Chapter 12 - A Commentary On: Wa Ja‘al-ta-ha Khayran Min Alfi Shahr
A Commentary on the phrase Wa ja‘al-ta-ha khayran min alfi shahr
وَجَعَلْتَهَا خَيْرًا مِنْ أَلْفِ شَهْرٍ
And You made it better than a thousand months
لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِ خَيْرٌ مِنْ أَلْفِ شَهْرٍ
“The Night of Determination is better than a thousand months” (97:3).
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…خَيْرٌ مِنْ أَلْفِ شَهْرٍ
... better than a thousand months
This portion of the supplication is a reference to chapter 97, verse 3 of the Qur’an, where the Night of Qadr is reckoned to be better than a thousand months:
لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِ خَيْرٌ مِنْ أَلْفِ شَهْرٍ
“The Night of Determination is better than a thousand months” (97:3).
…خَيْرٌ مِنْ أَلْفِ شَهْرٍ
... better than a thousand months
The opportunity of Laylat al-Qadr is matchless and outstanding. In a lengthy tradition, Hamran is reported to have asked Imam al-Baqir (‘a): What is meant by ‘Laylat al-Qadri khayrun min alfi shahr (The Night of Determination is better than a thousand months)? The Imam (‘a) said:
A good action in it such as prayer, paying the poor rate, and different kinds of good deeds, is better than that action in a thousand months in which there is no Laylat al-Qadr1.
…خَيْرٌ مِنْ أَلْفِ شَهْرٍ
... better than a thousand months
The fruits of years of struggle can be achieved in a single night. Those who are worried for having wasted past opportunities and not having focused on refining their souls, must understand that it is possible for one to cover a substantial part of the spiritual journey in this night. It is therefore important for them to prepare themselves before the occasion through prayer (qiyam) and fasting (siyam).
In a lecture he gave on the twenty-first night of the holy month of Ramadan 1385 AH (solar calendar) in the Haram of Hadrat Ma’sumah (‘a), the contemporary exegete of the Qur’an, Ayatullah Jawadi Amuli, said:
Solomon, the Prophet, had the ability to cover the distance of a month in a single morning. However, the miracle of the Noble Qur’an is in this that a virtuous wayfarer can in a single night on Laylat al-Qadr travel the journey of a thousand months: ‘Laylat al-Qadr is better than a thousand months.’ (97:3). The difference between the two is that whereas Solomon would cover the distance of physical space, the upholders of the Qur’an can cover spiritual distance.
Hence, every alert human being will grab the opportunity and exert himself spiritually to soar to the heights of perfection. May Allah enable us to utilise this invaluable opportunity to the maximum.
… أَلْفِ شَهْرٍ
... a thousand months
The Night of Determination is innumerably better. The number thousand (alf) is also employed to signify abundance (kathrah)2 and not the specific number that follows nine hundred and ninety-nine.
Another example of such usage is when Allah reveals the attitude of some deviant Jews who love this corporeal life and yearn to live therein forever. Allah says:
وَلَتَجِدَنَّهُمْ أَحْرَصَ النَّاسِ عَلَىٰ حَيَاةٍ وَمِنَ الَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُوا يَوَدُّ أَحَدُهُمْ لَوْ يُعَمَّرُ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ وَمَا هُوَ بِمُزَحْزِحِهِ مِنَ الْعَذَابِ أَنْ يُعَمَّرَ وَاللَّهُ بَصِيرٌ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ
“Surely, you will find them the greediest for life of all people, even the idolaters. Each of them is eager to live a thousand years, though it would not deliver him from the punishment, were he to live [that long]. And Allah sees best what they do” (2:96).
Observe that in the above verse Almighty Allah says: ‘Each of them is eager to live a thousand years’. Exegetes tell us that the number thousand (alf) employed in the verse is not to inform the addressees that the Jews that were attached to the world are only greedy for 1000 years, and not more. Rather it is to inform them that they are very greedy of this life and would like to live for a very long time.
