Surah Al-Qadr (97) — Ayah 3

(Ayah 3){ لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِ خَيْرٌ مِّنْ اَلْفِ شَهْرٍ:} That is, Laylat al-Qadr, in terms of its blessings and the reward for worship in it, is better than a thousand months in which this night does not occur. Then, by a thousand months, either this number is meant, or, according to the common custom of the Arabs, abundance is meant, which can be even more than this number. Here, some commentators have written a narration in condemnation of the days of the Umayyad rule (which were a thousand months), whereas Tirmidhi, may Allah have mercy on him, narrated it and himself declared it weak. [ دیکھیے ترمذي، تفسیر القرآن، باب ومن سورۃ لیلۃ القدر : ۳۳۵۰ ] On the contrary, the reality is that although the era of the Umayyads cannot be compared to the era of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, it too was a period of the rise of Islam, during which the banner of Islam waved from east to west. Until their era, the entire Islamic world remained under one caliph, and Islam remained dominant, exalted, and protected. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: [لَا يَزَالُ هٰذَا الدِّيْنُ عَزِيْزًا مَنِيْعًا إِلَی اثْنَيْ عَشَرَ خَلِيْفَةً، كُلُّهُمْ مِّنْ قُرَيْشٍ ] [ مسلم، الإمارۃ، باب الناس تبع لقریش… : 1821/9، عن جابر بن سمرۃ رضی اللہ عنہ ] "This religion will remain dominant and protected until there are twelve caliphs, all of whom will be from Quraysh." In Abu Dawood, the words narrated from the same Jabir bin Samurah, may Allah be pleased with him, are: [ لاَ يَزَالُ هٰذَا الدِّيْنُ قَائِمًا حَتّٰی يَكُوْنَ عَلَيْكُمُ اثْنَا عَشَرَ خَلِيْفَةً، كُلُّهُمْ تَجْتَمِعُ عَلَيْهِ الْأُمَّةُ، كُلُّهُمْ مِّنْ قُرَيْشٍ ] [ أبو داوٗد، کتاب المھدي : ۴۲۷۹، وقال الألباني صحیح ] "This religion will remain established until there are twelve caliphs, over all of whom the Ummah will be united, all of them from Quraysh." The Rawafid and those influenced by them continue to say pointless things about this golden era of Islam, whereas after it, neither did the Muslim Ummah attain the blessing of being united under one caliph, nor did Islam remain dominant in the way it was during their era.

3. 1 That is, the worship of this one night is better than the worship of a thousand months, and a thousand months make eighty-three years and four months. How great is Allah's favor upon the Ummah of Muhammad ﷺ that He has granted such a facility to attain more reward in a short lifespan.

3. The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months [2].

[2]
The Different Meanings of Being Better Than a Thousand Months:

Here, "a thousand months" does not refer to a fixed period of a thousand months, which amounts to eighty-three years and four months. The custom among the Arabs was that when they wanted to express a very large quantity or duration, they would use the word "thousand" (alf), because they did not know precise calculations, and the largest number in their counting was "alf," meaning a thousand. Rather, what is meant is a long period of time. After this clarification, two meanings of this verse are stated: one is that the good and virtuous work done for mankind in this one night (i.e., the Quran was revealed) was not accomplished in any long era of humanity; and the second meaning is that the worship of this one night is better than the worship of a long period. This meaning is also supported by the following hadith: Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah ؓ says that the Prophet ﷺ said, "Whoever stands (in prayer) in Laylat al-Qadr with faith and seeking reward, his previous sins will be forgiven." (Bukhari, Kitab al-Iman, Bab Qiyam Laylat al-Qadr min al-Iman) In addition, some scholars take "a thousand months" to mean exactly a thousand months (i.e., 83 years and 4 months). According to them, the worship of this one night is better than the worship of eighty-three years in which Laylat al-Qadr is not included.

The Answer to a Question Related to Laylat al-Qadr:

Here, a question also arises: for example, when it is Laylat al-Qadr in Makkah Mukarramah, at that time half of the earth will be in daylight and the sun will be shining—so what about that? The answer is that with Allah, the real thing is the night. Whenever Allah Almighty has mentioned day and night together in the Quran, He has mentioned the night first. Also, in some places, Allah has mentioned only "layl" (night) and by it meant both the night and the day (i.e., the full twenty-four hours). For example, Allah Almighty made a promise of thirty nights to Musa ؑ (for giving the Torah). So by those thirty nights, thirty nights and their days were meant. In this regard, at every place, that specific night of Ramadan will be considered Laylat al-Qadr, and the determination of this night at that particular place will be related to the local sighting of the moon.