What are the last ten nights of Ramadan and how to observe them?
The Prophet ﷺ used to stay awake, wake his family, and tighten his belt in the last ten nights. The classical adab of the search for Laylat al-Qadr.
10 passages from 7 books in the library
The last ten nights are the most precious of Ramadan, sought above all for Laylat al-Qadr, the Night of Decree. Al-Ghazali, in the Iḥyāʾ, calls these "the best days of Ramadan" and teaches that the Night of Decree is most likely on the odd nights of this final third, when "something of the dominion is unveiled." He notes a view that its exact night is left unspecified, like the unknown hour, so the believer watches all ten. Ramadan itself, he writes, holds the merit of Laylat al-Qadr and is the month in which the Qurʾan was revealed.
Drawn from the classical sources below — in the scholars' own words.
The classical approach.
These passages are drawn from 7 books by Imam al-Ghazali and Ibn Battuta — part of the classical Sunni tradition that carries over a thousand years of reflection on the Qurʾān, the authentic Sunnah, and the consensus of the early community. Nothing below is a paraphrase. The words are the scholars' own, translated from the original Arabic manuscripts.
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"Five are the odd nights in the last ten days, during which Laylat al-Qadr is sought, and"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"The best days of Ramadan are the last ten nights, and the best days in Dhu al-Hijjah are the first ten days."
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"Ramadan holds the merit of Laylat al-Qadr and is the month in which the Quran was revealed."
14th century · Tangier, Morocco
The Riḥlah — a 30-year, 75,000-mile journey across three continents, and the most important travel account of the pre-modern world.
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"longer see them, at which point they stop eating. On an odd night during the last ten nights of"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"There was a view that the number is unspecified and unknown, like Laylat al-Qadr and the hour"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"Laylat al-Qadr, the night of decree, is when something of the dominion is unveiled, as"
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"the presence of Laylat al-Qadr, the night of decree, which is most likely on odd"
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"intends it, it is broken by leaving. The hadith states, when the last ten nights"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"later by, Indeed, we revealed it in Laylat al-Qadr. At first glance, different verses"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"it is Safiyya. She had visited him in the last ten days of Ramadan. Umar, may Allah"
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