upon him: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to wake his family during the last ten nights (20). Aishah said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to seclude himself for worship (i'tikaf) in the last ten nights of Ramadan (21). In a wording from al-Bukhari: "Seek Laylat al-Qadr in the odd-numbered nights of the last ten of Ramadan" (22). All of these hadiths are authentic.

Section: Scholars have differed regarding which of these nights is the most hopeful. Ubayy ibn Ka'b and Abdullah ibn Abbas said: It is the night of the twenty-seventh. [Zirr ibn Hubaysh said: I said to Ubayy ibn Ka'b: Do you not know, O Abu al-Mundhir, that it is the night of the twenty-seventh?] (23) He said: Yes, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) informed us that it is a night upon whose morning the sun rises without rays. So we counted and memorized. By Allah, Ibn Mas'ud knew that it is in Ramadan and that it is the night of the twenty-seventh, but he disliked to inform you so that you would not rely [solely] on it. Al-Tirmidhi said (24): This is a hasan sahih (good and authentic) hadith. Abu Dharr narrated in a long hadith that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not stand in prayer during Ramadan until only seven nights remained, then he stood with them until about a third of the night had passed. Then he stood with them on the night of the twenty-fifth, until about half of the night had passed, until it was the night of the twenty-seventh, when he gathered his wives and his family and the people gathered. He said: He stood with them until we feared that we would miss the falah, meaning the suhur (pre-dawn meal). (Agreed upon) (25). It is recounted from Ibn Abbas that he said: Surah al-Qadr is thirty words, the twenty-seventh of which is {hiya} (it is) (26). Abu Dawud (27) narrated, with his chain of narration from Mu'awiyah, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) regarding Laylat al-Qadr, he said: "The night of the twenty-seventh." It was said: The most emphasized of them is the night of the twenty-third; because it was narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that Abdullah ibn Unays asked him, saying: O Messenger of Allah, I reside in a wilderness called al-Watah (28), and I, praise be to Allah, lead them in prayer, so instruct me as to a night from this month so that I may lodge in the mosque and pray it therein. He said: "Lodge on the night of the twenty-third and pray in it, and if you wish to complete the end of this month, then do so, and if you wish, then refrain." So when he would pray Asr, he would enter the mosque and would not leave except for a necessity, until he prayed Subh, and when he prayed Subh, his mount would be at the door of the mosque. Narrated by Abu Dawud in abbreviated form (29). It was said: The most emphasized of them is the night of the twenty-fourth; because it was narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that he said: "Laylat al-Qadr is the first night of the last seven nights" (30). It is narrated from some of the Companions that he said: We did not use to count