THE WORD OF GOD

THE WORD OF GOD From The Scriptures The Quran is the book of God. It has been preserved in its entirety since its revelation to the Prophet of Islam between CE 610 and 632. It is a book that brings glad tidings to humankind, along with divine admonition, and stresses the importance of man’s discovery of the Truth on a spiritual and intellectual level. Translated from Arabic and commentary by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan THE NIGHT OF DESTINY We sent it [Quran] down on the Night of Destiny. And what will make you comprehend what the Night of Destiny is? The Night of Destiny is better than a thousand months; on that night, the angels and the Spirita come down by the permission of their Lord with His decrees for all matters; it is all peace till the break of dawn. (97: 1-5) A particular night of the year (perhaps some night in the last days of the month of Ramadan) is the night of decisions by God. Certain tasks have to be performed in the course of the year in connection with the administration of the world, and the angels descend to the earth to arrange for them to be carried out. On a similar particular night, the revelation of the Quran began. aThis refers to the Angel Gabriel. It seems that on that night there is an abundance of angels on the earth. Those who are spiritually aroused are influenced by this atmosphere and, as a result, they become imbued with a spirituality which enhances the value of their religious deeds at that time as compared to such deeds as are performed in ordinary circumstances. The Prophet Muhammad divided the month of fasting into three parts. He called the first ten days ‘blessings’, the next ten days ‘forgiveness’ and the last ten days as ‘Freedom from Hellfire.’ The Prophet also said, ‘The best days of this world are the last ten days of Ramadan.’ Therefore, during the last ten days the Prophet’s family would join him