the
night of destiny.
Then Allah sent
Gabriel to
Muhammad (pbuh)
with verses and
surah in a period of
about 20 years. (Lo!
We are ever warning)
by means of the
Qur'an.