A Most Distinguished Night

clipped from www.islamonline.net By Sayed Qutb (From on high, We [Allah] bestowed it [i.e. the Qur'an] on the Night of Decree. Would that you knew what the Night of Decree is! The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months. On that night, the angels and the Spirit by their Lord's permission descend with all His decrees. That night is peace, till the break of dawn.) (Al-Qadr 97:1-5) This surah speaks (loosely translated as "the Supreme Society," including Allah and the angels). That night marked the beginning of the revelation of the Qur'an to Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), an event unparalleled in the history of humankind for its splendor and the significance it has for the life of humankind as a whole. Its greatness is far beyond human perception. (From on high have We [Allah] bestowed it [i.e. the Qur'an] on the Night of Decree. Would that you knew what the Night of Decree is! The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months) (Al-Qadr 97:1-3).