Prayer (Kitab Al-Salat): Detailed Injunctions about Witr

Ibrahim ibn Musa informed us: Isa informed us, from Zakariyya, from Abu Ishaq, from Asim, from Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: People of the Quran, pray witr, for Allah is One and loves what is odd.

Uthman ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us: Abu Hafs al-Abbar narrated to us, from al-Amash, from Amr ibn Murrah, from Abu Ubaydah, from Abd Allah, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), with the same meaning. He added: A Bedouin asked, What do you say? He replied: That is neither for you nor for your companions.

Abu al-Walid al-Tayalisi and Qutaybah ibn Said said—with the same meaning: al-Layth narrated to us, from Yazid ibn Abi Habib, from Abd Allah ibn Rashid al-Zawfi, from Abd Allah ibn Abi Murrah al-Zawfi, from Kharijah ibn Hudhafah. Abu al-Walid said: al-Adawi. He said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came out to us and said: Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has granted you an additional prayer that is better for you than red camels: witr. He has appointed it for you between the night prayer and the break of dawn.

Ibn al-Muthanna narrated to us: Abu Ishaq al-Talquni narrated to us: al-Fadl ibn Musa narrated to us, from Ubayd Allah ibn Abd Allah al-Ataki, from Abd Allah ibn Buraydah, from his father, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: Witr is an obligation. Whoever does not pray witr is not one of us. Witr is an obligation. Whoever does not pray witr is not one of us. Witr is an obligation. Whoever does not pray witr is not one of us.

Al-Qanabi narrated to us, from Malik, from Yahya ibn Said, from Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Habban, from Ibn Muhayriz, that a man of Banu Kinanah called al-Mukhaddaji heard a man in Syria called Abu Muhammad say that witr is obligatory. Al-Mukhaddaji went to Ubadah ibn al-Samit and told him. Ubadah said: Abu Muhammad has lied. I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: Allah has prescribed five prayers for His servants. Whoever performs them without neglecting any of them out of disregard for their due has a covenant with Allah that He will admit him to Paradise. Whoever does not perform them has no covenant with Allah: if He wills, He will punish him, and if He wills, He will admit him to Paradise.

Muhammad ibn Kathir informed us: Hammam informed us, from Qatadah, from Abd Allah ibn Shaqiq, from Ibn Umar, that a man from the desert asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about the night prayer. He indicated with his two fingers like this: two by two. And witr is one unit at the end of the night.

Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Mubarak narrated to us: Quraysh ibn Hayyan al-Ijli narrated to me: Bakr ibn Wail narrated to us, from al-Zuhri, from Ata ibn Yazid al-Laythi, from Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Witr is a due right upon every Muslim. Whoever wishes to pray witr as five may do so; whoever wishes to pray it as three may do so; and whoever wishes to pray it as one may do so.

Uthman ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us: Abu Hafs al-Abbar narrated to us. Ibrahim ibn Musa narrated to us: Muhammad ibn Anas informed us—this is his wording—from al-Amash, from Talhah and Zubayd, from Said ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Abza, from his father, from Ubayy ibn Kab, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would pray witr with Sabbih isma rabbika al-Ala (Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High), Qul lil-ladhina kafaru (Say to those who disbelieve), and Allah al-Wahid al-Samad (Allah, the One, the Self-Sufficient).

Ahmad ibn Abi Shuaib narrated to us: Muhammad ibn Salamah narrated to us: Khusayf narrated to us, from Abd al-Aziz ibn Jurayj, who said: I asked Aishah, Mother of the Believers, what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray for witr. She mentioned a similar report. He said: In the third unit, he recited Qul huwa Allahu ahad (Say: He is Allah, the One) and the two protective surahs.

Qutaybah ibn Said and Ahmad ibn Jawwas al-Hanafi narrated to us: Abu al-Ahwas narrated to us, from Abu Ishaq, from Burayd ibn Abi Maryam, from Abu al-Hawra, who said: al-Hasan ibn Ali (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) taught me words to say in witr. Ibn Jawwas said: In the qunut of witr. They are: O Allah, guide me among those You have guided; grant me well-being among those You have granted well-being; take me into Your care among those You have taken into Your care; bless me in what You have given; and protect me from the evil of what You have decreed. You decree, and none can decree against You. Indeed, he whom You befriend is not humiliated, and he whom You oppose is not honored. Blessed are You, our Lord, and Exalted.

Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Nufayli narrated to us: Zuhayr narrated to us: Abu Ishaq narrated to us with its chain and meaning. At the end, he said: This is what he used to say in the qunut of witr. He did not mention the words: taught me words to say in witr. Abu Dawud said: Abu al-Hawra was Rabiah ibn Shayban.

Musa ibn Ismail narrated to us: Hammad narrated to us, from Hisham ibn Amr al-Fazari, from Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Harith ibn Hisham, from Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), that at the end of his witr the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say: O Allah, I seek refuge in Your pleasure from Your anger, in Your pardon from Your punishment, and in You from You. I cannot enumerate praise of You; You are as You have praised Yourself. Abu Dawud said: Hisham was the oldest teacher of Hammad. I was told that Yahya ibn Main said that no one narrated from him except Hammad ibn Salamah. Abu Dawud said: Isa ibn Yunus narrated from Said ibn Abi Arubah, from Qatadah, from Said ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Abza, from his father, from Ubayy ibn Kab, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) performed qunut—meaning in witr—before bowing. Abu Dawud said: Isa ibn Yunus also narrated this report from Fitr ibn Khalifah, from Zubayd, from Said ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Abza, from his father, from Ubayy, from the Prophet, with the same meaning. It was also reported from Hafs ibn Ghiyath, from Misar, from Zubayd, from Said ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Abza, from his father, from Ubayy ibn Kab, that the Messenger of Allah performed qunut in witr before bowing. Abu Dawud said: Yazid ibn Zuray narrated the report of Said from Qatadah through Azrah, from Said ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Abza, from his father, from the Prophet, but did not mention qunut or Ubayy. Abd al-Ala and Muhammad ibn Bishr al-Abdi narrated it likewise; they heard it in Kufa along with Isa ibn Yunus and did not mention qunut. Hisham al-Dastawai and Shubah also narrated it from Qatadah without mentioning qunut. The report of Zubayd was narrated by Sulayman al-Amash, Shubah, Abd al-Malik ibn Abi Sulayman, and Jarir ibn Hazim, all from Zubayd, and none of them mentioned qunut except in the report of Hafs ibn Ghiyath from Misar, from Zubayd, which says that he performed qunut before bowing. Abu Dawud said: This is not well known as a report of Hafs, and we fear that Hafs may have narrated it from someone other than Misar. Abu Dawud said: It is also reported that Ubayy used to perform qunut during the middle part of Ramadan.

Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal narrated to us: Muhammad ibn Bakr narrated to us: Hisham informed us, from Muhammad, from one of his companions, that Ubayy ibn Kab led them in prayer—meaning during Ramadan—and performed qunut during the latter half of Ramadan.

Shujah ibn Makhlad narrated to us: Hushaym narrated to us: Yunus ibn Ubayd informed us, from al-Hasan, that Umar ibn al-Khattab gathered the people behind Ubayy ibn Kab. He led them in prayer for twenty nights and performed qunut with them only during the remaining half. When the last ten nights came, he stayed away and prayed at home, so they used to say: Ubayy has fled. Abu Dawud said: This indicates that what has been mentioned about qunut is of no consequence. These two reports indicate that the report from Ubayy that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed qunut in witr is weak.

Uthman ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us: Muhammad ibn Abi Ubaydah narrated to us: My father narrated to us, from al-Amash, from Talhah al-Ayyami, from Dharr, from Said ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Abza, from his father, from Ubayy ibn Kab, who said: When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) finished the witr prayer with the salutation, he would say: Glory be to the Sovereign, the Most Holy.

Muhammad ibn Awf narrated to us: Uthman ibn Said narrated to us, from Abu Ghassan Muhammad ibn Mutarrif al-Madani, from Zayd ibn Aslam, from Ata ibn Yasar, from Abu Said, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever sleeps through his witr prayer or forgets it should pray it when he remembers.

Ibn al-Muthanna narrated to us: Abu Dawud narrated to us: Aban ibn Yazid narrated to us, from Qatadah, from Abu Said—of Azd Shanua—from Abu Hurayrah, who said: My beloved (peace and blessings be upon him) advised me to do three things that I would not leave, whether traveling or resident: the two units of the forenoon prayer, fasting three days each month, and not sleeping except after praying witr.

Abd al-Wahhab ibn Najdah narrated to us: Abu al-Yaman narrated to us, from Safwan ibn Amr, from Abu Idris al-Sakuni, from Jubayr ibn Nufayr, from Abu al-Darda, who said: My beloved (peace and blessings be upon him) advised me to do three things that I would not abandon for anything. He advised me to fast three days every month, not to sleep except after praying witr, and to perform the forenoon prayer whether resident or traveling.

Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Abi Khalaf narrated to us: Abu Zakariyya Yahya ibn Ishaq al-Saylahini narrated to us: Hammad ibn Salamah narrated to us, from Thabit, from Abd Allah ibn Rabah, from Abu Qatadah, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Abu Bakr: When do you pray witr? He said: At the beginning of the night. He asked Umar: When do you pray witr? He said: At the end of the night. He said to Abu Bakr: He has chosen the cautious course. And he said to Umar: He has chosen the stronger course.