The Number of Witr Rak’ahs
Apart from this, praying nine, seven, five and three rak’ahs of witr is also proven from the Prophet ﷺ. However, when praying nine rak’ahs of witr, there will be two tashahhuds, the first after the eighth rak’ah and the second after the final rak’ah, while in the other forms of witr, one sits for tashahhud only in the final rak’ah. Their evidences are as follows:
➊ It is narrated from Hadrat Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ offered nine rak’ahs (of witr at night). Among them, he sat only at the eighth rak’ah, then after the ninth rak’ah he gave the salam.
➋ It is narrated from Hadrat Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) that:
كان رسول الله يو تر بسبع أو بخمس لا يفصل بينهن بتسليم ولا كلام
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when praying seven or five witr, did not separate them with salam or speech.”
➌ It is narrated from Hadrat Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that “the Prophet ﷺ would pray five witr and would sit only at the final rak’ah among them.”
➍ It is narrated from Hadrat Abu Ayyub al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
الوتـرحـق على كل مسلم فمن أحب أن يوتر بخمس فليفعل ومن أحب أن يوتر بثلاث فليفعل ومن أحب أن يوتر بواحدة فليفعل
“Witr is a right upon every Muslim. Whoever wishes to pray five witr, let him do so; whoever wishes to pray three witr, let him do so; and whoever wishes to pray one witr, let him do so.”
➎ It is narrated from Hadrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet ﷺ said:
لا تو تروا بثلاث ولا تشبهو بصلاة المغرب
“Do not pray three rak’ahs of witr, and do not resemble the Maghrib prayer.”
(Ibn Hajar) The prohibition is to be understood as applying to a three rak’ah prayer in which there are two tashahhuds; and certainly the earlier scholars acted in this manner, i.e., they prayed witr with a single tashahhud.
(Abd al-Rahman Mubarakpuri) He holds this view.
(Majority: Malik, Shafi’i, Ahmad) Any of the numbers of witr rak’ahs proven from the various hadiths may be adopted.
(Hanafis) Three witr is correct; neither fewer nor more.
(Preferred) The position of the majority is preferred, and all the earlier hadiths bear witness to it.
The Ruling on Witr
Scholars have differed regarding its ruling.
(Majority: Ahmad, Shafi’i, Malik) Witr is not obligatory; rather, it is a strongly emphasized sunnah (sunnah muakkadah).
(Abu Hanifah) Witr is obligatory (it has also been narrated from Imam Abu Hanifah that witr is fard).
(Preferred) Witr is a strongly emphasized sunnah, not obligatory.
(Shawkani) He holds the view that it is not obligatory.
(Abd al-Rahman Mubarakpuri) He prefers this view.
(Ibn Qudamah) Witr is a strongly emphasized sunnah.
(Ibn Hazm) Witr is not fard.
(Amir San’ani) He holds this view.
(Siddiq Hasan Khan) Witr is a strongly emphasized sunnah.
Their evidences are as follows:
➊ It is narrated from Hadrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that:
ليس الوتر بحتم كهيئة المكتوبة ولكن سنة سنها رسول الله
“Witr is not binding and obligatory like the fard prayers; rather, it is a sunnah which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ established.”
➋ The hadith in which it is said:
الوتر حق فمن لم يوتر فليس منا
“Witr is a duty (haqq); so whoever does not pray witr is not one of us.” This hadith is da’if (weak).
The Time of Witr
The time of Witr is from after the Isha prayer until the break of dawn. The evidence for this is as follows:
➊ Narrated Kharijah ibn Hudhafah (may Allah be pleased with him): The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
الوتر ما بين صلاة العشاء إلى طلوع الفجر
“Witr (its time) is from after the Isha prayer until the break of dawn.”
➋ Narrated Abu Sa’id (may Allah be pleased with him): The Prophet ﷺ said:
اوتروا قبل أن تصبحوا
“Offer Witr before morning.”
Whoever fears that he will not wake up during the last part of the night should offer Witr and then sleep. However, if there is no such fear, then offering Witr in the last part of the night is better, as narrated from Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
آيكم خاف أن لا يقوم من آخر الليل فليوتر ثم ليرقد
“Whoever among you fears that he will not rise in the last part of the night, let him offer Witr and then sleep.”
Making up Witr (Qada)
➊ Narrated Abu Sa’id (may Allah be pleased with him): The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
من نام عن الوتر أو نسيه فليصل إذا ذكر وإذا استيقظ
“Whoever oversleeps and misses Witr, or forgets it, should pray it when he remembers it or when he wakes up.”
➋ In another narration, the words are:
من نام عن وتره فليصل إذا أصبح
“Whoever oversleeps and misses Witr, let him offer it when morning comes.”
➌ Furthermore, it is established from the Prophet ﷺ that:
إذا منعه من قيام الليل نوم أو وجع صلى من النهار اثنتى عشرة ركعة
“When sleep or some ailment prevented the Prophet ﷺ from the night prayer, he would offer twelve rak’ahs during the day.”
According to the majority, the Companions, the Tabi’un and the Imams, making up Witr is recommended (mustahabb).
However, they differed regarding the time for making it up.
(Shafi’i) Whenever one remembers, he should offer Witr; it is valid even immediately after dawn.
(Malik, Ahmad) Witr should not be made up after dawn.
(Rajih) On this issue, the Shafi’i position is preferred, because it is closer to the earlier hadiths.
Recitation in Witr
Narrated Ubayy ibn Ka’b (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet ﷺ used to recite سبح اسم ربك الاعلي in the first rak’ah of Witr, قل يأيها الكفرون in the second, and قل هو الله أحد in the third.
Qunut in Witr
The Qunut of Witr is established from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ only before bowing (ruku’), as narrated from Ubayy ibn Ka’b (may Allah be pleased with him) that:
ان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم كان يوتر فيقنت قبل الركوع
“Indeed, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when he offered Witr, would perform Qunut before bowing.”
As for the narration of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) in which there is mention of Qunut “before and after the bowing” (قبل الركوع و بعده), it concerns the Fajr prayer, not the Qunut of Witr, as is evident from the same hadith.
Nevertheless, Qunut may also be performed after bowing, as is established by the practice of the Rightly Guided Caliphs and others.
The Prophet ﷺ also used to perform Qunut al-Nazilah after bowing.
◈ No authentic hadith establishes that the Prophet ﷺ raised his hands for the Qunut of Witr, as narrated from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) in Sunan al-Nasa’i that:
كان النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم لا يرفع يديه فى شيئ من دعائه إلا فى الاستسقاء
“The Prophet ﷺ raised his hands and made supplication only in the prayer for rain (Istisqa).”
However, raising the hands is established from the practice of Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him), as mentioned by Imam Bukhari in جزء رفع اليدين.
For this Qunut, evidence for raising the hands (rafa’ al-yadayn) similar to the raising of the hands at the takbir al-tahrimah is also lacking; however, the Hanafis hold this raising of the hands on the basis of some indirect reports.
According to Imam Tawus, Qunut in Witr is an innovation (bid’ah), as reported by Imam Ibn al-Mundhir.
But this view is rejected and baseless, as it contradicts the earlier authentic hadiths.
Supplications for Qunut in Witr
➊ Hasan ibn Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ taught him some words which he would recite in the Qunut of Witr (they are): اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِنِي فِيْمَنُ هَدَيْتَ وَعَافِنِي فِيْمَنُ عَافَيْتَ وَتَوَلَّنِي فِيمَنْ تَوَلَّيْتَ وَبَارِكَ لِي فِيْمَا أَعْطَيْتَ وَقِنِي شَرَّ مَا قَضَيْتَ فَإِنَّكَ تَقْضِى وَلَا يُقْضَى عَلَيْكَ إِنَّهُ لَا يَذِلُّ مَنْ وَالَيْتَ وَلَا يَعِزُّ مَنْ عَادَيْتَ تَبَارَكُتَ رَبَّنَا وَتَعَالَيْتَ
The words ولا يعز من عاديت after لا يذل من واليت are in the narration of Sunan al-Bayhaqi.
(Shawkani) This supplication should be recited only in the Witr, because it is established from the Prophet ﷺ only in that context.
➋ Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would recite this supplication at the end of his Witr.
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِرِضَاكَ مِنْ سَخَطِكَ وَبِمُعَافَاتِكَ مِنْ عُقُوبَتِكَ ، أَعُوْذُ بِكَ مِنْكَ لَا أَحْصِى ثَنَاءٌ عَلَيْكَ ، أَنْتَ كَمَا أَثْنَيْتَ عَلَى نَفْسِكَ
◈ In the first supplication, the words وصلى الله على النبي after تباركت ربنا و تعاليت are not established.
(Ibn Hajar) All the narrations that contain the addition of these words are broken (munqati’).
However, Imam al-Nawawi said that the addition of these words is narrated with a sahih or hasan chain.
◈ After completing the Witr prayer, saying سُبْحَانَ الْمَلِكِ الْقُدُّوسِ three times is the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Voluntary prayers after Witr
Although some narrations describe Witr as the last prayer of the night, as narrated from Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
اجعلوا آخر صلاتكم بالليل وترا
“Make Witr the last of your night prayer.”
However, the following sahih hadith shows that this instruction is merely for recommendation, and the Prophet ﷺ would also offer two rak’ahs after Witr.
From Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her), it is narrated that:
ان النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم كان يركع ركعتين بعد الوتر
“The Prophet ﷺ would pray two rak’ahs after Witr.”
Therefore, if a person prays Witr and then sleeps, and then wakes up in the last part of the night to offer voluntary prayers, he will not pray Witr again at the end, because Talq ibn Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said: لاوتران فى ليلة “There are not two Witrs in one night.”
Imam Ahmad, Imam al-Shafi’i, Imam Malik, Imam al-Thawri, Imam Ibn al-Mubarak and Imam Ibn Hazm, may Allah have mercy on them all, and others, also hold this position, and it is the preferred and correct view.
