Surah al-Qadr commented by Ibn 'Ajiba

By Rédaction soufisme.org · May 9, 2025 · 5 min read

Contents

An explanation of surah al-Qadr (“the Decree”, surah 97) according to the commentaries of Shaykh Ibn ’Ajiba (d. 1809), highlighting both the zahir (exoteric) and batin (esoteric) aspects, translated from his Tafsir al-Bahr al-Madid.

Verse 1: “We sent it down during the night of al-Qadr”

Inna anzalnahu fi laylati-l-qadr.

The exoteric sense (zahir)

Ibn ’Ajiba comments: “The Qur’an was sent down in one piece from the Lawh al-Mahfuz (the Well-Guarded Tablet) to the heaven of this lower world, then revealed gradually over twenty-three years, according to circumstances.”

Ibn ‘Ajiba explains that the pronoun “We” refers to Allah, and “anzalnahu” designates the Qur’an, sent down in a single descent to the lowest heaven (sama’ al-dunya) during that blessed night. It was then revealed progressively to the Prophet, peace be upon him, over 23 years.

The esoteric sense (batin)

But he immediately adds a mystical reading: “And inwardly (batinan), the Night of Destiny is the heart of the servant, when it is purified of its darkness and filled with the divine light.”

The night of al-Qadr symbolises for Ibn ’Ajiba the spiritual instant when the divine Light descends into the purified heart of the servant. The “Qur’an” here also becomes the divine knowledge, or the presence of God descending into the heart of the initiate. It is a moment of inner illumination.

For Ibn ’Ajiba, every purified heart can become a living “Night of Destiny”, a moment of spiritual opening in which God “sends down” His light.

Verse 2: “And what will make you understand what the night of al-Qadr is?”

Wa ma adraka ma laylatu-l-qadr.

The outward sense

Ibn ’Ajiba begins by explaining that this formula is used in the Qur’an to signal the greatness and majesty of a thing. It is a Qur’anic rhetoric meant to awaken attention. That God should address the Prophet, peace be upon him, with the question “And what will tell you?” shows that this night is of inestimable worth, beyond the reach of human reason: “This expression indicates the majesty of this night and the inability of creatures to grasp its whole reality.”

The inner sense

Ibn ’Ajiba then offers a Sufi reading: “It is a night whose reality can be known only by the one to whom God has revealed it. It symbolises the instant of spiritual unveiling (kashf), which surpasses all description.”

He means that laylat al-Qadr is not merely a night of the calendar, but an inner spiritual experience: a moment when God makes Himself directly known to His servant. “Who can describe the moment when the heart comes into contact with the divine Reality? It is neither a knowledge that can be learnt, nor a state that can be induced. It is a pure gift, an irruption of the divine into the heart.”

Ibn ’Ajiba concludes: “It is a secret among the divine secrets. Only the one whose heart has been purified and illumined can catch a spark of it.”

Verse 3: “The night of al-Qadr is better than a thousand months”

Laylatu-l-qadri khayrun min alfi shahr.

Zahir: it is worth more than 83 years of worship; it is an immense gift of Allah to the community of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
Batin: for Ibn ’Ajiba, this symbolises that the moment of divine unveiling in the heart is superior to a whole life of worship without real knowledge of God. One instant of true presence with God is worth more than years of deeds emptied of spiritual meaning.

The secret lies in the quality of the divine presence, not in the quantity of works. This phrase recalls a central Sufi idea: “one moment of knowledge is worth more than a whole life without it.”

Verse 4: “The angels and the Spirit descend therein, by the permission of their Lord, for every affair”

Tanazzalu-l-mala’ikatu wa-r-ruhu fiha bi-idhni rabbihim min kulli amr.

Zahir: the angels descend to execute Allah’s orders concerning the destinies of creatures: “They descend with the decrees of the year.”
Batin: the angels represent the divine influences, and “the Spirit” may designate the illumination of the heart by the divine presence. It is a celestial effusion upon the heart of the friend of God (wali), where all the veils fall away and where he receives pure inspirations. Ibn ’Ajiba says: “And inwardly, it is the inspirations (waridat), the lights (anwar) and the secrets (asrar) that descend into illumined hearts.”

In the heart of the awakened servant, this verse describes the arrival of a flood of divine inspirations, what the Sufi path calls the openings (futuhat) or spiritual lights.

Verse 5: “It is peace and safety until the break of dawn”

Salamun hiya hatta matla’i-l-fajr.

Zahir: the night is filled with peace, without any intervention of the devil, until daybreak: “Peace reigns in it, for no demon acts therein.”
Batin: it is the salam (inner divine peace) that pervades the illumined heart and lasts until the end of the servant’s “inner night”, that is, until the dawn of total spiritual unveiling, when the soul is wholly unified with the divine light.

It is the moment when the soul is in complete peace with God, freed from every veil and bathed in the light of oneness (tawhid).

For Ibn ’Ajiba, laylat al-Qadr is not merely a night in time, but the spiritual experience of an inner state: the moment when the heart becomes a perfect receptacle for the divine presence.