People of Each Region Have Their Own Laylatul-Qadr
16-3-2020 | IslamWeb
Question:
Assalamu Alaikum,
The Prophet Muhammad ? says, “Fast when you see it and stop fasting when you see it. And in another hadith, Prophet Muhammad ? said “Search for Laylatul-Qadr in the odd nights of the last ten nights of Ramadan.
The odd nights in gulf region might be even-nights in India or other parts the world as per the moon sighting. ‘’Laylatul- Qadr’’ in Makka region might not be night for laylatul-Qadr in other region as per the moon sighting. But it is one night of decree throughout the world.
Muslims are not united in this regard and following different dates for EID. How to overcome this issue or which one to be followed ?
Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
Firstly, there is no room for sheer intellectual reasoning in addressing this issue and similar ones. Rather, addressing it is based on submission (to Allah) and compliance (with His commands) according to one’s ability and knowledge. A Muslim should keenly comply with the obligations of the Sharee‘ah and perform the acts it encourages. If he does so, he will be doing the right thing and will not be deprived of the reward, Allah willing.
Nevertheless, some scholars tried to reconcile the textual proofs in this regard with the differences in moon-sighting all over the world as actually observed in reality. They held several opinions in this regard, with each opinion involving an objection brought forth by those opposing it. The most well-founded opinion – in our viewpoint – is that there are as many nights of Laylatul-Qadr in one year as there are places, and that each people of each region have their own Laylatul-Qadr according to their moon-sighting and time zone. According to this opinion, Laylatul-Qadr resembles a passenger travelling to a specific destination; he arrives at different places at different times along his way, and the angels descend and ascend accordingly. Some angels descend upon a given people in some place, as Allah wills, and others descend upon other people in another place, and so on. According to this view, the virtues related to Laylatul-Qadr are realized for each people independently, as is the case with the time-bound acts of worship, the time when Allah, The Exalted, descends to the lower heaven at night, the hour when the supplications are most likely answered on Fridays, the month of Ramadan, the days of ‘Eed, and the like.
Whoever can read Arabic and wishes to read the rest of their statements in this regard may refer to their lengthy statements cited in the books of Tafseer and commentaries on Ahaadeeth such as Rooh Al-Ma‘aani by Al-Aloosi (15422) and Sharh Saheeh Muslim by Dr. Moosa Shaaheen (565).
Allah Knows best.