Authenticity of the Ḥadīth
Taken from: Aḥkām wa Masāʾil – Kitāb al-Ṣalāh, Vol. 1, p. 225Ḥadīth Text
«حدثنا ابراهيم بن موسی نا عيسی عن زکريا عن اسحاق عن عاصم عن علی قال قال رسول اﷲ ﷺ يَا اَهْلَ الْقُرْآنِ اَوْتِرُوْا فَاِنَّ اﷲَ وِتْرٌ يُحِبُّ الْوِتْرَ»
“O people of the Qur’an! Perform Witr, for indeed Allah is One (Witr) and He loves the Witr.”
[Abū Dāwūd, Kitāb al-Witr, Ḥadīth: 1416 / 452]
Authenticity of the Ḥadīth
- Ḥāfiẓ al-Mundhirī (رحمه الله) mentioned this hadith in Talkhīṣ al-Sunan (Vol. 2, p. 121).
- He noted that:
وَاَخْرَجَهُ التِّرْمِذِیْ وَالنَّسَائِی وَابْنُ مَاجةَ وَقَالَ التِّرْمِذِیْ : حَدِيْثٌ حَسَنٌ
“This hadith was also narrated by al-Tirmidhī, al-Nasāʾī, and Ibn Mājah, and Imām al-Tirmidhī graded it as ḥasan.”
Statement of ʿAlī (رضي الله عنه)
In other narrations, it is reported that ʿAlī (رضي الله عنه) said:
الْوِتْرُ لَيْسَ بَحَتْمٍ کَصَلَا تِکُمُ الْمَکْتُوْبَةِ وَلٰکِنَّه سُنَّةٌ سَنَّهَا رَسُوْلُ اﷲ ﷺ
“Witr is not an obligatory prayer like your prescribed prayers; rather, it is a Sunnah which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ prescribed.”
Criticism of the Narrator ʿĀṣim ibn Ḍamrah
Ḥāfiẓ al-Mundhirī (رحمه الله) also noted:
وَقَدْ تَقَدَّمَ اَنَّ عَاصِمَ بْنَ ضَمْرَةَ تَکَلَّمَ فِيْهِ غَيْرُ وَاحِدٍ
“Several scholars of hadith have spoken critically regarding ʿĀṣim ibn Ḍamrah.”
Thus, some weakness exists due to this narrator, but overall the hadith is accepted since Imām al-Tirmidhī declared it ḥasan.
Ruling of Witr
Based on the statement of ʿAlī (رضي الله عنه):
- Witr is not obligatory (farḍ or wājib).
- Rather, it is a Sunnah muʾakkadah (highly emphasized Sunnah) which the Prophet ﷺ established for his Ummah.
Conclusion:- The hadith “Awṭirū fa-inna Allāha Witrun” is ḥasan and thus acceptable.
- The prayer of Witr is not wājib, but a Sunnah muʾakkadah, emphasized by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
