Salah is the best worship to Allah. Allah Ta’ala likes when His servants perform Salah on time. For the welfare of the servants, Allah Ta’ala has made specific prayers obligatory on His servants at certain times. After the obligatory prayers, the most important prayer is the Witr prayer. Verily, Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) performed Witr Salah every day for the rest of his life. And he (peace be upon him) never gave up performing Witr Salah.
So I will present to you valuable information about Witr prayer which will reveal some unknown things to you. And I will try to make references to as reliable books as possible for every piece of information. So let’s know first what Witr Salah is.
What is Witr prayer?
Witr prayer is a Salah that worshipers perform after the Isha’s obligatory prayer and before the Fajr time begins. And usually, the night prayers end through this Salah. [Al-Mawsuat al-Fiqhiyyah al-Kuwaitiyah, volume: 27, page: 289]
And Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said: “Allah has assisted you with a Salah. Verily, that is better for you than red camels. (It is) Witr, which Allah made for you between the Isha prayer till Al-Fajr has begun.” [Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith No. 1168]
The number of rak’ahs of this Salah is odd. That is why it is called Witr (odd). Regarding this prayer, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, “Indeed Allah is Witr (One), and He loves Al-Witr, so perform Witr Salah O people of the Qur’an.” [Jami ut Tirmidhi, Hadith No. 453]
The issues I will describe regarding this Salah are:
- Importance of Witr Salah
- How many rakat in Witr Salah?
- How to pray 3 rakat Witr Salah?
- What should you do if you missed Witr Salah?
- Performing Witr Salah with the congregation
I will briefly describe the above issues with authentic reference. And I will also try to explain in short each subject as well as possible, InshaAllah.
Importance of Witr Prayer
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) has said many words regarding the importance of this prayer. So I am quoting two hadiths from the words of Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him).
Certainly, Abu Basrah (RA) narrated: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “Verily, Allah has increased a Salah for you. And that is Al-Witr (Salah). So perform it between the Isha prayer till (the time of) Fajr prayer (comes).” [Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Hadith No. 23851]
Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudri (RA) narrated that Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said: “Perform Witr before the morning comes upon you.” [Jami’ at-Tirmidhi, Hadith No. 468]
Remember, Witr Salah is not obligatory (الفرض أو الواجب) on Muslims. Rather, It is a confirmed sunnah (السنة المؤكدة). In this regard, Imam Muhammad bin Ali Al-Shawkani (Rh) has mentioned in his book Nayl Al-Awtar
“And surely the majority of the scholars are of the opinion that Witr Salah is not obligatory but it is Sunnah. And Imam Abu Hanifa (Rh) expressed their opposite opinion. He said it is obligatory (الواجب).” [Nayl Al-Awtar, volume 3, page: 39]
Of course, Ali bin Abu Talib (RA) said: “Witr is not essential like the obligatory prayers, but it is the sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).” [Sunan an-Nasa’i, Hadith No. 1676]
How many rakat in Witr Salah?
The minimum rak’ah of this prayer is one rak’ah. In this regard, It was narrated that Ibn Umar (RA) said, The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “Prayer at night is two by two, and Witr is one rak’ah.” [Sunan an-Nasa’i, Hadith No. 1693]
And the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) always used to perform three rak’ats of Witr Salah. In this connection, it is narrated from Ubayy bin Ka’b (RA) that: “Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) used to perform three rak’ats of Witr prayer. And he used to recite Suratul A’la in the first rak’ah. He used to recite Suratul Kafirun in the second rak’ah and Suratul Ikhlas in the third rak’ah. He used to recite Qunoot before Ruku. So when he finished the Witr Salah, he would say ‘Subhanal Malikil Quddus’ (سُبْحَانَ الْمَلِكِ الْقُدُّوسِ) three times after the Witr prayer.” [Sunan Nasai, Hadith No. 1699]
However,
2 rak’ats or 4 rak’ats or 6 rak’ats or 8 rak’ats or 10 rak’ats Nafl prayers can be added to the three rak’at of this prayer. And then it is called 5 rak’ats or 7 rak’ats or 9 rak’ats or 11 rak’ats or 13 rak’ats Witr. I mean, if you perform 2 rak’ah Nafl, thereafter you pray 3 rak’ah Witr; It is called 5 rak’ah witr. Similarly, if you perform 6 rak’ah Nafl, thereafter you pray 3 rak’ah Witr, then It is called 9 rak’ah Witr too. So adding Nafl prayers, the maximum rak’at of Witr became 13 rak’ats.
In this regard, Umm Salamah (RA) narrated: “The Prophet (peace be upon him) would perform Witr with thirteen (Rak’ah). When he was older and became weak he performed Witr with seven.” [Jami’ at-Tirmidhi 457]
How to pray 3 rakat Witr Salah?
Three rak’ats of Witr Salah can be performed through three methods.
Method No. 1: The performer of prayers will first complete 2 rak’ats of prayers, and say the Taslim to the right and left sides after completing Tashahhud, Durood, and Dua. Then he will complete only 1 rak’at prayer again.
In this regard, It is narrated on the authority of Ibn ‘Umar (R.) that he said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to distinguish between two rak’ahs and one rak’ah by saying the Taslim which he makes hear us.” [Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Hadith No. 5461]
In this method, the performer of prayers will sit twice between three rak’ats of Witr for reciting Tashahhud, Durood, and Dua.
Method No. 2: Performing three rak’ats continuously. I mean, the performer of prayers will complete 2 rak’ats of Witr, then he will not sit for reciting Tashahhud. Rather, he will stand for the third rak’ah immediately after two rak’ahs. Then after completing the third rak’ah, he will sit down to recite Tashahhud, Durood, and Dua. And then he will say the Taslim to the right and left sides.
In this regard, Narrated Ayesha (RA): She said, “The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) performed three rak’ahs of Witr. He did not distinguish between them.” [Nailul Awtar, Hadith No. 922]
In this method, the performer of prayers will sit one time in three rak’ats of Witr for reciting Tashahhud, Durood, and Dua.
Method No. 3
Performing three rak’ats of Witr similar to the Maghrib’s obligatory prayer. In this connection, it is narrated by Ayesha (R) that, “Surely, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) would not say the Taslim in two rak’ahs of Witr”. [Sunan Nasai, Hadith No. 1698]
Another hadith states that “the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prayed three rak’ats of Witr. And he said the Taslim only in the last rak’ah”. [Al-Mustadrak ala al-Sahihayn, Hadith No. 1140]
In this method, the performer of prayers will sit twice between three rak’ats of Witr for reciting Tashahhud. There is a lot of disagreement about performing Witr Salah in this third method, compared to the first two methods.
Reading Qunoot in Witr prayer
Qunoot can be recited before Ruku in the last rak’ah of this prayer. And Qunoot also can be read even after Ruku.
Regarding the recitation of Qunoot before Ruku, it is narrated from Ubayy bin Ka’b (R.) that, “Surely the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) performed the Witr prayer. Then he recited Qunoot before Ruku.” [Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith No. 1182]
And about reciting Qunoot after rising from the Ruku, it is narrated by Anas bin Malik (RA), who said, “The Messenger of Allah (May Allah peace and bless be upon him) recited Qunoot after the Ruku”. [Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith No. 1184]
What should you do if you missed Witr Salah?
The time of this prayer exists from the time after Isha’s obligatory prayer until the time of the Fajr prayer begins. If anyone cannot perform this prayer during this period, then this prayer will not be waived from his responsibility. Whenever he remembers this prayer, he will perform it.
In this regard, narrated Abu Saeed Al-Khudri (RA) that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: “Whoever falls asleep from the Witr Salah (that is, sleeps without performing the Witr prayer) or forgets to perform it, then he will perform it when he remembers or when he wakes up (from his sleep).” [Jami ut Tirmidhi, Hadith No. 465]
Performing Witr Prayer with the congregation
The performer of prayers will always perform this prayer alone. If he is accustomed to performing the Tahajjud prayer, he will finish the Tahajjud prayer and then perform this prayer. Since the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) always would perform the Witr Salah after performing the Tahajjud prayer. And if the performer of prayers is not accustomed to performing the Tahajjud prayer or fears that he will not be able to wake up on the last night, then he will perform this prayer after performing the Isha prayer.
In this regard, Jabir (RA) reported Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) as saying: “If anyone is afraid that he may not get up in the latter part of the night, he should observe Witr in the first part of it; and if anyone is eager to get up in the last part of it, he should observe Witr at the end of the night, for prayer at the end of the night is witnessed (by the angels) and that is preferable.” [Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 755]
And know that,
there is no problem with Witr Salah if you perform it with the congregation. In this regard, Imam Jamal Al-Din Abu Muhammad Abdullah Al-Zailai (Rh) has mentioned in his book Nasb al-Rayah
Narrated by Meswar bin Makhramah (Rh), he said, “We buried Abu Bakr (RA). Then ‘Umar (RA) said, “Surely I did not perform the Witr Salah.” So he stood up to perform the Witr Salah. So we became lined up behind him. He performed three rak’ats of Witr with us. And he only said the Taslim in the last rak’ah.” [Nasb al-Rayah, volume 2, page: 121]
Remember, Don’t make it a habit to perform Witr Salah with the congregation. Because Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) and his Companions (RA) did not perform regular Witr Salah with the congregation. However, there is an opportunity to perform Witr Salah with the congregation throughout the month of Ramadan. There is no disagreement in it.
May Allah give us the correct understanding of religion and the grace to stay away from all kinds of differences of religion, and keep others away. Ameen.
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