Ibn Hibban

Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) performed i'tikaf in the middle ten days of Ramadan, searching for Laylat al-Qadr. Then, by his order, his tent was taken down. Then it became clear to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that Laylat al-Qadr would be in the last ten nights, so by his order, the tent was set up again. He came to us and said: This tent was set up for me regarding Laylat al-Qadr. I came out to inform you about it, but two men were arguing with each other, so it was made to be forgotten by me. So, seek it on the ninth, seventh, and fifth nights. The narrator says: I said: O (Sayyiduna) Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him)! You know better than us about the counting. What is meant by the ninth, seventh, and fifth nights? He said: When it is the twenty-first night, then leave one night, then the next night will be the seventh, then leave one night, then the next will be the fifth. The narrator named Jariri says: With another chain, this is also narrated: Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said these words: "On the third night." (Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:): The command to seek Laylat al-Qadr in the specified nights mentioned in this narration is a supererogatory command. And this command is given due to a reason, and that (reason) is to attain Laylat al-Qadr. So, whenever Laylat al-Qadr occurs in any of these mentioned nights, the command to seek it in the remaining nights is dropped from the person.