The revelation of the Quran; the power of Laylat al-Qadr
Tonight's story is about the most important night in all of creation. It is about the night when heaven touched the earth, when the first words of the Quran descended upon the heart of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in a cave on a mountain above Makkah. It is about Laylat al-Qadr, the Night of Power, a night that the Quran itself tells us is better than a thousand months.
For years before this night, Muhammad (PBUH) had been troubled by what he saw around him. The people of Makkah worshipped idols of stone and wood. They buried their infant daughters alive. The rich oppressed the poor. The strong crushed the weak. Lies were told as truth, and truth was mocked as weakness. The world had forgotten the message of Ibrahim (AS), of Musa (AS), of Isa (AS), all the prophets who came before.
Muhammad (PBUH) was known among his people as "Al-Amin," the Trustworthy, and "Al-Sadiq," the Truthful. Even those who would later oppose him admitted that he never lied, never cheated, never harmed anyone. He was generous to the poor, kind to orphans, and gentle with animals. But kindness alone could not fix a broken world. Something more was needed.
Every year, especially during the month of Ramadan, Muhammad (PBUH) would leave the noise of Makkah and climb to a small cave near the top of Mount Hira. The cave was barely large enough for one person to sit in, a narrow opening in the rock overlooking the vast desert below and the city of Makkah in the distance. There, in the silence, he would think, reflect, and pray. He was searching for truth, for the answers that his heart told him must exist.
He was forty years old when the night came. It was one of the last nights of Ramadan. The cave was dark. The stars burned bright above the desert. Muhammad (PBUH) sat in the stillness, as he had done many nights before.
Then everything changed.
A presence filled the cave, a light, a force, something beyond anything human. It was Jibril (AS), the angel of revelation, the same angel who had spoken to Ibrahim, to Musa, to Maryam, to every prophet before. But Muhammad (PBUH) had never seen an angel before.
Jibril commanded: "Iqra!" Read!
Muhammad (PBUH), who had never been taught to read or write, answered: "I cannot read."
Jibril embraced him, pressed him to his chest with a force that took his breath away, then released him and commanded again: "Iqra!" Read!
Again Muhammad (PBUH) answered: "I cannot read."
A third time Jibril embraced him, pressed him until the pressure was almost beyond bearing, then released him and spoke the first words of the Quran ever revealed to a human heart:
"Iqra bismi Rabbik-alladhi khalaq. Khalaqal-insana min 'alaq. Iqra wa Rabbuk-al-Akram. Alladhi 'allama bil-qalam. 'Allamal-insana ma lam ya'lam."
"Read in the name of your Lord who created. Created the human being from a clinging substance. Read, and your Lord is the Most Generous. Who taught by the pen. Taught the human being what he did not know."
These five verses, Surah Al-Alaq, were the beginning of everything. The first word revealed was "Iqra," Read, a command that would echo through all of history. Allah did not begin His final message with a command to fight, or to conquer, or to build empires. He began with a command to learn, to read, to seek knowledge. This tells us what matters most.
Muhammad (PBUH) came down from the mountain trembling. His heart was racing. He went home to his wife Khadijah (AS), the first person he told. "Cover me, cover me," he said, shaking. Khadijah wrapped him in a cloak and held him. When he told her what had happened, she did not doubt him for a moment.
"By Allah," Khadijah said, "Allah would never disgrace you. You maintain the ties of kinship, you speak the truth, you bear the burdens of the weak, you help the poor, you honor your guests, and you support those afflicted by calamity."
Khadijah (AS) became the first person to believe. She was the first Muslim, the first to accept the message of the Quran. Her faith was immediate and complete, without hesitation.
And so the revelation began. Over the next twenty-three years, the Quran would continue to descend, verse by verse, surah by surah, guiding humanity in every matter of life and faith. But that first night, Laylat al-Qadr, remained special above all others.
Allah revealed an entire surah about this night: "Inna anzalnahu fi Laylatil-Qadr. Wa ma adraka ma Laylatul-Qadr. Laylatul-Qadri khayrum-min alfi shahr. Tanazzalul-mala'ikatu war-Ruhu fiha bi idhni Rabbihim min kulli amr. Salamun hiya hatta matla'il-Fajr."
"Indeed, We sent it down on the Night of Power. And what will make you realize what the Night of Power is? The Night of Power is better than a thousand months. The angels and the Spirit descend therein by permission of their Lord for every matter. Peace it is until the emergence of dawn."
Better than a thousand months. That is more than eighty-three years, more than an entire human lifetime. One night of sincere worship, prayer, and connection with Allah is worth more than a lifetime of ordinary worship. This is the gift that Allah gives to the believers every Ramadan.
In the Shia tradition, Laylat al-Qadr holds extraordinary significance. It is not merely a historical event that happened once. It is a living night that returns every year, and on it, the angels still descend with the divine decree for the coming year.
Imam Baqir (AS) taught: "The angels descend on Laylat al-Qadr to the Imam of the time, and they bring to him the decree of Allah for the year." This means that the connection between heaven and earth that began on that first night in the cave never stopped. Every Laylat al-Qadr, the divine plan for the year is brought down, and the living Imam receives this knowledge.
Imam Sadiq (AS) said: "If there were not an Imam on the earth to whom the angels descend on Laylat al-Qadr, the proof of this verse would be broken." The Quran speaks of angels descending every Laylat al-Qadr, which means there must always be someone to receive them.
This is why the nights of Qadr in Ramadan, particularly the 19th, 21st, and 23rd nights, are the most important nights of the year for worship in Shia practice. Believers stay awake all night in prayer, reciting Quran, and asking for forgiveness. They hold the Quran above their heads and ask Allah to judge them by this Book. They pray for the health and guidance of the Imam of their time.
The story of that first revelation in the cave is a reminder that the greatest changes in history began not with armies or wealth, but with words. Five verses in a small cave changed the entire world. The Quran that began that night became the guide for over a billion people across fourteen centuries, and it continues to guide those who open their hearts to it.
"Iqra bismi Rabbik-alladhi khalaq. Khalaqal-insana min 'alaq. Iqra wa Rabbuk-al-Akram. Alladhi 'allama bil-qalam. 'Allamal-insana ma lam ya'lam." "Read in the name of your Lord who created. Created the human being from a clinging substance. Read, and your Lord is the Most Generous. Who taught by the pen. Taught the human being what he did not know." -- Al-Alaq (96:1-5)
"Inna anzalnahu fi Laylatil-Qadr. Wa ma adraka ma Laylatul-Qadr. Laylatul-Qadri khayrum-min alfi shahr." "Indeed, We sent it down on the Night of Power. And what will make you realize what the Night of Power is? The Night of Power is better than a thousand months." -- Al-Qadr (97:1-3)