Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
How many Rakʿāt are there in the Tahajjud prayer?
The number of rakʿāt for Qiyām al-Layl (Tahajjud) prayed by the Prophet ﷺ was generally eight. At times, he would add one Witr, making it nine; sometimes, three Witr were added, making it eleven. In some cases, he would offer:
Hence, the total number of rakʿāt varied at different times.
In essence, Witr can be prayed as:
When thirteen rakʿāt are reported, they include:
Those narrations that report eleven or thirteen rakʿāt include Witr within that count, which is why some narrators have referred to the entire set as "Witr", associating all night prayers with it.
❀ Imām Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh رحمه الله said:
"The narration mentioning thirteen rakʿāt of Witr from the Prophet ﷺ means that he prayed thirteen rakʿāt in total during the night including Witr. Thus, the entire night prayer was referred to as 'Witr'."
(Sunan al-Tirmidhī, under ḥadīth no. 457)
❖ Question:
How many Rakʿāt are there in the Tahajjud prayer?
✿ Answer:
The number of rakʿāt for Qiyām al-Layl (Tahajjud) prayed by the Prophet ﷺ was generally eight. At times, he would add one Witr, making it nine; sometimes, three Witr were added, making it eleven. In some cases, he would offer:
- Two Sunnahs of Fajr along with one Witr, making it thirteen.
- Five Witr, raising the total to thirteen.
- Three Witr, two Sunnahs of Fajr, and two opening rakʿāt before Qiyām, totaling fifteen rakʿāt.
Hence, the total number of rakʿāt varied at different times.
✿ Clarification Regarding the Count of Witr:
In essence, Witr can be prayed as:
- One, three, five, seven, or nine rakʿāt.
When thirteen rakʿāt are reported, they include:
- Eight rakʿāt of Qiyām al-Layl,
- and Witr, whether one, three, or five, to complete the odd number.
Those narrations that report eleven or thirteen rakʿāt include Witr within that count, which is why some narrators have referred to the entire set as "Witr", associating all night prayers with it.
❀ Imām Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh رحمه الله said:
"The narration mentioning thirteen rakʿāt of Witr from the Prophet ﷺ means that he prayed thirteen rakʿāt in total during the night including Witr. Thus, the entire night prayer was referred to as 'Witr'."
(Sunan al-Tirmidhī, under ḥadīth no. 457)
Conclusion:
- The Prophet ﷺ regularly prayed eight rakʿāt of Tahajjud, followed by one or more rakʿāt of Witr.
- The total number varied between 9, 11, 13, and even 15, depending on what he added alongside (like Sunnah of Fajr or opening rakʿāt).
- All these variations are proven and highlight the flexibility in the Sunnah of night prayer.
