this count, rather (31) we count from the end of the month." This means that the twenty-seventh is the first night of the last seven nights. Abu Dharr narrated, saying: "We fasted the month of Ramadan with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and he did not stand with us in prayer until the night of the seventh remaining, when he stood with us for about a third of the night. Then he did not stand [for prayer] on the night of the sixth. When the night of the fifth came, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stood with us for about half of the night, so we said: 'O Messenger of Allah, if only you had favored us with the prayer of the rest of this night?' He replied: 'Whoever prays with the Imam until he departs, it is recorded for him as the prayer of a full night.' Then, when the night of the third came, he stood with us until we feared that we would miss the falah." I asked, "And what is the falah?" He said, "The suhur (pre-dawn meal)." On that night, he woke his family, his wives, and his daughters. Recorded by Sa'id (32). It is said: The most emphasized of them is the night of the twenty-first; because of what Abu Sa'id narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), that he said: "I saw Laylat al-Qadr, then I was caused to forget it, so seek it in the last ten nights, in the odd-numbered ones; and I saw that I was prostrating in its morning in water and mud." He said: "Then a cloud came, and it rained until the roof of the mosque leaked—and it was made of palm fronds—and the prayer was established, so I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prostrating in the water and mud, until I saw the mark of the water and mud on his forehead." In one narration: "on the morning of the twenty-first." (Agreed upon) (33). Al-Tirmidhi said (34): It has been narrated that it is the night of
(31) In MS (M), there is an addition: "we were". (32) Its takhrij (documentation) was presented previously in 2/603. (33) Recorded by al-Bukhari, in: The chapter on I'tikaf in the last ten nights..., and the chapter: I'tikaf and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) going out on the morning of the twentieth, and the chapter on the one who leaves his I'tikaf at dawn, from the Book of I'tikaf. And in: The chapter on seeking Laylat al-Qadr in the last seven nights, and the chapter on searching for Laylat al-Qadr in the odd nights of the last ten nights therein, from the Book of Laylat al-Qadr. Sahih al-Bukhari 3/59, 60, 62, 64-66. And by Muslim, in: The chapter on the virtue of Laylat al-Qadr, urging to seek it, explaining its location, and the most hopeful times to seek it, from the Book of Fasting. Sahih Muslim 2/824, 825. It was also recorded by Abu Dawud, in: The chapter on those who said: The night of the twenty-first, from the chapter on the sub-sections of the month of Ramadan, from the Book of Prayer. Sunan Abi Dawud 1/319. And by al-Nasa'i, in: The chapter on not wiping the forehead after the taslim, from the Book of Sahw (prostration for forgetfulness) 3/67. And by Imam Malik, in: The chapter on what has been said regarding Laylat al-Qadr, from the Book of I'tikaf. Al-Muwatta 1/319. And by Imam Ahmad, in: Al-Musnad 3/7, 24, 60. (34) In: The chapter on what has been said regarding Laylat al-Qadr, from the chapters on fasting 4/7, 8. It contains the discussion of Abu Qilabah and al-Shafi'i.
