The three ashras of Ramadan

Ashra (ashara) means ten. Many Muslims divide Ramadan into three ashras: the first ten days for mercy, the middle ten for forgiveness, and the last ten for freedom from the Fire. This comes from a hadith narrated from Salman al-Farsi, but that hadith is weak. What is authentic is that mercy, forgiveness and freedom from the Fire are offered throughout the whole month, and that the last ten nights are the most important.

The hadith of Salman

In a long sermon said to have been given on the last day of Shaban, the Prophet ﷺ is reported to have described Ramadan as "a month whose beginning is mercy, whose middle is forgiveness and whose end is freedom from the Fire". Ibn Khuzaymah recorded it in his Sahih, but under a chapter heading that begins "if the report is sound", showing he was not sure of it. Al-Bayhaqi also recorded it in Shuab al-Iman.¹

Its chain runs through Ali ibn Zayd ibn Judan, whom most hadith critics, including Ibn Hajar, graded weak for his poor memory, and its narrator Said ibn al-Musayyib did not hear from Salman. Some scholars, such as al-Ayni and later al-Albani, went further and called it munkar (rejected).² Hanafi scholars, such as those at Darul Iftaa Birmingham, also grade it weak, while noting that the majority of scholars allow mentioning a weak hadith to encourage good deeds, as long as its weakness is made clear and it is not used to set a ruling.³

What is authentic

• Mercy, from the first night: "When Ramadan comes, the gates of mercy are opened."⁴
• Forgiveness, for the whole month: "Whoever fasts Ramadan out of faith and hoping for reward, his previous sins will be forgiven," and the same for whoever prays at night in Ramadan.⁵
• Freedom from the Fire, every night: "Allah has people He frees from the Fire, and that is every night."⁶

So there is no harm in asking for mercy in the first ten days, but do not hold back from asking for forgiveness or freedom from the Fire until later. Ask for all three every day.

The last ten nights: the strongest evidence

Aishah said that when the last ten began, the Prophet ﷺ "would tighten his waist wrap, spend the night in worship and wake his family".⁷ She also said he strove harder in the last ten than at any other time.⁸ He did itikaf in the last ten every year,⁹ and told us to seek Laylat al-Qadr in their odd nights.¹⁰ In 2027 the last ten nights begin at sunset on Saturday 27 February. See itikaf for how to spend them in the masjid.

Duas for each ashra

No authentic hadith gives a special dua for each ashra. The duas that are popular for them are good duas in their own right, from the Quran and Sunnah, and can be said at any time in Ramadan:

A simple plan for each ten

• Days 1 to 10: build habits. Fix your sehri, prayers and a daily amount of Quran, such as one juz a day.
• Days 11 to 20: keep going when energy dips. Add istighfar after each prayer and settle your zakat.
• Days 21 to 30: do the most. Pray at night, especially in the last third, seek Laylat al-Qadr, and pay zakat al-fitr before Eid.

1. Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah, Kitab al-Siyam; al-Bayhaqi, Shuab al-Iman. Both from Salman al-Farsi.
2. Ibn Hajar on Ali ibn Zayd ibn Judan; al-Ayni; al-Albani, Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Daifah. A full study of the chains is at ilmgate.org, Research on the hadith of Ramadan and its three parts.
3. Darul Iftaa Birmingham, The hadith regarding Ramadan and its three parts; al-Nawawi, al-Adhkar, introduction, on acting on weak hadith for virtues.
4. Sahih Muslim 1079.
5. Sahih al-Bukhari 38 and 37; Sahih Muslim 760 and 759.
6. Jami at-Tirmidhi 682; Sunan Ibn Majah 1642. Graded sahih by al-Albani.
7. Sahih al-Bukhari 2024; Sahih Muslim 1174.
8. Sahih Muslim 1175.
9. Sahih al-Bukhari 2026; Sahih Muslim 1172.
10. Sahih al-Bukhari 2017.

The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.