Nabi (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said:
“Standing guard one night in the path of Allah is better than a man fasting and praying among his family for a thousand years. The year is three hundred and sixty days and each day is like a thousand years”
Is this authentic?
Answer:
Imam Ibn Majah (rahimahullah) has recorded this narration on the authority of Sayyiduna Anas ibn Malik (radiyallahu ‘anhu). However, ‘Allamah Mundhiri (rahimahullah) states, ‘The Hadith resembles a fabricated Hadith’. The Hadith should not be quoted.
(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith: 2770, Targhib, vol. 2 pg. 249)
There are other authentic Hadiths which explain the virtue of guarding in the path of Allah. These should be quoted instead:
Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas (radiyallahu ‘anhuma) reports that Nabi (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “Two eyes will never be touched by Jahannam; an eye which weeps out of Fear of Allah Ta’ala and an eye which spends the night guarding in the Cause of Allah”
(Sunan Tirmidhi, Hadith: 1639. Declared sound by Imam Tirmidhi)
And Allah Ta’ala Knows best.
Answered by: Moulana Suhail Motala
Approved by: Moulana Muhammad Abasoomar
Checked by: Moulana Haroon Abasoomar