The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Seek it in the last ten nights of Ramadan. Seek it on the ninth, the seventh, and the fifth."I said, "Abu Saeed, you know the counting better than we do."He said, "Indeed, we have more right to that knowledge than you."I said, "What is meant by the ninth, the seventh, and the fifth?"He replied, "When twenty-one nights have passed, the night that follows is the ninth. When twenty-three have passed, the night that follows is the seventh. When twenty-five have passed, the night that follows is the fifth."
قال رسول الله ﷺ: التمسوها في العشر الأواخر من رمضان، والتمسوها في التاسعة، والسابعة، والخامسة، قال قلت يا أبا سعيد، إنكم أعلم بالعدد منا. قال: أجل، نحن أحق بذلك منكم قال: قلت: ما التاسعة والسابعة والخامسة؟ قال: إذا مضت واحدة وعشرون فالتي تليها التاسعة. فإذا مضت ثلاث وعشرون فالتي تليها السابعة، فإذا مضى خمس وعشرون فالتي تليها الخامسة.
Muslim (1167:217) narrated it from Muhammad bin Muthanna, who said, Abdul-Ala told us (1167), Saeed told us, from Abu Nadra, from Abu Saeed, and he related it.Abu Dawud (1383) also narrated it through this same route, and the wording given here is his. As for the wording of Muslim, its beginning mentions itikaf. See it in its place.