al-Dukhān

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

حم

وَالْكِتَابِ الْمُبِينِ

إِنَّا أَنْزَلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةٍ مُبَارَكَةٍ إِنَّا كُنَّا مُنْذِرِينَ

1. HM
2. By the manifest Book that makes things clear.
3. We sent It down on a blessed night. Indeed, We are ever warning.

The word “blessed” (mubarak) refers to the Night of Decree (laylat al-qadr) which is in the blessed month of Ramadan [the ninth month of the lunar calendar]:

Different interpretations have been put forward for the detached letters opening a number of Qur’anic Chapters the best of which may be the one according to which the inimitability of the Holy Qur’an springs from the same letters as the second Verse of Chapter 42⁴, following the detached letters HM ‘ASQ, reads:

according to a number of traditions, a secret lies in these letters which is solely known to God.⁵ The detached letters HM open the Verse in question as well as the four preceding and the two following Chapters. Interpretations of these letters have been discussed above. Such interpretations of the detached letters HM may be found in the openings of Chapters 40 and 41⁶. It is worthy of note that a number of exegets have taken HM in the sense of taking an oath consistent with the following oath to the Qur’an thus making two oaths to the detached letters HM and the Qur’an.

It was mentioned above that God Almighty swears to the Holy Qur’an in the second Verse of this Chapter saying:

The Holy Qur’an is a Book with manifest contents, invigorating teachings, constructive decrees, and well measured plans. It bears testimony to Its Truth.

“The Sun bears testimony to [the existence of] the Sun.”

The truth for which the oath has been taken is suggested in the third Verse:

The word:

derives from baraka. What night is the one which is the source of permanent good things? The majority of exegets maintain that it is the Night of Decree, a blessed Night on which the Ordainments of the world of humanity found a novel color with the Revelation of the Holy Qur’an, a night on which the fates of humanity and the Ordainments of one year are predestined. Thus, the Holy Qur’an was revealed to the pure heart of the Prophet (S) on a fateful and momentous night. It is noteworthy that the Verse apparently indicates that the Holy Qur’an, in Its entirety, was revealed to the Prophet (S) on the Night of Decree.

What was the main purpose behind Its revelation? It is mentioned in the same Verse:

God Almighty appoints His Messengers to warn polytheists and wrong doers and the prophethood of the Noble Prophet of Islam (S) with this manifest Book is the last link of the chain of prophethood. It is true that prophets warned on the one hand and bore glad tidings on the other, but their calls basically rested on giving warnings to wrong doers and sinners.