“Whoeveramong you fears that he will not wake up at the end of thenight, lethim pray Witr at the beginning of the night, then go tosleep.Whoever hopes that he will wake up at the end of the night, lethimpray Witr at the end of the night, for recitation (of the Qur’an)at the end of the night is attended (by the angels), and that isbetter.”

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)said: ‘Pray Witr before morning comes.’”

“Witr is Haqq.* Whoever wishes let him pray Witr with five(Rak’ah), and whoever wishes let him pray Witr with three (Rak’ah),and whoever wishes let him pray Witr with one (Rak’ah).”

“The Messenger ofAllah (ﷺ) prescribed two Rak’ah of prayer when traveling; theyarecomplete and are not shortened. And Witr when traveling isSunnah.”

It wasnarrated from Umm Salamah that the Prophet (ﷺ) used to praytwoshort Rak’ah after Witr, sitting down.

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)prayed, and he added or omitted something.” (One of the narrators)Ibrahim said: “The confusion stems from me (i.e., he was not surewhich it was).” “It was said to him: ‘O Messenger of Allah! Hassomething been added to the prayer?’ He said: ‘I am only human, Iforget just as you forget. If anyone forgets, let him perform twoprostrations when he is sitting (at the end).’ Then the Prophet(ﷺ)turned and prostrated twice.”

“I heard theMessenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: ‘If anyone of you is uncertain as towhether he has prayed one or two Rak’ah, let him assume it is one.Ifhe is uncertain as to whether he has prayed two or three, let himassume it is two. If he is uncertain as to whether he has prayedthreeor four, let him assume it is three. Then let him complete whatisleft of his prayer, so that the doubt will be about what is more.Thenlet him prostrate twice while he is sitting, before the Taslim(sayingthe Salam).’”

‘O Messenger of Allah, has the prayer beenshortened or did you forget?’ He said: ‘It has not been shortenedandI did not forget.’ He said: ‘But you prayed two Rak’ah.’ Hesaid: ‘Is whatDhul-Yadain says true?’ They said: ‘Yes.’ Sohe went forward andperformed two Rak’ah and said the Salam, thenhe prostrated twice forprostrations of forgetfulness.

It wasnarrated from ‘Alqamah that Ibn Mas’ud prostrated twice fortheprostrations of forgetfulness after the Salam, and he mentionedthatthe Prophet (ﷺ) did that.”

“The Prophet (ﷺ) came outtopray and said the Takbir, then he gestured to them to wait. He wentand took a bath, and his head was dripping with water while he ledthem in prayer. When he finished he said: ‘I came out to you in astate of sexual impurity, and I forgot until I had started to pray.’”

“Whenanyoneof you performs prayer and commits Hadath, (passing wind) lethimtake hold of his nose, then leave.”Another chain with similar wording.

“I did not see the Messenger ofAllah(ﷺ) offer any of the night prayers in any way other thanstanding,until he became old. Then he started to pray sitting downuntil, whenthere were thirty or forty Verses left of his recitation,he wouldstand up and recite them, and prostrate.”

It wasnarrated from ‘Imran bin Husain that he asked the Messenger ofAllah (ﷺ) about a man who prays sitting down. He said, “Whoeverperforms prayer standing up, that is better. Whoever performs prayersitting down will have half the reward of one who prays standing. Andwhoever performs prayer lying down will have half the reward of onewho prays sitting.”

“When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)fell ill with the sickness that would be his last” – (One of thenarrators) Abu Mu’awiyah said: “When he was overcome by sickness”–“Bilal came to tell him that it was time for prayer. He said,‘TellAbu Bakr to lead the people in prayer.’ We said: ‘OMessenger ofAllah! Abu Bakr is a tender-hearted man, and when hetakes your placehe will weep and not be able to do it. Why do younot tell ‘Umar tolead the people in prayer?’ He said: ‘TellAbu Bakr to lead the peoplein prayer; you are (like) the femalecompanions of Yusuf.’” She said:“So we sent word to Abu Bakr,and he led the people in prayer. Thenthe Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)began to feel a little better, so he cameout to the prayer, supportedby two men with his feet making linesalong the ground. When Abu Bakrrealized that he was there, he wantedto step back, but the Prophet(ﷺ) gestured to him to stay where hewas. Then (the two men)brought him to sit beside Abu Bakr, and AbuBakr was following thelead of the Prophet (ﷺ) and the people werefollowing Abu Bakr.”

“The Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) fainted when he was sick, then he woke up and said: ‘Has thetime for prayer come?’ They said: ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘Tell Bilalto callthe Adhan, and tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer.’Then hefainted, then he woke up and said: ‘Has the time for prayercome?’They said: ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘Tell Bilal to call theAdhan, and tell AbuBakr to lead the people in prayer.’ Then hefainted, then he woke upand said: ‘Has the time for prayer come?’They said: ‘Yes.’ He said:‘Tell Bilal to call the Adhan, andtell Abu Bakr to lead the people inprayer.’ ‘Aishah said: ‘Myfather is a tender-hearted man, and if hestands in that place hewill weep and will not be able to do it. Ifyou told someone else todo it (that would be better).’ Then hefainted, then woke up andsaid: ‘Tell Bilal to call the Adhan, andtell Abu Bakr to lead thepeople in prayer. You are (like) the femalecompanions of Yusuf.’So Bilal was told to call the Adhan and he didso, and Abu Bakr wastold to lead the people in prayer, and he did so. Then the Messengerof Allah (ﷺ) felt a little better, and he said:‘Find me someoneI can lean on.’ Barirah and another man came, and heleaned onthem. When Abu Bakr saw him, he started to step back, but(theProphet (ﷺ)) gestured him to stay where he was. Then theMessengerof Allah (ﷺ) came and sat beside Abu Bakr, until Abu Bakrfinishedpraying. Then the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) passed away.”

“When the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ)fell ill with what would be his final illness, he was in thehouse of‘Aishah. He said: ‘Call ‘Ali for me.’ ‘Aishah said: ‘OMessenger of Allah, should we call Abu Bakr for you?’ He said:‘Callhim.’ Hafsah said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, should we call‘Umar foryou?’ He said: ‘Call him.’ Ummul-Fadl said: ‘OMessenger of Allah,should we call Al-‘Abbas for you?’ He said:‘Yes.’ When they hadgathered, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)lifted his head, looked andfell silent. ‘Umar said: ‘Get up andleave the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ).’ Then Bilal came to tell himthat the time for prayer had come,and he said: ‘Tell Abu Bakr tolead the people in prayer.’ ‘Aishahsaid: ‘O Messenger ofAllah, Abu Bakr is a soft and tender-heartedman, and if he does notsee you, he will weep and the people will weepwith him. If you tell‘Umar to lead the people in prayer (that wouldbe better).’ AbuBakr went out and led the people in prayer, then theMessenger ofAllah (ﷺ) felt a little better, so he came out,supported by twomen, with his feet making lines along the ground.When the people sawhim, they said: ‘Subhan-Allah,’ to alert Abu Bakr.He wanted tostep back, but the Prophet (ﷺ) gestured him to staywhere he was.Then the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came and sat on hisright. Abu Bakrstood up and he was following the lead of the Prophet(ﷺ), and thepeople were following the lead of Abu Bakr. Ibn ‘Abbassaid; ‘Andthe Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) started to recite from whereAbu Bakrhad reached.’”

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)usedto pray (voluntary prayers) at night two by two, and he wouldprayone Rak’ah of Witr.”

“How should I perform Witr?” He said: “PrayWitr with one Rak’ah.” He said: “I am afraid that the peoplewill saythat I am cutting the prayer short.” He said: “TheSunnah of Allah andHis Messenger.” Meaning “This is the Sunnahof Allah and HisMessenger.”

It wasnarrated from Ubayy bin Ka’b that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)usedto pray Witr and he would recite Qunut before Ruku’.

“I asked Anas bin Malik aboutQunut,and he said: ‘The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) recited Qunut afterRuku’.’”