A Qur’anic pronoun may refer to a nearby noun or to something understood from the wider discourse. Misidentifying its referent can change the meaning of the entire sentence. Proximity alone is therefore not enough; agreement and context also matter.
“We sent it down on the Night of Decree” (al-Qadr 97:1). The pronoun “it” refers to the Qur’an, even though the noun “Qur’an” has not appeared earlier within this verse. The subject is understood from the discourse.
Gender, number, proximity, and thematic coherence all inform the decision, but no single clue automatically overrides the others.