The Book on Al-Witr

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Kharijah ibn Hudhafah said: The Messenger of Allah came out to us and said: "Allah has granted you an extra prayer that is better for you than red camels: the witr prayer. Allah has appointed it for you between the night prayer and the rising of dawn." Reports on this topic are also narrated from Abu Hurayrah, Abdullah ibn Amr, Buraydah, and Abu Basrah al-Ghifari, a Companion of the Messenger of Allah. Abu Isa said: The hadith of Kharijah ibn Hudhafah is gharib; we know it only through the report of Yazid ibn Abi Habib. Some hadith scholars made an error in this hadith, saying Abdullah ibn Rashid al-Zuraqi, which is mistaken here. Abu Basrah al-Ghifari was named Humayl ibn Basrah; some said Jamil ibn Basrah, but that is not correct. There was another man called Abu Basrah al-Ghifari who narrated from Abu Dharr; he was a nephew of Abu Dharr.

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Ali said: Witr is not obligatory like your prescribed prayer, but the Messenger of Allah established it as a Sunnah and said: "Allah is One and loves what is odd-numbered, so perform witr, people of the Quran." Reports on this topic are also narrated from Ibn Umar, Ibn Masud, and Ibn Abbas. Abu Isa said: The hadith of Ali is hasan.

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Sufyan al-Thawri and others narrated from Abu Ishaq, from Asim ibn Damrah, from Ali, who said: "Witr is not obligatory like the prescribed prayer, but it is a Sunnah established by the Messenger of Allah." Muhammad ibn Bashshar narrated this to us: Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi narrated to us, from Sufyan, from Abu Ishaq. This is sounder than the hadith of Abu Bakr ibn Ayyash. Mansur ibn al-Mutamir also transmitted it from Abu Ishaq, similar to the narration of Abu Bakr ibn Ayyash.

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Abu Hurayrah reported: The Messenger of Allah instructed me to pray witr before I went to sleep. Isa ibn Abi Azzah said: Al-Shabi used to pray witr at the beginning of the night and then sleep. A report on this topic is also narrated from Abu Dharr. Abu Isa said: The hadith of Abu Hurayrah is hasan gharib through this chain. Abu Thawr al-Azdi was named Habib ibn Abi Mulaykah. Some scholars among the Companions and those after them preferred that a man not sleep before praying witr. It is reported from the Prophet that he said: "Whoever among you fears that he will not wake in the latter part of the night should pray witr at the beginning of the night. Whoever hopes to rise in the latter part of the night should pray witr then, for recitation of the Quran in the latter part of the night is witnessed, and that is better." Hannad narrated this to us: Abu Muawiyah narrated to us, from al-Amash, from Abu Sufyan, from Jabir, from the Prophet, with this wording.

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Aishah was asked about the witr prayer of the Messenger of Allah. She said: He prayed witr at different times throughout the night: at its beginning, middle, and end. At the end of his life, his witr was at dawn. Abu Isa said: Abu Husayn was named Uthman ibn Asim al-Asadi. Reports on this topic are also narrated from Ali, Jabir, Abu Masud al-Ansari, and Abu Qatadah. Abu Isa said: The hadith of Aishah is hasan sahih. Some scholars preferred praying witr at the end of the night.

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Umm Salamah said: The Prophet used to pray witr with thirteen rakahs, but when he grew older and weaker, he prayed witr with seven. A report on this topic is also narrated from Aishah. Abu Isa said: The hadith of Umm Salamah is hasan. Witr has been reported from the Prophet as thirteen, eleven, nine, seven, five, three, or one rakah. Ishaq ibn Ibrahim said that the reports saying the Prophet prayed witr with thirteen rakahs mean that he prayed thirteen rakahs at night including witr; the night prayer was thus attributed to witr. He transmitted a hadith about this from Aishah and cited the statement of the Prophet: "Pray witr, people of the Quran." He said this meant the night prayer is for the people of the Quran.

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Aishah said: The Prophet night prayer was thirteen rakahs, including five rakahs of witr. He did not sit during any of them except the last. When the caller to prayer gave the call, he would get up and pray two brief rakahs. A report on this topic is also narrated from Abu Ayyub. Abu Isa said: The hadith of Aishah is hasan sahih. Some scholars among the Companions and others considered five rakahs of witr appropriate and said that one should not sit during them except at the end. Abu Isa said: I asked Abu Musab al-Madani about the hadith that the Prophet prayed witr with nine and seven rakahs. I asked how he prayed witr with nine and seven; he said: He prayed two rakahs at a time, said the taslim, then prayed one rakah of witr.

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Ali said: The Prophet used to pray witr with three rakahs, reciting nine surahs from the Mufassal section, three surahs in each rakah, the last of which was "Say, He is Allah, One." Reports on this topic are also narrated from Imran ibn Husayn, Aishah, Ibn Abbas, and Abu Ayyub. Abd al-Rahman ibn Abza narrated from Ubayy ibn Kab; it is also reported from Abd al-Rahman ibn Abza from the Prophet. Some narrators transmitted it without mentioning Ubayy, while others included Abd al-Rahman ibn Abza from Ubayy. Abu Isa said: Some scholars among the Companions and others held this view and considered it appropriate to pray witr with three rakahs. Sufyan said: You may pray witr with five, three, or one rakah. He said: What I prefer is to pray witr with three rakahs. This was the view of Ibn al-Mubarak and the scholars of Kufa. Said ibn Yaqub al-Talqani narrated to us: Hammad ibn Zayd narrated to us, from Hisham, from Muhammad ibn Sirin, who said: They used to pray witr with five, three, or one rakah and considered all of that good.

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Anas ibn Sirin said: I asked Ibn Umar, "I make the two rakahs before dawn long." He said: The Prophet used to pray at night two rakahs at a time and then pray one rakah of witr. He would pray the two rakahs before dawn while the call to prayer was being given in his ear, meaning that he made them brief. Reports on this topic are also narrated from Aishah, Jabir, al-Fadl ibn Abbas, Abu Ayyub, and Ibn Abbas. Abu Isa said: The hadith of Ibn Umar is hasan sahih. Some scholars among the Companions and the Successors acted on this, preferring that a person separate the two rakahs from the third rakah of witr by praying one rakah. This was the view of Malik, al-Shafii, Ahmad, and Ishaq.

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Ibn Abbas said: The Prophet used to recite in the witr prayer: "Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High," "Say, O disbelievers," and "Say, He is Allah, One," one surah in each rakah. Reports on this topic are also narrated from Ali, Aishah, and Abd al-Rahman ibn Abza from Ubayy ibn Kab. It is also reported from Abd al-Rahman ibn Abza from the Prophet. Abu Isa said: It is reported that the Prophet recited the two surahs of refuge and "Say, He is Allah, One" in the third rakah of witr. Most scholars among the Companions and those after them preferred reciting "Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High," "Say, O disbelievers," and "Say, He is Allah, One," one surah in each rakah.

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Abd al-Aziz ibn Jurayj said: We asked Aishah what the Messenger of Allah used to recite in witr. She said: In the first rakah he recited "Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High"; in the second, "Say, O disbelievers"; and in the third, "Say, He is Allah, One" and the two surahs of refuge. Abu Isa said: This hadith is hasan gharib. This Abd al-Aziz was the father of Ibn Jurayj, the companion of Ata. Ibn Jurayj was named Abd al-Malik ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Jurayj. Yahya ibn Said al-Ansari also transmitted this hadith from Amrah, from Aishah, from the Prophet.

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Al-Hasan ibn Ali said: The Messenger of Allah taught me words to say in witr: "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 me, and protect me from the evil of what You have decreed. For You decree, and none decrees over You. He whom You befriend is not humiliated. Blessed and Exalted are You, our Lord." A report on this topic is also narrated from Ali. Abu Isa said: This hadith is hasan; we know it only through this chain from Abu al-Hawra al-Sadi, whose name was Rabiah ibn Shayban. We know no better report from the Prophet about the qunut in witr than this. Scholars differed about qunut in witr. Abdullah ibn Masud favored qunut throughout the year and preferred performing it before bowing. This was the view of some scholars, including Sufyan al-Thawri, Ibn al-Mubarak, Ishaq, and the scholars of Kufa. It is reported that Ali ibn Abi Talib performed qunut only in the second half of Ramadan and did so after bowing. Some scholars held this view, including al-Shafii and Ahmad.

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Abu Said al-Khudri reported that the Messenger of Allah said: "Whoever sleeps through witr or forgets it should pray it when he remembers or wakes up."

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Ibn Umar reported that the Prophet said: "Whoever sleeps through his witr prayer should pray it when morning comes." Abu Isa said: This is sounder than the previous hadith. Abu Isa said: I heard Abu Dawud al-Sijistani, meaning Sulayman ibn al-Ashath, say: I asked Ahmad ibn Hanbal about Abd al-Rahman ibn Zayd ibn Aslam. He said: His brother Abdullah is acceptable. I heard Muhammad mention from Ali ibn al-Madini that he considered Abd al-Rahman ibn Zayd ibn Aslam weak, while Abdullah ibn Zayd ibn Aslam is trustworthy. Some scholars of Kufa followed this hadith and said that a man should pray witr when he remembers, even if the sun has risen. This was the view of Sufyan al-Thawri.

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Ibn Umar reported that the Prophet said: "Pray witr before dawn hastens upon you." Abu Isa said: This hadith is hasan sahih.

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Abu Said al-Khudri reported that the Messenger of Allah said: "Pray witr before morning comes."

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Ibn Umar reported that the Prophet said: "When dawn rises, all night prayer and witr have ended, so pray witr before dawn rises." Abu Isa said: Sulayman ibn Musa alone transmitted it with this wording. It is reported from the Prophet that he said: "There is no witr after the dawn prayer." This was the view of more than one scholar. Al-Shafii, Ahmad, and Ishaq held that witr should not be prayed after the dawn prayer.

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Talq ibn Ali reported that he heard the Messenger of Allah say: "There are not two witr prayers in one night." Abu Isa said: This hadith is hasan gharib. Scholars differed about someone who prays witr at the beginning of the night and then gets up in its latter part. Some scholars among the Companions and those after them held that he should undo his first witr by adding one rakah to it, then pray as much as he wishes and perform witr at the end of his prayer, because "there are not two witr prayers in one night." This was the view of Ishaq. Other scholars among the Companions and others said that if someone prays witr early, then sleeps and gets up in the latter part of the night, he should pray as much as he wishes without undoing his witr, leaving it as it was. This was the view of Sufyan al-Thawri, Malik ibn Anas, Ibn al-Mubarak, al-Shafii, the scholars of Kufa, and Ahmad. This view is sounder, because it has been reported through more than one chain that the Prophet prayed after witr.

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Umm Salamah reported that the Prophet used to pray two rakahs after witr. Abu Isa said: Similar reports are narrated from Abu Umamah, Aishah, and more than one other person from the Prophet.

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Said ibn Yasar said: I was walking with Ibn Umar on a journey and fell behind him. He asked, "Where were you?" I replied, "I prayed witr." He said: Is the Messenger of Allah not an example for you? I saw the Messenger of Allah pray witr on his mount. A report on this topic is also narrated from Ibn Abbas. Abu Isa said: The hadith of Ibn Umar is hasan sahih. Some scholars among the Companions and others held this view and considered it appropriate for a man to pray witr on his mount. This was the view of al-Shafii, Ahmad, and Ishaq. Some scholars said that a man should not pray witr on his mount; if he wishes to pray witr, he should dismount and pray it on the ground. This was the view of some scholars of Kufa. This is the end of the chapters on witr.