✦ The Time for Witr Prayer ✦
Source: Fatāwā Amonpuri by Shaykh Ghulām Muṣṭafā Ẓahīr Amonpuri
❖ The Question
Until when can Witr prayer be offered?
❖ The Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd:
The time for Witr prayer begins after the ʿIshāʾ prayer and lasts until the rising of Fajr. If one is unable to perform Witr within this period, its qaḍāʾ may be offered after Fajr.
❀ Abū Baṣrah رضي الله عنه narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
إن الله عز وجل زادكم صلاة فحافظوا عليها، وجعل وقتها فيما بين العشاء إلى الفجر، وهى الوتر
“Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, has granted you an extra prayer, so observe it regularly. Its time is between ʿIshāʾ and Fajr, and it is Witr.”
(Musnad Aḥmad, 6/7; al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr by al-Ṭabarānī, 2/279, ḥadīth 2168 – chain ṣaḥīḥ, with multiple routes)
❀ Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ رحمه الله (d. 544H) said:
إن وقتها المتفق عليه ما لم يطلع الفجر، وهذا قول كافة العلماء
“The agreed-upon time for Witr is until Fajr appears, and this is the opinion of all scholars.”
(Ikmāl al-Muʿlim, 3/101; Sharḥ Abī Dāwūd by Ibn Ruslān, 6/501)
❖ Conclusion
The time of Witr extends from after ʿIshāʾ until the rising of Fajr. If missed, it may be compensated after Fajr.
✿ ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب ✿
