What is the meaning of the word "century" in the hadith (The best of generations is my generation...)? And when does the renewer of the century appear?

The questioner : The best of generations is my generation...

The Shaykh : How?

The questioner : The word "my generation" in "The best of generations is my generation" is disputed regarding its interpretation. What is the evidence?

The Shaykh : No, it is a statement for which there is no specific evidence. It is a linguistic term; some say it is one hundred years, and some say seventy, and so on. There is no stronger evidence, but what the scholars follow is that the century is one hundred years. One may use as an indication the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): , which supports the view that a century is one hundred years.
Al-Halabi : There is no narration, our teacher, that you can recall.

The Shaykh : The hadith of renewal?
Al-Halabi: Yes.

The Shaykh: No.
Al-Halabi : It is well-known among the people.

The questioner : Is it possible, through actual induction based on this hadith, to arrive at this specific text intended by it? It might be less, of course. By examining the evidence, we know that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) brought forth Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman, and 'Ali, followed by the period of the Caliphate, which has a specific duration. Therefore, in my view, regarding the hadith of the renewers, is there any indication that the century here is one hundred years or less?

The Shaykh : And that is why I said, and I meant what I said, that one may use this hadith as an indication. However, historical reality may support it, because some scholars traced the history and found that in the first century, the renewer was 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, who was around the one-hundred-year mark. In the second century, they mentioned Imam al-Shafi'i. I no longer remember the details and the sequence, by Allah. In every century, they mentioned renewers, and some of them mentioned something truly important;...