The last ten nights in Makkah are the most crowded and most intense nights of the Islamic year, and your days turn upside down to fit them.
In 2027 they are expected to run from the evening of Saturday, February 27 to Eid on Tuesday, March 9. Nights are spent in Taraweeh, a late-night prayer that has started around 12:30 am in recent years, suhoor and Fajr. Sleep moves to the daytime. Millions share the mosque with you, and planning decides whether that feels like worship or like a struggle.
27th night · eve of Fri Mar 5*
Fast · about 13 hours
This is a guide for the traveller who has decided, or is close to deciding, to spend the last ten nights of Ramadan in Makkah: what a night actually looks like, how the crowds and Saudi rules shape it, and the small decisions that make the difference. If you are still choosing between the first, middle and last ten days, start with our Ramadan Umrah 2027 planning guide.
Why the Last Ten Nights Matter
The last ten nights matter because one of them is Laylat al-Qadr, which the Qur’an calls “better than a thousand months” (Qur’an 97:3). Its exact date is not known. The Prophet ﷺ told Muslims to “search for the Night of Qadr in the odd nights of the last ten days of Ramadan” (Sahih al-Bukhari 2017).
He also changed his own routine in these nights. Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, described how he would pray through the night and wake his family (Sahih al-Bukhari 2024; Sahih Muslim 1174), and he spent the last ten days in i’tikaf until he passed away (Sahih al-Bukhari 2026). When she asked what to say if she found Laylat al-Qadr, he taught her: Allahumma innaka ‘afuwwun tuhibbul-‘afwa fa’fu ‘anni, “O Allah, You are Pardoning and love to pardon, so pardon me” (Jami’ at-Tirmidhi 3513, graded sahih).
Being in Makkah for these nights is not a religious requirement. The same nights can be spent in worship anywhere. What Makkah adds is the setting, and with it a set of practical realities that the rest of this guide deals with.
| Odd night | Begins the evening of | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 21st | Sat Feb 27* | First night of the last ten |
| 23rd | Mon Mar 1* | — |
| 25th | Wed Mar 3* | — |
| 27th | Fri Mar 5* | The most widely observed night and among the most crowded |
| 29th | Sun Mar 7* | Recent years: completion of the Qur’an recitation in Taraweeh |
A Night in the Last Ten, Hour by Hour
A night in the last ten runs from Maghrib to Fajr, and most pilgrims sleep in two short blocks: one after Taraweeh and one after Fajr. The times below are estimates for early March 2027 in Makkah, calculated on the Umm al-Qura method. The late-night prayer began at 12:30 am in the Grand Mosque in Ramadan 1446 (2025), as announced by its imam; the 1448 schedule is set each year.
- About 6:25 pm · Maghrib and iftar. Dates and Zamzam are shared on the mosque floor. Most groups eat a proper iftar meal at the hotel afterwards.
- About 8:25 pm · Isha and Taraweeh. In Ramadan, Isha in Makkah is called two hours after Maghrib. On the odd nights, you need to be inside well before Isha to get a place in the building.
- About 10:30 pm to midnight · Rest. Back to the hotel for a short sleep, or stay in the mosque if you have a spot and can manage it.
- About 12:30 am · Qiyam (Tahajjud). The long late-night prayer. The mosque fills again, often more than at Taraweeh.
- About 3:30 to 4:30 am · Suhoor. A light meal, water, and Zamzam before the fast begins.
- About 5:20 am · Fajr. The fast starts. Most people sleep from after sunrise until Dhuhr.
The fast itself is gentler than in a summer Ramadan. In early March 2027 it runs about 13 hours from Fajr to Maghrib, and typical Makkah highs are in the low 90s °F. Heat is rarely the problem in the last ten of 2027. Sleep is.
The Crowds, in Official Numbers
The last ten nights bring the highest attendance of the year, and the official counts are large. On the 29th night of Ramadan 1446 (2025), the Grand Mosque received 4,117,669 people, according to the General Authority for the Care of the Two Holy Mosques. For the whole of that Ramadan, the authority counted 16,558,241 Umrah performers.
The authorities manage this with a few measures you will notice:
- The ground floor of the mataf is kept for Umrah performers. This was the arrangement in Ramadan 1447 (2026). If you are not performing Umrah, you pray on the upper floors, the roof or the courtyards.
- Screens redirect people to other prayer areas once a section is full. On the busiest nights, worshippers fill the roads leading to the mosque.
- Designated entrances serve the elderly and people with disabilities, and wheelchairs and golf carts can be booked through the Tanaqol app.
When to Perform Your Umrah
Perform your Umrah on a quieter night or at a daytime hour, not on the 27th night. You will usually get only one chance: in recent Ramadans Saudi Arabia has limited Umrah to once per person, and in 2024 the Nusuk app would not issue a second Umrah permit during the month. The permit is booked in Nusuk for a specific time slot, so choose the slot with your energy and the crowd in mind.
What Catches First-Timers Out
Hotel distance matters twice a night
In the last ten you walk to the mosque and back two or three times a night, through the densest crowds of the year. A hotel that is fine the rest of the year can mean 20 minutes or more each way on the odd nights. Our guide to Makkah hotels and walking distance converts meters into realistic minutes.
No bags, and nothing left to save a place
Luggage is not allowed inside the Grand Mosque. Free storage near the mosque has been limited to bags of up to 7 kg for four hours. Saudi guidance also asks worshippers not to reserve places with belongings or to sit in walkways. Carry a small bag with water, a light prayer mat, and anything you need for the night.
Agree meeting points before you go in
It is easy for a family to be separated at the gates, because men’s and women’s areas differ and sections close as they fill. Fix a meeting point outside, with a time, before each prayer. Saudi guidance advises keeping young children out of the densest areas, and the Grand Mosque ran 24-hour childcare in Ramadan 2026.
Water and energy
Zamzam is everywhere. The 2026 Ramadan plan listed more than 47,000 dispensers. The risk is broken sleep, not thirst. Keep the daytime free for rest, and eat a real meal at iftar or suhoor.
I’tikaf: What Visitors Can and Cannot Do
Visitors from the U.S. and Canada should not plan on an official i’tikaf place in the Grand Mosque. Registration opens early in Ramadan through an e-service of the General Authority, requires a Saudi identity login, and in 2025 and 2026 was announced for citizens and residents, with places allocated by capacity.
That does not stop you from the practice the Prophet ﷺ loved in these nights. You can spend as much of each night as you can in the mosque in prayer, Qur’an and dua, and return to your hotel to rest. What you should not do is sleep in restricted areas: security plans in recent Ramadans have specifically targeted unauthorized sleeping.
Eid Morning and Zakat al-Fitr
Zakat al-fitr must be given before the Eid prayer. It is one sa’ of staple food per person, about 3 kg, usually rice in Saudi Arabia, and the Saudi practice is to give it from the evening of the 28th of Ramadan until the Eid prayer. Some pilgrims arrange it through a trusted organization at home so that it is distributed before Eid; the schools differ on how early it may be paid, so ask your imam. If you want to give it in Makkah, ask your group leader how it is being arranged.
In Saudi Arabia the Eid prayer is held about 15 minutes after sunrise, which is expected to be around 6:50 am on March 9, 2027. The mosque and its courtyards fill before Fajr on Eid morning, so most people stay after Fajr.
Is the Last Ten Right for You?
The last ten nights suit healthy adults who can walk long distances, sleep in blocks and handle dense crowds with patience. They are harder for older parents, people with limited mobility and families with young children. For those travellers, the first twenty days of Ramadan give the same fasting, the same Taraweeh and the same reward of Umrah in Ramadan, with far lighter crowds.
- Everyone can walk 30 minutes at a stretch
- Your hotel is genuinely close to the Haram
- You can rest through the day
- You travel with a group that plans the nights
- Anyone needs a wheelchair or tires quickly
- You are bringing young children
- Budget matters more than the specific nights
- It is your first Umrah and you want to learn the rites calmly
Spend the last ten nights with a group that has planned them
Hisar Tour’s Umrah groups travel with an experienced imam. See upcoming departures and hotels, or ask us how the nights fall on a Ramadan itinerary.
See Umrah Packages
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Frequently Asked Questions
When are the last 10 nights of Ramadan 2027?
They are expected to begin on the evening of Saturday, February 27, 2027 and end with Eid al-Fitr on Tuesday, March 9 (or Wednesday, March 10 if Ramadan runs 30 days). The dates depend on the Saudi moon sighting.
Which night is Laylat al-Qadr?
Its exact date is unknown. The Prophet ﷺ told Muslims to seek it in the odd nights of the last ten. The 27th night, the most widely observed, is expected to begin on the evening of Friday, March 5, 2027.
Can I do i’tikaf in Masjid al-Haram as a visitor?
Official i’tikaf places are allocated through a Saudi e-service and were announced for citizens and residents in 2025 and 2026. Visitors can still spend long hours of each night in worship, but should not plan on a registered i’tikaf place.
Can I do Umrah more than once in the last ten nights?
Plan on one. In recent Ramadans Saudi Arabia has limited Umrah permits to one per person during the month. Check the 1448 rule in the Nusuk app before you travel.
Where do women pray in the last ten nights?
Women pray in the women’s sections of the mosque and courtyards, which fill early on the odd nights. Agree a meeting point with your family before each prayer. In Madinah, women’s Rawdah visits in the last ten days of 2026 were limited to 6 to 11 am and must be booked in Nusuk.
*2027 dates and prayer times are estimates calculated on the Umm al-Qura method; the Saudi moon sighting confirms Ramadan and Eid, and the Grand Mosque announces its Qiyam time each year. Attendance figures are those published by the Saudi Press Agency. Rules on Umrah permits, i’tikaf and luggage are set each season. Last reviewed: September 2026.
Sources: Qur’an 97 · Sahih al-Bukhari 2017, 2024, 2026 · Sahih Muslim 1174 · Jami’ at-Tirmidhi 3513 · SPA — Tahajjud time 1446 · SPA — 29th night 1446 · SPA — Ramadan 1446 totals · SPA — mataf for Umrah performers · SPA — 27th night services 1447 · SPA — Ramadan 1447 operating plan · SPA — i’tikaf registration 1447 · SPA — luggage storage · SPA — Eid prayer timing · Saudipedia — zakat al-fitr · Arab News — Ramadan security plan