One night, better than 83 years
إِنَّآ أَنزَلْنَٰهُ فِى لَيْلَةِ ٱلْقَدْرِ ﴿١﴾ وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا لَيْلَةُ ٱلْقَدْرِ ﴿٢﴾ لَيْلَةُ ٱلْقَدْرِ خَيْرٌ مِّنْ أَلْفِ شَهْرٍ ﴿٣﴾
Surah Al-Qadr · 97:1–3
Meaning (M. Pickthall, 1930): Lo! We revealed it on the Night of Predestination. Ah, what will convey unto thee what the Night of Power is! The Night of Power is better than a thousand months.
The reflection
One night, better than eighty-three years.
In the chapter of Power: God sent down the Quran on the Night of Power. Al-Sa'di says it is named for its great worth, and because what will happen in the year, lifespans and provision, is measured out in it.
A thousand months, divided by twelve, is eighty-three years and four months. Al-Sa'di: the lifetime of a man who lives long, a little over eighty years.
A deed done in it is better than deeds in a thousand months. Al-Sa'di: this leaves minds in awe. And God knows best.
Sources
- Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Qur'an al-'Azim
- al-Sa'di, Taysir al-Karim al-Rahman
- Quran text: Tanzil Project (tanzil.net)
- English meaning: M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930)
