In the month of Ramadan, an event has taken place whose dimensions and essence is shrouded in ambiguity until eternity for the likes of us- and that event is the revelation of the Qur'an. Revelation of the Qur'an in the heart of the Prophet of God on the night of Ordainment; the manner of the descent of the Qur'an and how it happened and how the Trusted Holy Spirit revealed it in the heart of the Prophet while on the other hand God commands that," Verily, we have revealed the Qur'an on the night of Qadr." (The Holy Quran, 97:1) What was the manner of revelation in the heart of the Prophet on" Laylatul-Qadr"? I must say that except for the honorable Prophet himself and those that were reared in the bosom of the honorable Prophet and enjoyed the exclusive favors of the blessed and Almighty God, for others the question of its revelation is absolutely shrouded in ambiguity. What is revelation in the heart; what is the Holy Spirit; in what manner the Holy Spirit along with the Qur'an penetrated the heart of the Prophet of God; what is Laylatul-Qadr?
These are questions that on the surface appear easy and at times some statements are made but I tell you that the manner of the revelation of the Qur'an remains uncertain for the likes of us as does the manner of descent of the angels of God on Laylatul-Qadr and also the nature of Laylatul-Qadr.
Feast of the Prophet (s.a.) on the night of Qadr of the revelation of the Qur'an
What was the invitation that the Almighty and Exalted God based on the narrative of the honorable Prophet that" You have been invited to the feast of God" and who accepted this feast? What were the preliminaries for its acceptance, this pilgrimage, this feast and what was the feast itself? I must say that except for the honorable Prophet- may God's peace be upon him and his household- no one has honored it like he had done.
An invitation has stages; its honoring also has stages. The sublime stage of its honoring is what culminated in the Blessed and Almighty God, after observance of preliminaries and undergoing self-abstinence that the Prophet of God- may God's peace be upon him- underwent, inviting him to the feast of revelation of the Qur'an.
Qur'an is that blessing of an invitation to the Prophet of God to a feast that is laid out from the beginning until eternity. The honorable Prophet benefited from it and its preliminaries are those for which he underwent long years of spiritual self-abstinence until he reached the point where he merited the feast- the important aspect being shunning the world.
The thing that admits a person to the place of feast of God is that he sets aside other than God and this is not possible for every person. It is possible only for a very limited number of individuals headed by the Prophet of God. That previous devotion to the Source of Light and avoidance of those besides Him has enabled him to merit the invitation to the Feast of God and to merit revelation of the Qur'an into his heart all at once and extensively. One of the probabilities of the blessed night is that it is the physical being of the honorable Prophet himself, which is the lamp of the Light of God while there are other possibilities, too. The important point is, understanding of this subject that the stages of perfection of human beings for admission to the Feast of God are many and one must start from the preliminaries. The preliminaries are that one should not be devoted to other than Him and not to see other than Him and to see Him alone and not focus on anything other than Him. Here I must say that this objective is required of all people and if they want admission to the Feast of God, they must shun the world to the extent of their ability and turn away their hearts from the material world. However, for the society of the clergy that also includes sermonizers, there is another requirement.
Sahifeh, vol. 17, Page: 452-454
Speech, June 11, 1983