Correct Method of Offering 3-Rakʿah Witr Without Sitting

❖ Question:​

If one is offering three rakʿāt of Witr, should one sit for tashahhud after the second rakʿah?


Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri

✿ Answer:​

The correct method of offering three rakʿāt of Witr with one salām is not to sit for tashahhud after the second rakʿah, as doing so would cause resemblance to Maghrib Salah, which is impermissible. This similarity is further removed by reciting the Qur’ān aloud in the third rakʿah when praying Witr in congregation.

✦ Narration from ʿAtā bin Abī Rabāḥ رحمه الله:​

إنه كان يوتر بثلاث لا يجلس فيهن، ولا يتشهد إلا فى آخرهن.


“He used to offer three rakʿāt of Witr and would not sit in any of them, nor would he recite tashahhud except in the last one.”
Al-Mustadrak lil-Ḥākim: 1/305; Al-Sunan al-Kubrā lil-Bayhaqī: 3/29
Chain: Ḥasan (sound)

✦ Statement of Abū al-ʿĀliyah رحمه الله:​

علمنا أصحاب محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم أن الوتر مثل صلاة المغرب، غير أنا نقرأ فى الثالثة، فهذا وتر الليل، وهذا وتر النهار.


“The companions of Muhammad ﷺ taught us that the Witr prayer is like the Maghrib prayer, except that we recite in the third rakʿah (of Witr). Hence, this is the Witr of the night, and that (Maghrib) is the Witr of the day.”
Sharḥ Maʿānī al-Āthār lil-Ṭaḥāwī: 1/293
Chain: Ḥasan (sound)

Summary:​

① The Witr prayer of three rakʿāt should be offered continuously without sitting after the second rakʿah.
② Sitting after the second rakʿah makes it resemble the Maghrib prayer, which is discouraged.
③ Tashahhud should be performed only at the end of the third rakʿah.
④ This was the practice of many early scholars and companions.