Witr

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he came out to us at the time when the caller called out (for the Fajr prayer), and he (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Indeed your Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered (the praying of) the witr and fixed this very time for it. O Ibn al-Nabbah! Now call the adhan."
Takhrij: Musnad Abi Dawud al-Tayalisi: 629.

Ibrahim bin Ubayd bin Rifa'ah relates: I visited Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) in Makkah and saw that he was praying while sitting. Then he mentioned the whole hadith and said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Whoever performs the Isha prayer in congregation, then after it prays as much as Allah enables him, and also performs the witr before sleeping, that night will be for him as if he had found Laylat al-Qadr."
In the chain of this report there is a narrator named Khalid bin Ilyas, who according to the hadith scholars is severely weak and matruk al-hadith (abandoned in hadith), on the basis of which this narration is extremely weak.

It is narrated from Mu'awiyah bin Qurrah (may Allah have mercy on him) that a man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and submitted: "O Messenger of Allah! Morning has come and I was not able to pray the witr." At this he (peace and blessings be upon him) said three times: "The witr is only an act (to be performed) at night." Then on the third time (after saying the same), he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Go, and pray the witr now."
[Musnad Ishaq bin Rahwayh: 631, Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah: 6940]

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "Indeed, the wise and far-sighted are those who pray the witr in the early part of the night, and those who pray the witr in the last part of the night are the strong and vigorous."
[A sahih athar (report). Imam Musaddad bin Musarhad narrated it in his Musnad; it is munqati' (broken) because Ibrahim al-Nakha'i did not hear from Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him); however, its meaning is fully in accordance with other reliable and sahih narrations.]

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I have been ordered with the witr prayer and the sacrifice of Eid al-Adha, but it has not been made definitively binding (upon the Ummah)."
Its chain is da'if (weak).

It is narrated from Umm Abdullah that she saw the Mother of the Believers, Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), praying behind the Maqam of Ibrahim; then she prayed one rak'ah of witr in which she recited Surah Ibrahim. And with the same chain it is narrated that she heard Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) say: "When you hear the call (of Fajr), then pray one rak'ah to make the witr."
Imam Musaddad recorded this report in his Musnad. This narration provides scholarly evidence for the permissibility of a single rak'ah of witr and for the end of its time, namely that the time of witr lasts until the adhan or call of Fajr. In its chain are Umm Shabib and her sister Umm Abdullah, who are among the mastur (narrators whose status is unknown).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Imran bin Husayn (may Allah be pleased with them both) that "the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray three rak'ahs of witr; in the first rak'ah he (peace and blessings be upon him) would recite 'Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High' [Surah al-A'la: 1], in the second rak'ah 'Say: O disbelievers' [Surah al-Kafirun: 1], and in the third rak'ah 'Say: He is Allah, the One' [Surah al-Ikhlas: 1]."
Imam al-Nasa'i also narrated it through another route, in which only "Sabbih" (Surah al-A'la) is mentioned.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite in the first rak'ah of the witr 'Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High' [Surah al-A'la: 1], in the second rak'ah 'Say: O disbelievers' [Surah al-Kafirun: 1], and in the third rak'ah 'Say: He is Allah, the One' [Surah al-Ikhlas: 1]."
Imam Abu Ya'la narrated it in his Musnad. The hadith scholars have criticised the narrator Abd al-Malik bin al-Walid bin Ma'dan in its chain; however, the recitation of these surahs in the witr is also established by other sahih supporting reports and narrations.

It is narrated from Imam al-Hakam (may Allah have mercy on him) that he said to Miqsam (may Allah have mercy on him): "I pray three rak'ahs of witr, then the adhan is called and I go out (for the prayer)." He said: "This (practice) is not correct except with five or seven rak'ahs (of witr)." Imam al-Hakam (may Allah have mercy on him) relates: I informed Imam Mujahid and Yahya bin al-Jazzar (may Allah have mercy on them both) of this, and the two of them said to me: "Ask him on whose authority this is." So he replied: "This narration is reported from the most trustworthy and reliable persons, Sayyidah Aishah and Sayyidah Maymunah (may Allah be pleased with them both)."
And Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Ghundar narrated this same narration to us through Shu'bah; however, it does not mention his going back to Imam Mujahid and Yahya.

It is narrated from Imam al-Hakam bin Utaybah (may Allah have mercy on him) that he said: I submitted to Miqsam (may Allah have mercy on him): "I pray three rak'ahs of witr and then go out for the (Fajr) prayer." He said: "The witr is (sunnah) only as seven or five rak'ahs." Al-Hakam said: Then I met Imam Mujahid and Yahya bin al-Jazzar (may Allah have mercy on them both) and mentioned this before them, and the two of them said: "Ask him from whom he heard this." Miqsam replied: "One trustworthy narrator from another trustworthy narrator, from the Mothers of the Believers Sayyidah Aishah and Sayyidah Maymunah (may Allah be pleased with them both), and they from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), reported this narration."
Likewise, Muhammad bin Ja'far narrated a similar hadith through Shu'bah with this same chain.

It is narrated from Abu Tamimah that when Sayyiduna Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) had led us in the morning prayer, he used to teach us the Noble Qur'an. Meanwhile Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) came, and a man sitting beside me asked him about the rak'ahs of witr, upon which he said: "Three rak'ahs of witr are dearer to me than one, five rak'ahs are more beloved to me than three, and seven rak'ahs are more preferable to me than five."
The chain of this report is sahih (authentic), and Imam Ibn Abi Shaybah narrated it in his 'al-Musannaf'.

It is narrated from Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him) that "the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed the witr prayer while riding his donkey, and at that time he (peace and blessings be upon him) was heading in the direction of Khaybar."
In the chain of this narration, the imams of hadith have declared Ibrahim bin al-Fadl da'if (weak) and matruk (abandoned). Moreover, this is a mursal narration, because Ibrahim al-Nakha'i is a Successor and his hearing from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is not established.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "I spent the night with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) so that I could see how he (peace and blessings be upon him) performs the qunut supplication in his witr prayer, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) recited the qunut supplication before the ruku' (bowing). Then I sent my mother, Umm Abd (may Allah be pleased with her), and told her to spend the night with the pure wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and see how he (peace and blessings be upon him) recites the qunut supplication in the witr. She came back and informed me that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited the qunut supplication before the ruku'."
The narrator named Aban bin Abi Ayyash is matruk (severely weak and unreliable).