Which Supplication Should Be Recited After Witr Prayer?
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulām Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
❖ Question:
Which duʿā should be recited after finishing the Witr prayer (after taslīm)?
✿ Answer:
It is authentically reported that the Prophet ﷺ used to recite specific supplications after completing the Witr prayer.
❀ Sayyidunā Ubayy ibn Kaʿb رضي الله عنه reported:
"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to offer three rakʿāt of Witr, reciting Sūrah al-Aʿlā in the first rakʿah, Sūrah al-Kāfirūn in the second, and Sūrah al-Ikhlāṣ in the third. After completing Witr, he would say:
سُبْحَانَ الْمَلِكِ الْقُدُّوسِ
Subḥānal-Malikil-Quddūs
(“Glory be to the Sovereign, the Most Holy”)
three times, raising his voice the third time."
Sunan al-Nasā’ī: 1700; Sunan Ibn Mājah: 1182 – Chain is authentic Also supported in Sunan al-Dāraquṭnī: 1644 via Fitr ibn Khalīfah, who is trustworthy❀ Another narration in Sunan al-Nasā’ī (1733) states:
"When the Prophet ﷺ finished the Witr prayer, he would say ‘Subḥānal-Malikil-Quddūs’ three times, raising his voice the third time."
Chain is authentic
This is a neglected Sunnah, as very few people practice reciting this aloud after Witr today.❀ It is also established to add the following words:
رَبِّ الْمَلَائِكَةِ وَالرُّوحِ
Rabbi al-Malā’ikati war-Rūḥ
(“Lord of the angels and the Spirit”)
Sunan al-Dāraquṭnī: 1644; Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Bayhaqī: 3/40 – Chain is authentic❀ Sayyidunā ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib رضي الله عنه reported:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to recite this duʿā at the end of Witr:
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِرِضَاكَ مِنْ سَخَطِكَ، وَبِمُعَافَاتِكَ مِنْ عُقُوبَتِكَ، وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْكَ، لَا أُحْصِي ثَنَاءً عَلَيْكَ، أَنْتَ كَمَا أَثْنَيْتَ عَلَى نَفْسِكَ
"O Allah, I seek refuge in Your pleasure from Your wrath, and in Your pardon from Your punishment. I seek refuge in You from You. I cannot praise You enough; You are as You have praised Yourself."
ʿAmal al-Yawm wa al-Laylah by al-Nasā’ī: 892 – Authentic and connected chain Also found in Musnad Aḥmad (1/96, 1/118), Sunan Abū Dāwūd: 1427, Sunan al-Nasā’ī: 1748, Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 3566, Sunan Ibn Mājah: 1179 – All with authentic chains Imām al-Tirmidhī graded the ḥadīth as ḥasan gharīb Al-Ḥākim authenticated the chain, and al-Dhahabī agreed
Summary of Sunnah Supplications After Witr:
① سُبْحَانَ الْمَلِكِ الْقُدُّوسِ three times – third time aloud
② Add: رَبِّ الْمَلَائِكَةِ وَالرُّوحِ
③ The comprehensive duʿā taught to ʿAlī رضي الله عنه:
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِرِضَاكَ...
All of the above are authentic, and part of the Prophetic practice after Witr.
