❖ The Authenticity of the Ḥadīth: “Witr is a Truth and an Obligation”
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulām Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
What is the authenticity status of the ḥadīth:
"Witr is a truth and an obligation" (الوتر حق وواجب)?
Some people present evidences in support of Witr being wājib (obligatory). Let us examine these narrations in light of scholarly analysis:
الوتر حق، فمن لم يوتر فليس منا، الوتر حق، فمن لم يوتر فليس منا، الوتر حق، فمن لم يوتر فليس منا.
“Witr is a right. Whoever does not offer Witr is not of us.” (repeated thrice)
Musnad Aḥmad: 5/357; Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 1419; al-Mustadrak: 1/305
✔ In Tārīkh Baghdād (5/175), the words "الوتر واجب" appear.
Status:
Weak (Ḍaʿīf)
Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal said:
“The ḥadīths of Ḥusayn ibn Wāqid and Abū Munīb from Ibn Buraydah are extremely munkar.”
al-ʿIlal wa Maʿrifah al-Rijāl: 497
→ This narration falls under those munkar reports.
Imām al-Bukhārī said:
"He narrates many munkar reports."
al-Tārīkh al-Kabīr: 5/388
Imām Ibn ʿAdī included this narration among munkar narrations.
al-Kāmil fī Ḍuʿafāʾ al-Rijāl: 5/537
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn al-Jawzī concluded:
“This ḥadīth is not authentic.”
al-ʿIlal al-Mutanāhiyah: 765
Furthermore, the wording does not prove obligation.
Imām al-Baghawī explained:
“Most scholars interpret this narration as an encouragement to offer Witr. The phrase ‘not from us’ refers to the one who abandons Witr out of negligence—not that Witr is obligatory.”
Sharḥ al-Sunnah: 4/103
الوتر حق واجب، فمن شاء أوتر بثلاث، فليوتر، ومن شاء أن يوتر بواحدة، فليوتر بواحدة.
“Witr is a truth and obligatory. Whoever wishes may offer three, and whoever wishes may offer one.”
Sunan al-Dāraqutnī: 2/22
Status: Weak
الوتر واجب على كل مسلم.
“Witr is obligatory on every Muslim.”
Musnad al-Bazzār: 1637; Naṣb al-Rāyah: 2/113
Status: Severely Weak (Shadīd al-Ḍaʿf)
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar said:
“The majority declared him weak.”
Ṭabaqāt al-Mudalliseen: 53
“He is weak and a Rāfiḍī.”
Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb: 878
“Allah has added a prayer for you, which is better than red camels. It is Witr. Its time is between ʿIshāʾ and Fajr.”
Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 1418; Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 455; Ibn Mājah: 1168
Status: Weak due to Inqitāʿ (disconnection)
Imām al-Bukhārī:
“No evidence of one narrator hearing from another in this chain.”
al-Tārīkh al-Kabīr: 3/203
Imām Ibn Ḥibbān:
“The chain is disconnected, and the matn is false.”
al-Thiqāt: 5/45
Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī:
“Not authentic.”
Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl: 2/501
Sayyidunā Muʿādh ibn Jabal رضي الله عنه visited Syria and learned that people were not offering Witr. He asked Muʿāwiyah رضي الله عنه, who said: “Is Witr obligatory?” Muʿādh said: “Yes! I heard the Prophet ﷺ say that Allah added a prayer—Witr—between ʿIshāʾ and Fajr.”
Zawāʾid Musnad Aḥmad: 5/242
Status: Severely Weak
Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī:
“He did not meet Muʿādh.”
Tanqīḥ al-Taḥqīq: 1/213
ما أحب أني تركت الوتر، ولو أن لي حمر النعم.
“I would not like to abandon Witr, even if I were given red camels.”
Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah: 2/296
Status: Weak
All Marfūʿ (Prophetic) and Mawqūf (Companion) narrations that suggest Witr is wājib are either weak, disconnected, or not authentic.
The scholars of ḥadīth have criticized each of them, and thus no valid evidence remains for claiming Witr is obligatory.
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulām Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
✿ Question:
What is the authenticity status of the ḥadīth:
"Witr is a truth and an obligation" (الوتر حق وواجب)?
✿ Answer:
Some people present evidences in support of Witr being wājib (obligatory). Let us examine these narrations in light of scholarly analysis:
① Ḥadīth of Sayyidunā Buraydah رضي الله عنه:
الوتر حق، فمن لم يوتر فليس منا، الوتر حق، فمن لم يوتر فليس منا، الوتر حق، فمن لم يوتر فليس منا.
“Witr is a right. Whoever does not offer Witr is not of us.” (repeated thrice)
Musnad Aḥmad: 5/357; Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 1419; al-Mustadrak: 1/305✔ In Tārīkh Baghdād (5/175), the words "الوتر واجب" appear.
Status:
Weak (Ḍaʿīf)- The narrator ʿUbaydullāh ibn ʿAbdullāh Abū Munīb al-ʿAtakī is ḥasan al-ḥadīth, but his narrations from ʿAbdullāh ibn Buraydah are munkar.
Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal said:
“The ḥadīths of Ḥusayn ibn Wāqid and Abū Munīb from Ibn Buraydah are extremely munkar.”
al-ʿIlal wa Maʿrifah al-Rijāl: 497→ This narration falls under those munkar reports.
Imām al-Bukhārī said:
"He narrates many munkar reports."
al-Tārīkh al-Kabīr: 5/388Imām Ibn ʿAdī included this narration among munkar narrations.
al-Kāmil fī Ḍuʿafāʾ al-Rijāl: 5/537Ḥāfiẓ Ibn al-Jawzī concluded:
“This ḥadīth is not authentic.”
al-ʿIlal al-Mutanāhiyah: 765Furthermore, the wording does not prove obligation.
Imām al-Baghawī explained:
“Most scholars interpret this narration as an encouragement to offer Witr. The phrase ‘not from us’ refers to the one who abandons Witr out of negligence—not that Witr is obligatory.”
Sharḥ al-Sunnah: 4/103② Ḥadīth of Sayyidunā Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī رضي الله عنه:
الوتر حق واجب، فمن شاء أوتر بثلاث، فليوتر، ومن شاء أن يوتر بواحدة، فليوتر بواحدة.
“Witr is a truth and obligatory. Whoever wishes may offer three, and whoever wishes may offer one.”
Sunan al-Dāraqutnī: 2/22Status:
Weak- Both narrators—Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah and al-Zuhrī—are mudallis, and there is no explicit declaration of hearing (simaʿ) in this chain.
- Even those who argue Witr is wājib do not accept offering just one rakʿah, which contradicts their stance.
- The word “wājib” here means “confirmed or established”, not legally obligatory.
③ Ḥadīth of Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه:
الوتر واجب على كل مسلم.
“Witr is obligatory on every Muslim.”
Musnad al-Bazzār: 1637; Naṣb al-Rāyah: 2/113Status:
Severely Weak (Shadīd al-Ḍaʿf)- Narrated by Jābir ibn Yazīd al-Juʿfī, who is considered weak by consensus.
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar said:
“The majority declared him weak.”
Ṭabaqāt al-Mudalliseen: 53“He is weak and a Rāfiḍī.”
Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb: 878- Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī is mudallis, with no declaration of hearing.
④ Ḥadīth of Sayyidunā Khārijah ibn Ḥudhāfah رضي الله عنه:
“Allah has added a prayer for you, which is better than red camels. It is Witr. Its time is between ʿIshāʾ and Fajr.”
Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 1418; Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 455; Ibn Mājah: 1168Status:
Weak due to Inqitāʿ (disconnection)- ʿAbdullāh ibn Abī Murrah al-Zufī never met Khārijah ibn Ḥudhāfah.
Imām al-Bukhārī:
“No evidence of one narrator hearing from another in this chain.”
al-Tārīkh al-Kabīr: 3/203Imām Ibn Ḥibbān:
“The chain is disconnected, and the matn is false.”
al-Thiqāt: 5/45Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī:
“Not authentic.”
Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl: 2/501⑤ Narration of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Rāfiʿ al-Tanūkhī:
Sayyidunā Muʿādh ibn Jabal رضي الله عنه visited Syria and learned that people were not offering Witr. He asked Muʿāwiyah رضي الله عنه, who said: “Is Witr obligatory?” Muʿādh said: “Yes! I heard the Prophet ﷺ say that Allah added a prayer—Witr—between ʿIshāʾ and Fajr.”
Zawāʾid Musnad Aḥmad: 5/242Status:
Severely Weak- ʿUbaydullāh ibn Zahr is weak by consensus.
- ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Rāfiʿ is also weak.
- He did not live in the time of Muʿādh ibn Jabal رضي الله عنه.
Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī:
“He did not meet Muʿādh.”
Tanqīḥ al-Taḥqīq: 1/213⑥ Statement of Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما:
ما أحب أني تركت الوتر، ولو أن لي حمر النعم.
“I would not like to abandon Witr, even if I were given red camels.”
Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah: 2/296Status:
Weak- The narration contains ʿanʿanah from Sufyān al-Thawrī.
- The reporter is unknown (mubham).
- The narration does not prove obligation.
Final Conclusion:
All Marfūʿ (Prophetic) and Mawqūf (Companion) narrations that suggest Witr is wājib are either weak, disconnected, or not authentic.
The scholars of ḥadīth have criticized each of them, and thus no valid evidence remains for claiming Witr is obligatory.
