❖ Is Witr Prayer Wājib (Obligatory)?
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulām Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
✿ Question:
Is the Witr prayer wājib (obligatory)?
✿ Answer:
Witr prayer is Sunnah, and this is supported by Ahādīth, Āthār (statements of the Salaf), and the consensus of scholars.
◈ Scholarly Statements and Evidences:
❖ Imām Ibn al-Mundhir رحمه الله wrote:
“The majority of scholars hold this view, except for Nu‘mān ibn Thābit (Abu Ḥanīfah رحمه الله) who opposed them and considered Witr to be obligatory. His view contradicts authentic Ahādīth and goes against all Muslim scholars—even common folk. To our knowledge, no one before him considered Witr obligatory. Even his students opposed him and agreed with the general body of scholars.”
Al-Awsaṭ: 8/92, ḥadīth 2544❖ ʿAllāmah al-Kāsānī al-Ḥanafī رحمه الله (d. 587 AH) said:
قال عامة الفقهاء: إن الوتر سنة لما أن كتاب الله، والسنن المتواترة والمشهورة ما أوجبت زيادة على خمس صلوات.
“All jurists have stated that Witr is Sunnah, because the Qur’ān and the well-known, widely transmitted Sunnah have not made more than five prayers obligatory.”
Badā’iʿ al-Ṣanā’iʿ: 1/91❀ Sayings of the Companions:
❖ Sayyidunā ʿAlī رضي الله عنه said:
إن الوتر ليس بحتم كالصلاة، ولكنه سنة، فلا تدعوه.
“Witr is not obligatory like the [five daily] prayers; rather, it is Sunnah. Do not abandon it.”
Musnad Aḥmad: 1/107; Sunan al-Dārimī: 1620 (his wording); Isnāduhu ḥasan→ Ḥāfiẓ al-Būṣīrī رحمه الله graded its chain as ṣaḥīḥ.
Itḥāf al-Khayrah al-Mahrah: 1732❖ ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī ʿUmrah رحمه الله asked Sayyidunā ʿUbādah ibn al-Ṣāmit رضي الله عنه about Witr. He replied:
أمر حسن، عمل به النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم والمسلمون من بعده، وليس بواجب.
“It is a good practice, which the Prophet ﷺ and the Muslims after him performed, but it is not obligatory.”
al-Mustadrak ʿala al-Ṣaḥīḥayn: 1/300 – sanad ḥasan→ Imām Ibn Khuzaymah رحمه الله declared it ṣaḥīḥ.
→ Imām al-Ḥākim رحمه الله said it meets the conditions of Bukhārī and Muslim, and Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī رحمه الله agreed.
al-Mustadrak: 1/300❖ ʿAbdullāh ibn Ṣanābiḥī رضي الله عنه reported:
Abū Muḥammad said Witr is obligatory. Upon this, Sayyidunā ʿUbādah ibn al-Ṣāmit رضي الله عنه said:
“Abū Muḥammad is mistaken. I testify that I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say:
‘Allah has obligated five prayers. Whoever performs them properly—with wudū’, on time, and with complete submission in rukūʿ and sujūd—then Allah has promised to forgive him. But for the one who does not do so, Allah has made no promise; He may punish him or forgive him.’”
Musnad Aḥmad: 5/317; Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 425 – Isnāduhu ṣaḥīḥ→ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr رحمه الله graded its chain as ḥasan and jayyid.
Jāmiʿ al-Masānīd wa al-Sunan: 4/559, ḥadīth 5763❀ The Practice of the Prophet ﷺ:
❖ Sayyidunā Jābir ibn ʿAbdullāh رضي الله عنهما said:
The Prophet ﷺ led us in eight rakʿāt of Tarāwīḥ and Witr in Ramaḍān. The next night, we gathered in the masjid hoping he would come, but he did not come until morning. We said: “O Messenger of Allah! We gathered hoping you would lead us.” He said:
إني خشيت أو كرهت أن يكتب عليكم الوتر.
“I feared (or disliked) that Witr would be made obligatory upon you.”
Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah: 1070; Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān: 2409 – sanad ḥasan→ Imām Ibn al-Mundhir رحمه الله commented:
يدل هذا الحديث على أن الوتر وقيام الليل غير مكتوب فرض على الناس.
“This ḥadīth proves that Witr and Qiyām al-Layl are not obligatory upon the people.”
Al-Awsaṭ: 5/168❀ Clear Proofs from the Sunnah:
❖ Sayyidunā Ṭalḥah ibn ʿUbaydullāh رضي الله عنه narrated:
A man with disheveled hair came from Najd and asked about Islam. The Prophet ﷺ said:
“There are five obligatory prayers in a day and night.”
He asked: “Are there any besides these?”
The Prophet ﷺ replied:
لا، إلا أن تطوع.
“No, unless you perform voluntary prayers.”
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 46; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 11→ Imām Ibn Khuzaymah رحمه الله wrote:
“This indicates that anything beyond the five daily prayers is nafl (voluntary).”
Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah: 2/136❖ Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما reported:
The Prophet ﷺ would pray nafl prayers and Witr on his riding animal, facing whatever direction it was going, but he would not pray obligatory prayers on it.
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 1098; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 700/39→ Imām Ibn al-Mundhir رحمه الله said:
“This shows that Witr is nafl. Only one who opposes the Sunnah and separates from the scholars considers it obligatory.”
Al-Awsaṭ: 5/247❀ Statements of the Salaf and Imams:
❖ Muslim, the freed slave of ʿAbd al-Qays رضي الله عنه, reported that a man asked Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما:
“Do you consider Witr to be Sunnah?”
He replied: “Sunnah? What do you mean? The Prophet ﷺ used to pray it, and Muslims pray it.”
The man repeated his question, and Ibn ʿUmar replied:
“Do you have intellect? I told you the Prophet ﷺ used to pray it, and Muslims pray it.”
Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah: 2/295; 14/236; Musnad Aḥmad: 2/29 – Isnāduhu ṣaḥīḥ❖ Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله (d. 728 AH) stated:
الوتر سنة مؤكدة باتفاق المسلمين، ومن أصر على تركه فإنه ترد شهادته.
“Witr is a strongly emphasized Sunnah by agreement of the Muslims. One who persistently abandons it, his testimony is not accepted.”
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā: 23/88
Conclusion:
① Witr is not wājib, but a Sunnah Mu’akkadah (emphasized Sunnah).
② The vast majority of scholars reject its obligation, except Imām Abū Ḥanīfah, and even his students differed.
③ The Prophet ﷺ feared it becoming obligatory, hence did not make it so.
④ Authentic aḥādīth, sayings of the Ṣaḥābah, and scholarly consensus establish it as non-obligatory.
⑤ Abandoning it regularly is blameworthy, but not sinful like abandoning obligatory prayers.
