Skip to content
Ramaḍān

The last ten nights of Ramaḍān and Laylat al-Qadr

What the Sabīl library holds for the last ten nights of Ramaḍān, from its lines on i‘tikāf and on Laylat al-Qadr to the du‘ā it gives for that night, each with the source and grade the library gives.

Written by AI · scholarly review pending

The words of this article were written by AI from the Sabīl library and its sources, and checked by AI against them. No scholar has reviewed it yet. The Arabic texts, their meanings and their sources are the library’s and the Qur’ān’s own, shown exactly as they stand there. For a ruling on your own circumstances, ask a qualified scholar.

Published 3 October 20266 min read

This page gathers what the Sabīl library holds for the last ten nights of Ramaḍān: its lines on i‘tikāf, its line on Laylat al-Qadr, and the du‘ā it gives for that night. Each entry quoted here is shown as the library has it, with the source and grade the library gives it.

It gives no ruling, and it sets out no programme for these nights. It states no reward, number or date of its own: where one appears, it is in an entry shown here, and it is that entry's own. Questions about i‘tikāf, and about your own circumstances, are for a scholar.

"The last ten", a card of the Ramaḍān cards

The library's Ramaḍān cards have one headed "The last ten". It has two parts, labelled "I‘tikāf" and "Laylat al-Qadr". The card is shown below, after a note on each part.

I‘tikāf

The card calls i‘tikāf seclusion in the masjid for worship. Its lines under this label are on the Prophet ﷺ keeping it, on when it is entered and left, on leaving during it, on fasting, and on a woman's i‘tikāf. They are read on the card and are not restated here, with one exception.

The exception is the line on fasting, because it names schools, and names them by letters. It reads: "Ḥ and M require fasting alongside it; S and Ḥb do not." The first card of the title spells the letters out: Ḥ is Ḥanafī, M is Mālikī, S is Shāfi‘ī and Ḥb is Ḥanbalī. Which of these applies to you is a question for a scholar.

Beneath these lines the card has one source line: al-Bukhārī and Muslim, with the grade ṣaḥīḥ.

This page goes no further than the card. Who may make i‘tikāf and where, when it begins and ends, what breaks it, and how long or short it may be are questions for a scholar.

Laylat al-Qadr and its du‘ā

Under the second label the card has one line and one du‘ā. The line is the card's own, on the night and on the nights in which it is sought. It is read on the card; this page does not repeat it and adds nothing to it. Its source line gives Q 97:3, then al-Bukhārī and Muslim with the grade ṣaḥīḥ.

Beneath that line the card gives the du‘ā: its Arabic, a transliteration and its meaning. The library cites it to at-Tirmidhī and Ibn Mājah with the grade ṣaḥīḥ, and the source line adds that it was taught to ‘Ā’ishah when she asked what to say if she found it.

06The last ten
I‘tikāf
Seclusion in the masjid for worship. The Prophet ﷺ kept it every Ramaḍān, and twenty days in the year he died. Entered before sunset on the 20th, left at the ‘Īd.
Leave only for necessity — the washroom, or food if none is brought.
Ḥ and M require fasting alongside it; S and Ḥb do not.
A woman may observe it with her husband’s consent, in a partitioned space.
Bukhārī, Muslim · ṣaḥīḥ
Laylat al-Qadr
Better than a thousand months. Sought in the odd nights of the last ten — the 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th and 29th — and most often found on the 27th.
Q 97:3; Bukhārī, Muslim · ṣaḥīḥ
اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ فَاعْفُ عَنِّي
Allāhumma innaka ‘afuwwun tuḥibbul-‘afwa fa‘fu ‘annī
O Allah, You are Pardoning and love to pardon, so pardon me.
Tirmidhī, Ibn Mājah · ṣaḥīḥ — taught to ‘Ā’ishahـؓ when she asked what to say if she found it.
From Ramaḍān · Open the full title

The verse the card's source line cites, with its meaning:

لَيْلَةُ ٱلْقَدْرِ خَيْرٌ مِّنْ أَلْفِ شَهْرٍ

The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months.

Qur’ān 97:3English Translation - Rowwad Translation Center · QuranEnc.com · version 1.0.19

Where else the library has the du‘ā

Two other entries of the library carry this du‘ā. They are linked here and not shown a second time.

The library's Ramaḍān poster has it in the row "The last ten nights". After the du‘ā's meaning the row has a sentence on seeking Laylat al-Qadr and a sentence on what he ﷺ would do; both are read there and are not restated here. The row has one source line: at-Tirmidhī with the grade ṣaḥīḥ, and Q 97:3.

The Hijri Companion set of the Pocket Companion has a card headed "Ramaḍān". Its first line, labelled "The month", mentions seeking Laylat al-Qadr and i‘tikāf among other things of the month; the library cites that line to al-Bukhārī and Muslim with the grade ṣaḥīḥ. Under the label "Laylat al-Qadr" the card has the du‘ā again, with a transliteration and a meaning. There the library cites it to at-Tirmidhī and Ibn Mājah with the grade ṣaḥīḥ, and the source line adds that it was taught to ‘Ā’ishah for that night.

I‘tikāf on the poster

The same poster has a row of its own headed "I‘tikāf — retreat in the masjid". It is shown here as the poster has it.

The row's sentences are on what he ﷺ kept, on when one enters and leaves, on leaving during the retreat, and on the length of a retreat. They are read in the row and are not restated here. The poster cites the row to al-Bukhārī and Muslim with the grade ṣaḥīḥ. What applies to your own i‘tikāf is a question for a scholar.

07I‘tikāf — retreat in the masjid
He ﷺ kept to the masjid for the last ten nights every year, and in the year he died, for twenty. One enters before sunset on the twentieth and leaves at the sunset that ends the month.
He leaves only for necessity. A day, or a night, or an hour of it is still a retreat.
Bukhārī, Muslim · ṣaḥīḥ
From Ramaḍān · Open the full title

Where to go next

  • The Ramaḍān screen has the month's suḥūr and ifṭār times and the thirty-days tracker in one table. A heavier line and the words "Odd night" mark the odd nights of the last ten there. The nights are counted by the app's calculated dates, and the screen itself notes that the day is confirmed by the sighting of the moon where you live. "The last ten" card is shown beneath the table.
  • The same table has a column for the day's portion of Qur’ān, and the khatm planner splits the muṣḥaf over the days you choose. The verse the card cites is in the sūrah the Qur’ān reader lists as Al-Qadr.
  • The Ramaḍān cards and the Ramaḍān poster can be printed.
  • The du‘ā for breaking the fast and Ramaḍān 2027 are two other pages of this set.