A Commentary on the phrase Alladhi anzal-ta fi-hi al-Qur’an

... الَّذِي أَنْزَلْتَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنَ

in which You sent down the Qur’an

شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ

“The month of Ramadan is one in which the Qur’an was sent down ....” (2:185).

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الَّذِي

One who…

Alladhi here is a relative pronoun that refers to and speaks about the holy month of Ramadan. In simple words, it reveals that what follows is a description of what precedes it. And since this supplication is taught by our Imams (‘a), it is imperative for us to introduce the holy month in a similar way when we would like to talk about it. Furthermore, the description that is to follow has been taken from the Holy Qur’an, and is therefore the best and most accurate description.

…أَنْزَلْتَ…

... You sent down ...

The infinitive of the past tense verb anzalta is al-inzal (to send down all at once) which refers to the all-at-once revelation that occurred on the Night of Determination. The gradual revelation of the Qur’an, however, is known as al-tanzil which transpired over the course of twenty-three years. The following are references to the two kinds of revelation:

(A) Al-Inzal (Collective Revelation)

The Holy Qur’an says:

وَهَٰذَا كِتَابٌ أَنْزَلْنَاهُ مُبَارَكٌ مُصَدِّقُ الَّذِي بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَلِتُنْذِرَ أُمَّ الْقُرَىٰ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهَا ۚ وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْآخِرَةِ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ ۖ وَهُمْ عَلَىٰ صَلَاتِهِمْ يُحَافِظُونَ

“Blessed is this Book which We have sent down, confirming what was revealed before it, so that you may warn the Mother of Cities and those around it. Those who believe in the Hereafter believe in it, and they are watchful of their prayers” (6:92).

إِنَّا أَنْزَلْنَاهُ قُرْآنًا عَرَبِيًّا لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ

“Indeed, We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur’an so that you may apply reason” (12:2).

إِنَّا أَنْزَلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ

“Indeed, We sent it down on the Night of Ordainment” (97:1).

(B) Al-Tanzil (Gradual Revelation):

The Holy Qur’an says:

إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ

“Indeed, We have sent down the Reminder, and indeed We will preserve it” (15:9).

وَيَوْمَ نَبْعَثُ فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ شَهِيدًا عَلَيْهِمْ مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ ۖ وَجِئْنَا بِكَ شَهِيدًا عَلَىٰ هَٰؤُلَاءِ ۚ وَنَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ تِبْيَانًا لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةً وَبُشْرَىٰ لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ

“The day We raise in every nation a witness against them from among themselves, We shall bring you as a witness against these. We have sent down the Book to you as a clarification of all things and as a guidance and mercy and good news for the Muslims” (16:89).

Notice carefully that whereas in the first set of verses the verbs anzalna (We sent down all-at-once) have been employed the second set of verses contain the verbs nazzalna (We sent down gradually).

In the phrase under discussion, as we mentioned in the beginning, what is referred to is the revelation of the Qur’an in its entirety on the heart of the Holy Prophet (S), and not the gradual revelation that occurred over twenty-three years in the Prophet (S)’s life.

الَّذِي أَنْزَلْتَ

which You sent down...

Note that the phrase ‘anzal-ta (You sent it down)’ signifies that Allah Himself brings down the Qur’an. One must not conjecture therefore that the intermediaries have any kind of independent power, knowledge or volition.

فِيهِ

...in which [You sent down the Qur’an]...

The pronoun hu in the phrase fi-hi refers to the holy month of Ramadan, for the Qur’an was revealed on Laylat al-Qadr which is in the holy month of Ramadan.

أَنْزَلْتَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنَ

in which You sent down the Qur’an

We must note that the Qur’an is the most comprehensive message of Allah and thus it requires a heart that is most comprehensive. The Holy Prophet (S) and his infallible progeny (‘a) enjoy the most comprehensive hearts and can thus contain the Qur’an.

No wonder that they are also known to be Laylat al-Qadr themselves. In a beautiful hadith narrated from Imam as-Sadiq (‘a), Laylat al-Qadr is known to signify the blessed being of Hadrat Fatimah Zahra’ (‘a), who, resembling the Qur’anic receptacle of her father, can also contain the Qur’an.

‘Allamah al-Majlisi in his Bihar al-Anwar narrates from Tafsir Furat al-Kufi which narrates a hadith from Imam as-Sadiq (‘a) who is reported to have said:

(إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ)

Indeed, We sent it down in the Night of Qadr (97:1)

اللَّيْلَةُ فَاطِمَة الزَّهْرَاءِ وَالْقَدْرُ اللَّهُ فَمَنْ عَرَفَ فَاطِمَةَ حَقَّ مَعْرِفَتِهَا فَقَدْ أَدْرَكَ لَيْلَةَ الْقَدْرِ، وَإِنَّمَا سُمِّيَتْ فَاطِمَة لَأَنَّ الْخَلْقَ فُطِمُوْا عَنْ مَعْرِفَتِهَا

Night here refers to Fatimah (‘a) and Qadr refers to Allah; whosoever knows Fatimah the way she ought to be known has indeed, experienced the Night of Qadr; and indeed, Fatimah was known as Fatimah because the creation were detached from knowledge about her1.

In our epoch, the receptacle is the heart of the Imam of the time (‘aj). The Holy Qur’an is truly comprehended by his lofty heart.

‘Ah Ibn Ibrahim in his exegesis of Qur’an called Tafsir al-Qummi, commenting on the verse ‘the angels and the Spirit descend in it...’ says:

تنزل الملائكة وروح القدس على إمام الزمان، ويدفعون إليه ما قد كتبوه من هذه الأمور

The angels and the Holy Spirit descend on the Imam of the Time; they convey to him what they wrote of these matters2.

In another hadith Imam al-Baqir (‘a) is asked whether he knew when Laylat al-Qadr is, and he said:

وَكَيْفَ لَا نَعْرِف لَيْلَةَ الْقَدْرِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ تَطُوْفُ بِنَا فِيهَا

And how can we not know [the Night of Determination] while the angels circumambulate around us therein!3

In conclusion: the following are two kinds of receptacles of the Qur’an:

(1) The receptacle of time which is one of the great nights of the

holy month of Ramadan, and,

(2) The human receptacle, which is the comprehensive heart of the Holy Prophet (S) or that of any of the rest of the fourteen Infallibles of the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a).

…أَنْزَلْتَ…

... You sent down ...

The scholars of insight opine that the sending down (al-inzal) of the Qur’an should not transport us to the descent of a material entity which transpires by displacement (al-tajafi) signifying that the origin remains empty after the entity has descended. Rather, the descent of the Qur’an is through al-tajalli, which means that that which is received by the heart is a lower manifestation of that which is with God.

…أَنْزَلْتَ…

... You sent down ...

Scholars of insight also inform us that al-inzal or descent of the Qur’an is another expression for the ascent of the Muhammadan heart. This is a Qur’anic and intellectual reality.

... الَّذِي أَنْزَلْتَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنَ

in which You sent down the Qur’an

The trilateral root meaning of the word Qur’an is jam ‘ (to gather). Some scholars opine that it is known to be so because it gathers in itself its chapters (yajma‘ as-Suwar) or the fruits of the previous heavenly scriptures (yajma‘ thamarat al-kutub as-Samawiyyah).

While elucidating the root word of Qur’an, Ibn Faris, explaining why the Qur’an is called ‘Qur’an’, says:

كأنه سمى بذلك لجمعه ما فيه من الأحكام والقصص وغير ذلك

It seems that it was called that because it gathers what it contains of the [Islamic] laws, stories, and other matters4.

... الَّذِي أَنْزَلْتَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنَ

in which You sent down the Qur’an

It is imperative to know that the Holy Qur’an has two different levels of existence: the non-composite level (basit) which is with Allah, and the composite and fragmented (murakkab) that was sent gradually in the course of twenty-three years of the Holy Prophet (S)’s life.

With regard to the first reality Allah says:

إِنَّهُ لَقُرْآنٌ كَرِيمٌ

“Indeed, it is the noble Qur’an” (56:77).

فِي كِتَابٍ مَكْنُونٍ

“In the hidden book” (56:78).

لَا يَمَسُّهُ إِلَّا الْمُطَهَّرُونَ

“None save the purified ones touch it” (56:79).

Only those close to Allah whose hearts have been purified like the infallible Ahl al-Bayt (‘a), have access to this high level of the Holy Qur’an near Allah.

In chapter 43, Allah says:

وَإِنَّهُ فِي أُمِّ الْكِتَابِ لَدَيْنَا لَعَلِيٌّ حَكِيمٌ

“And indeed, it [the Qur’an] is with Us in the Mother Book [and it is] surely sublime and wise” (43:4).

This verse, according to insightful exegetes, alludes to the Qur’an in its original station, which is introduced as la-‘aliyyun hakim (sublime and wise) because it is beyond the access of the common intellect, and it has no sections or parts5.

With regard to the second reality Allah says:

وَقُرْآنًا فَرَقْنَاهُ لِتَقْرَأَهُ عَلَى النَّاسِ عَلَىٰ مُكْثٍ وَنَزَّلْنَاهُ تَنْزِيلًا

“We have sent the Qur’an in [discrete] parts so that you may read it to the people a little at a time, and We have sent it down piecemeal” (17:106).

Commenting on this verse, ‘Allamah Tabataba’i says:

وهو ظاهر في نزوله تدريجا في مجموع مدة الدعوة وهي ثلث وعشرون سنة تقريبا، والمتواتر من التاريخ يدل على ذلك

And this [verse] apparently signifies that the Qur’an was sent gradually within the total period of the Prophet (S)’s call which is approximately twenty-three years, and successively narrated historical evidence reveals this6.

• 1. ‘Allamah al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, v. 43, p. 65.
• 2. Al-Qummi, Tafsir Al-Qummi, v. 2, p. 431.
• 3. Sayyid al-Bahrani, Tafsir al-Burhan, v. 5, p. 715.
• 4. Ibn Faris, Mu jam Maqayis al-Lughah, v. 5, p. 79.
• 5. ‘Allamah Tabataba’i, al-Mizan fi Tafsir al-Qur’an, v. 2, p. 17.
• 6. ‘Allamah Tabataba’i, al-Mizan fi Tafsir al-Qur’an, v. 2, p. 15.