The number of rakahs of witr

Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to perform nine rak'ahs of witr. When his (peace and blessings be upon him) body became heavy and he put on weight, he began to perform seven rak'ahs of witr, and he would pray two rak'ahs sitting, in which he would recite Surah al-Zalzalah and Surah al-Kafirun.
Imam Ahmad and Imam al-Tabarani in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir recorded this narration, and the latter added these words: "And he would recite Surah al-Ikhlas." The narrators of Imam Ahmad are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Perform five rak'ahs of witr; if you are not able to, then perform three; if you are not able to do even that, then perform one; and if you are not able to do even that, then perform it by gestures."
(Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: Imam Abu Dawud recorded this narration in abridged form, and the various chains of Imam al-Tabarani have already passed in the chapter before this one.
Imam Ahmad recorded this narration, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: Once I stayed overnight at the house of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). When the first dawn appeared, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) got up and performed nine rak'ahs of witr, saying the salam after every two rak'ahs.
Imam al-Tabarani recorded this narration in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir; its chain contains a narrator, Abbad bin Mansur, about whom criticism has been made.

Sayyiduna Ibn Abi Awfa (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to perform three rak'ahs of witr. In them he (peace and blessings be upon him) would recite Surah al-A'la in the first rak'ah, Surah al-Kafirun in the second rak'ah, and Surah al-Ikhlas in the third rak'ah. When he said the salam, he would say 'Subhan al-Malik al-Quddus' (Glory be to the King, the Most Holy), and he would say it in a loud voice.
Imam al-Bazzar recorded this narration; its chain contains a narrator, Hashim bin Sa'id, whom Yahya bin Ma'in declared da'if (weak), while Ibn Hibban called him thiqah (trustworthy). Imam al-Bazzar says: Hashim made a mistake in this hadith.

Abdullah bin Babi narrates: I came to Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) at Arafah, and I saw that he had pitched one tent outside the boundaries of the Haram and one tent inside the boundaries of the Haram. I asked him: Why have you done this? He said: So that my prayer is within the boundaries of the Haram, and when I go out to my family, I am outside the boundaries of the Haram. I asked: How do you perform the witr? He said: To me, performing seven rak'ahs of witr is the most preferable, because Allah Almighty created seven heavens, made seven earths, and made seven days; the Tawaf has seven circuits, the Sa'i between Safa and Marwah has seven circuits, and seven pebbles are thrown at the Jamarat. Then he said: Allah Almighty has not created (that is, placed) anything of Paradise on the earth except this ruby (that is, the Black Stone), and Allah Almighty will raise it up before the Day of Resurrection.
Imam al-Tabarani recorded this narration in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir; its chain contains a narrator, Isma'il bin Umar, from whom Ishaq bin Rahawayh narrated; I do not know him. The remaining narrators of this narration are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyidah Aishah Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Like the three rak'ahs of Maghrib, the witr is three rak'ahs."
Imam al-Tabarani recorded this narration in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; its chain contains a narrator, Abu Bahr al-Bakrawi, about whom much has been said.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says: The witr of the night is like the witr of the day, in that the Maghrib prayer has three rak'ahs.
Imam al-Tabarani recorded this narration in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir; its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.

Abu Ubaydah narrates: Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) used to perform three rak'ahs of witr or more.
Imam al-Tabarani recorded this narration; Abu Ubaydah did not hear from his father (Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him)).

Husayn narrates: News reached Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that Sayyiduna Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) performs one rak'ah of witr, so he said: Performing a single rak'ah can never be sufficient.
Imam al-Tabarani recorded this narration in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir; the narrator Husayn did not live in the time of Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), and the chain of this narration is hasan (good).

Ibrahim al-Nakha'i narrates: Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas: Do you perform one rak'ah of witr? Sayyiduna Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: Is the witr not one? Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Yes, but performing three is more virtuous. He said: But I will not perform more than one. At this Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) became angry. Sayyiduna Sa'd said: Are you angry with me because I perform one rak'ah of witr, while you yourself make three grandmothers heirs? Then why do you not make Sayyidah Hawwa (may Allah be pleased with her), the wife of Sayyiduna Adam (peace be upon him), an heir?
Imam al-Tabarani recorded this narration.
This narration is mursal and sahih (authentic), since Ibrahim al-Nakha'i did not hear from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him).

Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed one rak'ah of witr.
Imam al-Bazzar and Imam al-Tabarani in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat recorded this narration; its chain contains a narrator, Jabir al-Ju'fi, whom Sufyan al-Thawri and others declared thiqah (trustworthy), while the Imams declared him da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to perform one rak'ah of witr.
Imam al-Bazzar recorded this narration; its chain contains a narrator, Shurahbil bin Sa'd, whom Ibn Hibban declared thiqah (trustworthy), while a group declared him da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to perform voluntary prayers at night two rak'ahs at a time. When dawn was about to break, he (peace and blessings be upon him) would perform one rak'ah of witr, and he would say: "Indeed, Allah Almighty is One, and He loves the one."
Imam al-Tabarani recorded this narration in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; its chain contains a narrator, Abdullah bin al-Walid al-Wassafi, who is da'if (weak).