Marmaduke Pickthall, The Meaning of The Glorious Koran. An Explanatory Translation (1930)
SÛRAH XCVII
Al-Qadr takes its name from a word in verse 1. It refers to the night (one of the last nights of Ramaḍân) on which the Prophet received his Call and the first verses of the Koran were revealed in the vision of Mt. Ḥirâ. It is said to be the night on which God’s decrees for the year are brought down to the earthly plane.
A very early Meccan Sûrah.
Power
1. Lo! We revealed it on the Night of Power.
2. Ah, what will convey unto thee what trie Night of Power is!
3. The Night of Power is better than a thousand months.
4. The angels and the Spirit 1 descend therein, by the permission of their Lord, with all decrees.
5. (That night is) Peace until the rising of the dawn.
1 i.e. Gabriel or, as some commentators think, a general term for angels of the highest rank.
