Source: Aḥkām wa Masāʾil, Discussion on Ṣalāh, Vol. 1, p. 221
What is the evidence for not sitting in qaʿdah (tashahhud) after the second rakʿah in three-rakʿah Witr prayer?
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ʿammā baʿd!
In al-Mustadrak of al-Ḥākim, a ḥadīth is narrated:
“The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ used to pray three rakʿahs of Witr and would not sit (for tashahhud) in between them; he would only sit in the last rakʿah.”
This same meaning has been narrated in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim and other books of ḥadīth regarding five rakʿahs of Witr:
“The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ used to pray five rakʿahs of Witr and would not sit (for tashahhud) in between them; he would only sit at the end of them.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb Ṣalāt al-Musāfirīn, Bāb Ṣalāt al-Layl wa ʿAdad Rakʿāt al-Nabī ﷺ fī al-Layl)
Therefore, since praying five rakʿahs of Witr without a middle qaʿdah is established and valid, it is all the more evident (bi-ṭarīq al-awlā) that praying three rakʿahs of Witr without sitting after two rakʿahs is correct and a legislated practice.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
❖ Question:
What is the evidence for not sitting in qaʿdah (tashahhud) after the second rakʿah in three-rakʿah Witr prayer?
❖ Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ʿammā baʿd!
In al-Mustadrak of al-Ḥākim, a ḥadīth is narrated:
“The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ used to pray three rakʿahs of Witr and would not sit (for tashahhud) in between them; he would only sit in the last rakʿah.”
This same meaning has been narrated in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim and other books of ḥadīth regarding five rakʿahs of Witr:
“The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ used to pray five rakʿahs of Witr and would not sit (for tashahhud) in between them; he would only sit at the end of them.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb Ṣalāt al-Musāfirīn, Bāb Ṣalāt al-Layl wa ʿAdad Rakʿāt al-Nabī ﷺ fī al-Layl)
Therefore, since praying five rakʿahs of Witr without a middle qaʿdah is established and valid, it is all the more evident (bi-ṭarīq al-awlā) that praying three rakʿahs of Witr without sitting after two rakʿahs is correct and a legislated practice.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
