The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
➊ “Allah is Witr (One) and He loves Witr.”
➋ The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Witr is one rak’ah at the end of the night.”
➌ The Prophet ﷺ said:
“The night prayer is two, two rak’ahs. When there is fear of the dawn (sadiq) arriving, pray one rak’ah. That one (rak’ah) will make the whole prayer before it odd.”
➍ Umm al-Mu’minin Sayyida ‘Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would pray one rak’ah as Witr, and he would also speak (after giving salam) between the last two rak’ahs and the one rak’ah.”
➎ Umm al-Mu’minin Sayyida ‘Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said:
“The Prophet ﷺ would pray eleven rak’ahs from the Isha prayer until Fajr, giving salam after every two rak’ahs, and would pray one rak’ah as Witr.”
➏ The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Witr is a right upon every Muslim. So whoever wishes may pray five Witr, whoever wishes may pray three Witr, and whoever wishes may pray one Witr.”
↰ The method of praying three rak’ahs of Witr is to pray two rak’ahs and then give salam. Then pray one rak’ah of Witr, as has come in the blessed ahadith.
➐ Abdullah ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, was asked about Witr, and he said:
“I heard from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that Witr is one rak’ah at the end of the night.” It was also asked of Abdullah ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, and he said the same.
➑ Abdullah ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, used to pray one rak’ah of Witr.
➒ Amir Mu’awiyah, may Allah be pleased with him, used to pray one rak’ah of Witr.
➓ Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas, may Allah be pleased with him, used to pray one rak’ah of Witr.
⓫ Amir al-Mu’minin Sayyidina Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, used to pray one rak’ah of Witr.
⓬ The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Whoever cannot get up in the last part of the night should pray Witr at the beginning of the night, and whoever can get up in the last part of the night should pray Witr at the end of the night, for the prayer at the end of the night is superior.”
⓭ The Noble Messenger ﷺ prayed at the beginning of the night, in the middle of the night, and in the last part of the night (i.e., in every part of the night).
⓮ The Prophet ﷺ said:
It is not permissible to pray Witr twice in one night.
⓯ The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Make your last prayer of the night Witr.”
↰ This hadith refutes those who wake up at night to pray Tahajjud after Witr.
⓰ The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Do not pray three Witr (together); pray five or seven Witr. And do not imitate the Maghrib prayer.”
Note:
On the contrary, some scholars have issued the ruling that praying one rak’ah of Witr is not permissible.
The Grand Mufti of the Deobandis, Aziz al-Rahman (Deobandi), issued a fatwa: “The prayer behind an imam who prays one rak’ah of Witr should, as far as possible, not be performed, because he appears to be a Ghair Muqallid, and it is not good to make such a person an imam?”
In the Two Holy Harams too, the imam leads one rak’ah of Witr. Now what will become of the prayers of these Hajj pilgrims? And which personalities fall under the scope of this fatwa?
◈ Whereas Mr. Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri (Deobandi), while refuting the “bid’ati maulvi” of Anwar Satiah, writes:
“The single rak’ah of Witr is present in the authentic (sahih) ahadith. Abdullah ibn Umar and Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, and others act upon it. And that is the position of Imam Malik, Imam Shafi’i, and Imam Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on them. Then the author’s criticism of it is a criticism of all of them. Tell me, what is the state of faith now?”
We cite the books of the opposing side so that the proof is established against them, and in any case, for every party the book of its own side or the book of its elders is a proof against it,
unless it disassociates itself from that.
As for those who pray three Witr together, let them reform and ask their scholars for the evidence: which authentic hadith mentions praying three Witr together? All the narrations that mention three rak’ahs with one salam are weak (da’if) in terms of their chain. In some of them Qatadah (may Allah have mercy on him) is a mudallis, and the ‘an’ narration of a mudallis is not authentic until he explicitly states hearing (sama’), or another trustworthy narrator follows him (however, some Companions are established to have prayed three Witr together). It should be remembered that tadlis does not harm in the Sahihayn; it is interpreted as hearing through other chains.
However, if anyone wishes to act upon these weak narrations (and reports), they will not sit for tashahhud in the second rakat; rather, they will sit for tashahhud only in the final rakat. As is in the narration of Qatadah in al-Sunan al-Kubra of al-Bayhaqi and elsewhere.
And the narration in
— لا فصل فيهن (there is no separation between them) — is weak due to two defects: the weakness of Yazid ibn Ya’mar and the ‘an’anah of Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him).
↰ The marfu’ narration about two tashahhuds and three witr is, in terms of its chain, mawdu’ (fabricated) and batil (false). See
Its main narrators are Hafs ibn Sulayman al-Qari and Aban ibn Abi Ayyash. Both are matruk (abandoned) and muttaham (accused). The lower part of the chain is missing, and there is also the ‘an’anah of a mudallis. Despite such severe weakness, the author of “Hadith aur Ahl-e-Hadith” has argued from this fabricated (false) narration. See
Dear brothers! Allah the Exalted has issued a severe warning concerning those people who oppose the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Allah says in the Holy Quran: “Those who oppose his command should beware lest a trial (of shirk and disbelief) or a painful punishment befall them.”
It is the attribute of a believer that when the command of Allah or the Messenger of Allah ﷺ comes, he submits wholeheartedly. If his practice was previously contrary to the Sunnah, then once he receives the proof, he should align his practice with the hadith of the Messenger. What kind of obstinacy is this, that one keeps trying to mold the hadith of the Messenger to fit one’s previously settled principles and practice!
↰ They do not change themselves, but they change the hadith. May Allah keep us safe from such thinking, Ameen.
⓱ The Prophet ﷺ said:
“All my ummah will enter Paradise except the one who refuses.” It was asked: Who would refuse? He said: “Whoever obeys me enters Paradise, and whoever disobeys me has refused me.”
He also said:
⓲ “Whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not of us.”
⓳ “When I order you to do something, do it.”
⓴ The noble Messenger ﷺ commanded: “Pray in the way you see me praying.”
21: The Messenger ﷺ said:
“Whoever prays like us, faces our qibla and eats our slaughtered animals, he is a Muslim.”
In another narration:
22: “Allah commanded me to fight the people until they testify to the Oneness of Allah and pray as we pray.”
23: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Hold firmly to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of my rightly-guided caliphs.”
24: The Prophet ﷺ said:
“In the last times there will be Dajjals and liars who will narrate to you hadiths the like of which you and your forefathers have not heard. So beware of them, lest they lead you astray and put you into trial.”
Dear brothers and elders! Reform your prayers and embrace the “Prayer of Muhammad” established by Imam al-Anbiya, the Noble Messenger ﷺ. Success in both worlds lies in this.
25: “Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger will attain a great success.”
But remember:
26: “On the Day of Resurrection a person will be with the one he loves.”
وما علينا إلا البلاغ
