Introduction
Meccan or Medinese, consisting of 5 or 6 verses.
Ayah 1
Lo! We revealed it, that is, the Qur’ān, in its entirety, [sending it down] from the Preserved Tablet to the heaven of this world, on the Night of Ordainment, that is, [the Night] of great eminence.
Ayah 2
And what will show you, [what] will make known to you, O Muhammad (s), what the Night of Ordainment is? — [intended] to emphasise its great status and to provoke marvel at it.
Ayah 3
The Night of Ordainment is better than a thousand months, in which there is no Night of Ordainment, for a righteous deed on that Night is better than one [performed] for a thousand months without it.
Ayah 4
The angels and the Spirit, namely, Gabriel, descend (tanazzalu: one of the two original tā’ letters [of tatanazzalu] has been omitted) in it, on that night, by the leave of their Lord, by His command, with every command, that God has decreed from that year to the following one (min is causative functioning as bi, ‘with’).
Ayah 5
It is peaceful (salāmun hiya: a predicate preceding the subject) until the rising of the dawn (read matla‘ or matli‘), until the time it rises: it is peaceful because of the numerous salutations [of peace] (salām) spoken in it by the angels, who, every time they come across a believing man or believing woman, bid him peace.