Interpretation of Fortress 97 (Valuation)
I seek refuge in God from the cursed Satan
In the Name of God, the All-Compassionate, the All-Merciful
1. ((We have indeed revealed it (the Holy Qur’an) on the Night of Valuation,))
2. ((And what will enable you to perceive what the Night of Valuation is? ))
3. ((The Night of Valuation is better than a thousand months. ))
4. ((On it, the angels and the Soul are brought down on every errand by Permission of their Provider, ))
5. ((It is peace, until the coming of the dawn.))
§§§§§
When we say, ‘a person values their Creator’, it means that they know His high Rank and His great Majesty and Perfection.
However, how can one recognize God and know His Mightiness and Majesty? How can a creature value their Creator as He deserves?
I say: people cannot achieve such a sublime degree unless they witness God’s Mightiness and see His Perfection.
For example, I cannot know your position unless I see you at work or until I see how you manage your affairs, or until I notice the qualities which prove your high position and speak of your elevated rank and great degree.
Similarly, the spirit will not be sure of its Creator’s Grandeur until it witnesses the Might of that Mighty Possessor in His kingdom, from which He provides His creatures and supplies them all with a flood of His Favor and Benevolence, overwhelming the uniVerse with His Clemency and ample Mercy.
If a person, in their true thoughts, believes in their Provider and acknowledges the Might and the compassion of their Creator, and they also abide by His Commands and obey Him Continuously, without committing any infringement, and approach Him by being charitable to all of their fellow creatures, then undoubtedly they will come to see God’s Perfection with the eye of their heart. Their spirit will assuredly bask in the Godly Light, in which it sees the Greatness of its Creator and Originator and witnesses His Tenderness, Sympathy and Mercy for it and for all creatures. Thus their spirit will know the Rank of its Provider and become certain of His Compassion and Kindness towards it.
The great night upon which a person achieves and enjoys the spiritual insight through which they acquire this real knowledge – that is, the night when a person sees the Mightiness of their Creator and appreciates the Perfection of God – is called the Night of Valuation. [13]
I say: on that night, or rather, at the moment when they witness these spiritual visions, the truth will be printed on the heart of this believer. All the realities of faith and of the Holy Qur’an will descend upon their hearts, and thus they shall perceive the purpose and the wisdom behind the Qur’anic Verse s.
Therefore, God addressed His noble Envoy, saying:
1. We have indeed revealed it [the Holy Qur’an] on the Night of Valuation,
That is, on the Night of Valuation, the revelation of the truth of the facts that are contained within the Holy Qur’an is sent down upon your heart. This is the night when you witness the Might of your Provider, venerating your Creator.
The Almighty addressed His Envoy in the terms He did so as to inform us that a person cannot become aware of the truth of the facts of the Qur’an or possess a correct understanding of the Verse s contained within it – which lead one to happiness and welfare and call one to righteousness and charity – except on the ((Night of Valuation)).
This noble Verse, then, shows us that real knowledge can only refer to Al’lah and cannot be acquired except through Him (Glory to Him).
Throughout the ages and generations, all humanity – both individually and in terms of nations – has been unable to offer guidance of the same righteousness as that brought to us by the Envoy (cpth), even when they have helped each other and worked together. Nor have they been able to produce instruction and knowledge to equal that with which he has enlightened the people.
How then could this noble Envoy (cpth) bring such guidance to us, all on his own, when he had never before studied from a book, nor taken lessons from any other person? Indeed, he (cpth) challenged people from all generations and of all ages, and showed their failure to bring any instruction equal to his.
We can see, then, that this Verse refutes what the tribe of Quraish claimed and what the possessors of narrow minds claimed as well – namely, that the Qur’an was merely composed by the Envoy himself (cpth). This Verse acquaints us with the supreme Source from which the Envoy (cpth) obtained this guidance and instruction, all of which leads us to the right path of humaneness and perfect bliss. It declares that the perfect guidance brought by the Envoy (cpth) is a revelation sent down from Al’lah to the heart of His noble Envoy on the ((Night of Valuation)), when he (cpth) admired his Provider’s Perfection and glorified his Creator.
Also, this noble Verse disproves the teachings that have been fabricated by some, who claimed that if you want to understand the Qur’an, you need to learn sixteen kinds of sciences and engage in the study of various lengthy books!
In fact, such detailed studies do not help one to learn the truth, for people do not obtain true knowledge unless they are honored with it as a gift from God (Glory to Him), and experience this blessed night.
Is this bearing of witness available to any person?
Also, when can the ((Night of Valuation)) be experienced?
I say: Godly Justice necessitates that this divine gift is not restricted to one person in favor of another, so that the other will miss out. Each person who prepares themselves properly to experience such visions will certainly be honored with this witnessing; that is to say, anyone who obeys their Provider perfectly so as not to neglect any of God’s Orders or commit any sin, they will have the opportunity to experience this special night.
The harmful and disobedient spirit cannot witness it because it feels ashamed before its Provider when it stands to perform its communication. It is unable to turn towards God or to enter into His Presence, and so its performance of communication with Him is merely for showing off and is not genuine. The sins of such a spirit create a veil and a barrier between it and the Almighty Al’lah.
As for the obedient spirit, when it stands before its Provider, it stands completely directed towards Him and draws still closer to Him, because the charity it holds in its hands makes it proud of its deeds, and it feels confident and assured of God’s Satisfaction.
Thus, straightening upon God’s Command and drawing near to Him by performing good deeds: these two together are the two main conditions – that is to say – the two wings upon which the spirit flies up to the Supreme Heaven, where it witnesses a part of God’s Perfection and acquires virtue and knowledge.
The proper time for the spirit to become ready to attain a state where viewing and enjoying this blessed night is possible is the month of Ramadan: specifically during the last ten days of this month, as we have been told by the truthful and trustworthy Prophet (cpth). That is because the two main conditions mentioned above can be achieved by the believer who fasts at this time. The hunger and thirst that are experienced during Ramadan help to cause a rupture of the relations between a person and Satan, and a person’s spirit will become accustomed to such favorable separation throughout its days and will thus feel no shame whatsoever before its Provider.
In addition, the obedience to God that is displayed by a believer who fasts gives them greater motivation and a stronger drive. This moves them to draw nearer to their Provider.
Therefore, when they stand to perform their communication with God during the evening prayer, after having taken a little food and drink, they will be wholly directed toward God and completely in His Presence. Their spirit will then fly, soaring in that Supreme Heaven in which there is no obstacle that may block it, and no screen that can stand between it and its Creator.
As soon as the person fasting starts their communication, they will see themselves immersed in a flood of God’s Light, staring at Al’lah with the vision of their heart, and truly worshiping Him – for He has become visible to them.
They continue to worship day after day and night after night, until the arrival of the last ten days of that blessed month, when their spirit will have grown stronger and will have become fully prepared to receive that Divine Light, and be qualified to witness the Godly Perfection. At this point, the veil will be uncovered to show the spirit whatever proportion of God’s Beauty, Majesty and Supreme Attributes that it can bear.
It views the existence of the uniVerse based entirely upon His Sustenance and Guidance, basking in His Beauty and Favor, and submerged in His Compassion and Tenderness.
By watching that Godly Loftiness and Beauty and perceiving the Perfection of the Most High Provider, and by witnessing comprehensive Mercy, Sympathy and Tenderness, the believer shall come to wholeheartedly love God – the Source of Majesty, Glory, Sympathy and Benefaction. That is because the spirit is naturally predisposed toward the love of beauty and perfection and to appreciation of the doer of charity.
Through this magnificent love for the Possessor of Perfection (Glory to Him), the spirit will come to be colored with a stain of perfection; it is only this kind of love that corrects a person’s morals and changes the state of their spirit from one condition to another.
When communication with God finishes, the communicant will return from that auspicious journey having acquired only the best of sustenance. Virtue will be their closest friend, perfection their companion, piety their provision, and doing good for their fellow creatures shall dominate their interests and wishes.
That, then, is the ((Night of Valuation)). It is the night when the obedient follower witnesses the Grandeur of their Provider and His Supreme Attributes. It is the night upon which the facts of the Qur’an are revealed to their heart.
That is the ((Night of Valuation)) with which the Almighty Al’lah has ennobled Ramadan. This is the night which every person should experience in order to leave the ranks of the animals and join those other humans characterized by mercy, charity and tenderness. Those who die without witnessing it have failed to make the best use of their life and have lived in vain. God says: ((The worldly life is but a preparation for the Hereafter.)) [14]
In another Verse He says: ((The life of this world is but amusement and play. It is the Home in the Hereafter that is the true life, if they only knew.)) [15]
God wanted to show us the great importance of this Night, so He says:
2. And what will enable you to perceive what the Night of Valuation is?
That is, what a great night this night is, and what an abundance of benefits a person obtains by experiencing it!
Oh, believer! You are unable to have comprehensive knowledge of what is contained in the Night of Valuation, or of the bounty and the goodness that the believer gains on this blessed Night.
God explained this by saying:
3. The Night of Valuation is better than a thousand months.
A ((thousand months)) is nearly equal to eighty-four years. If we add the years of childhood to them, the total will come to nearly one hundred years.
Thus the wisdom, the knowledge, the virtue and the perfection which are imprinted on the believer’s spirit on that Night – or you might say, at that moment – are better than the knowledge that a person of one hundred years of age will have acquired during a thousand months spent in fasting and intense study.
Suffering and loss are the only recompense for the disbeliever who forgets God, who will gain nothing from life no matter what they may do, even if they live for a hundred years. Meanwhile, others gain nothing from their deeds except damage and harm.
In contrast, the lifetime of the believer who is always drawing nearer to God is overflowing with goodness, humanity and favor. The Night of Valuation which they experience is a school where they learn virtue, humanity, compassion and benefaction.
What a great difference exists between a negligent disbeliever, whose deeds are filled with evil and injury, and a believer who is close to God, the only purpose of whose deeds is to lend a helping hand to all of the rest of creation, wishing only for the Satisfaction of God!
This being the case, during the Night of Valuation, believer’s gains are better than those of a thousand months. This means that they are better than what is gained during the entire life of an unbeliever, which is a life that is lived far from the acquisition of any benefit, which yields nothing except offense and loss.
If one night alone – the Night of Valuation, with which those who are near to Al’lah are honored – is better than a lifetime of one hundred years, how different, then, is the believer’s lifetime compared to that of the distant disbeliever!
How great is the knowledge of the former in comparison with that of the latter!
What a low grade is held by the disbeliever when compared with that of the believer who is close to God, whose experiences are full of goodness and whose life is filled with humanity!
Since the Nights of Valuation are revealed in succession to the faithful believer so that they move from one Night to another that is still higher and loftier, and from one degree of knowledge to another that is still more sublime and more perfect, then there is absolutely no way to compare one who is near to God and one who is inattentive and far from Him. The disbeliever cannot acquire even a fraction of the believer’s knowledge, perfection and virtue, however much they exert and overwork themselves.
Indeed, the distance between them is like that between heaven and earth. The Almighty gave us an example to demonstrate this fact. He says: ((The blind and those who can see are not alike, nor are the darkness and the light. The shade and the heat are not alike, nor are the living and the dead. Al’lah can cause he who wills to hear, but you cannot make those who are in graves hear.)) [16]
I say: if every night – nay, if every one of the believer’s moments – has much more value than the entire lifetime of the distant unbeliever, then what can we say about the Envoy (cpth), whose every moment was a Night of Valuation?
How can we imagine the perfection, the knowledge, and the Prophetic morals that his spirit possessed?
How great is the distance between us and him (cpth)!
What a great difference there is between all humanity and him (cpth): the wide sea, the brilliant moon and the bright shining lamp!
However, none know the rank of God’s Envoy (cpth) except those who recognize Al’lah and who experience the Night of Valuation, because favor is known only to people who are favored, and Al’lah possesses infinite favor.
Next, God wanted to show us the state of the believer who has become colored with the stain of perfection and virtue and upon the surface of whose pure and clean spirit righteousness has been imprinted. He says:
4. On it, the angels and the Soul are brought down on every errand by Permission of their Provider,
((On it, the angels and the Soul are brought down)): due to their great nearness to their Provider, all of the Prophets and Envoys reached a degree of spiritual purity and a knowledge that was witnessed with the eye of the heart. This prevented their spirits from ever being tempted to do anything that was forbidden, or to conceive of any evil wishes. The Godly Light is always shining in their spirits, and therefore reality is clearly visible to them all the time. The angels are always bringing the Soul down upon them by the Leave of their Provider. Their witnessing is unceasing and everlasting, and that is what makes them impeccable. The Prophetic saying tells us: ((We, companies of Prophets: our eyes sleep but our hearts never sleep.)) [ Sahih Al Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.]
As for the believers who have not reached the ranks of Envoys and Prophets and who never will, some desires may enter their minds and their spirits may feel inclined to perform some forbidden act or another. However, since their hearts have been illuminated by the light of righteousness, and since they have viewed the Godly Perfection and appreciated it, and have become colored by it on the Night of Valuation, therefore they will seek the Protection of their Provider from the desires that have arisen inside them. They will take refuge with Him, asking to be cured of whatever has befallen them.
Through resorting to God in such a way and by seeking refuge in Him, His Light comes to shine in their hearts so as to show them a glimpse of reality. Thus they will witness the harm and the evil that are contained in such lusts and inclinations through the Divine Light which the Almighty God has named ((the Soul)). God says: ((If Satan tempts you, seek refuge in God: He hears all and knows all. If those that become illuminated by God’s Light are tempted by Satan, they remember God, and then they shall see by His Light)) .[17]
That is what this noble Verse of the Valuation Fortress is telling us. As previously mentioned, ((the Soul)) is the Godly light which the Almighty Al’lah manifests in the