Sura 97 of the Quran is entitled Destiny (Al-Qadr) and describes the the night that the Quran was revealed that God refers to three times in this sura as the Night of Desitny (Laylat Al Qadr). From 2:185 we know that this night was during the month of Ramadan.
[2:185] Ramadan is the month during which the Quran was revealed, providing guidance for the people, clear teachings, and the statute book. Those of you who witness this month shall fast therein. Those who are ill or traveling may substitute the same number of other days. GOD wishes for you convenience, not hardship, that you may fulfill your obligations, and to glorify GOD for guiding you, and to express your appreciation.
شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِنَ الْهُدَىٰ وَالْفُرْقَانِ فَمَنْ شَهِدَ مِنْكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ وَمَنْ كَانَ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَلَا يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَ وَلِتُكْمِلُوا الْعِدَّةَ وَلِتُكَبِّرُوا اللَّهَ عَلَىٰ مَا هَدَاكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
A question that often comes up is if this was just a single holy night that took place in the past when the Quran was revealed, or is this a significant night every year during Ramadan. When we read the Sura we see that it does not state the significance of the Night of Destiny in the past tense, but instead in the present tense. This signifies that this is a recurring holy night that continues even today and into the future.
Despite not being explicitly stated we can conclude that this is the 27th night of Ramadan. Below is some evidence for this discovery.
1. The phrase لَيلَةِ القَدرِ (laylati l-qadri), Night of Destiny, occurs three times in the Sura. The phrase contains nine letters. If we add all nine letters in the three occurrences of the phrase we get 9+9+9 = 27.
[97:0] In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
[97:1] We revealed it in the Night of Destiny.
إِنّا أَنزَلناهُ في لَيلَةِ القَدرِ
[97:2] How awesome is the Night of Destiny!
وَمَا أَدْرَٮکَ مَا لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِ
[97:3] The Night of Destiny is better than a thousand months.
لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِ خَيْرٌ مِنْ أَلْفِ شَهْرٍ
[97:4] The angels and the Spirit descend therein, by their Lord’s leave, to carry out every command.
تَنَزَّلُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ وَالرُّوحُ فِيهَا بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِمْ مِنْ كُلِّ أَمْرٍ
[97:5] Peaceful it is until the advent of the dawn.
سَلَامٌ هِيَ حَتَّىٰ مَطْلَعِ الْفَجْرِ
2. The Sura contains 30 words, as if each word is a day of a month. If we look at the 27th word in the Sura we see that it is the word هِيَ (hiya) which means “it” in reference to the Night of Destiny. This is as if it is referring to the the Night of Destiny as the 27th night of the month.
| 97 | Verse | Word | Transliteration | Arabic | English | Count |
| 97 | 1 | 1 | innā | إِنّا | Indeed, we | 1 |
| 97 | 1 | 2 | anzalnāhu | أَنزَلناهُ | [we] revealed it | 2 |
| 97 | 1 | 3 | fī | في | in | 3 |
| 97 | 1 | 4 | laylati | لَيلَةِ | (the) Night (of) | 4 |
| 97 | 1 | 5 | l-qadri | القَدرِ | Power / Destiny. | 5 |
| 97 | 2 | 1 | wamā | وَمَا | And what* | 6 |
| 97 | 2 | 2 | adrāka | أَدْرَٮکَ | it can make you know (*do you know) | 7 |
| 97 | 2 | 3 | mā | مَا | what | 8 |
| 97 | 2 | 4 | laylatu | لَيْلَةُ | (the) Night (of) | 9 |
| 97 | 2 | 5 | l-qadri | الْقَدْرِ | Power / Destiny (is)? | 10 |
| 97 | 3 | 1 | laylatu | لَيْلَةُ | (The) Night (of) | 11 |
| 97 | 3 | 2 | l-qadri | الْقَدْرِ | Power / Destiny | 12 |
| 97 | 3 | 3 | khayrun | خَيْرٌ | (is) better | 13 |
| 97 | 3 | 4 | min | مِنْ | than | 14 |
| 97 | 3 | 5 | alfi | أَلْفِ | a thousand | 15 |
| 97 | 3 | 6 | shahrin | شَهْرٍ | month(s). | 16 |
| 97 | 4 | 1 | tanazzalu | تَنَزَّلُ | [It] descend | 17 |
| 97 | 4 | 2 | l-malāikatu | الْمَلَائِكَةُ | the angels | 18 |
| 97 | 4 | 3 | wal-rūḥu | وَالرُّوحُ | and the Spirit | 19 |
| 97 | 4 | 4 | fīhā | فِيهَا | therein, | 20 |
| 97 | 4 | 5 | bi-idh’ni | بِإِذْنِ | by (the) permission | 21 |
| 97 | 4 | 6 | rabbihim | رَبِّهِمْ | (of) their Lord | 22 |
| 97 | 4 | 7 | min | مِنْ | for | 23 |
| 97 | 4 | 8 | kulli | كُلِّ | every | 24 |
| 97 | 4 | 9 | amrin | أَمْرٍ | affair / command. | 25 |
| 97 | 5 | 1 | salāmun | سَلَامٌ | Peace | 26 |
| 97 | 5 | 2 | hiya | هِيَ | it (is) | 27 |
| 97 | 5 | 3 | ḥattā | حَتَّىٰ | until | 28 |
| 97 | 5 | 4 | maṭlaʿi | مَطْلَعِ | (the) emergence / advent | 29 |
| 97 | 5 | 5 | l-fajri | الْفَجْرِ | the dawn. | 30 |
3. In Arabic every letter is also associated with a numerical value, similar to Greek numerals.
If we take the gematrical value of all the letters in Sura 97 the total of 6731. Additionally, the gematrical value of the name Muhammad (مُحَمَّد) is 92.
If we write down the gematrical value of the Prophet’s name next to the date of revelation (27th night and Ramadan is the 9th month of the Islamic calendar) and the value of the gematrical value of the entire sura, we get: 92 , 27 , 9 , 6731= 19 x 48568249.
4. If we were to add these figures instead we get: 92 + 27 + 9 + 6731= 6859= 19 x 361= 19 x 19 x 19
5. The gematircal value of لَيلَةِ القَدرِ (Laylat Al Qadr) is 410. Since this expression occurs 3 times in the Sura; 3 x 410 = 1230 which is the same gematrical value as the name Rashad (رشاد) Khalifa (خليفة) which is 505 + 725 =1230, who was provided the mathematical miracle of the Quran.
6. Verse 97:2 states: وَما أَدرىٰكَ ما لَيلَةُ القَدرِ “How awesome is the Night of Destiny!” which contains exactly 19 letters. Praise God.
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