How to Pray Witr

 

Summary of answer

All the ways of offering Witr prayer have been mentioned in the Sunnah, but the best way is not to stick to one particular way; rather one should do it one way one time and another way another time, so that one will have done all the Sunnahs. For more about how to pray witr, see the detailed answer.

 

Answer

 

• Is witr prayer obligatory or sunnah?

• Time of witr prayer 

• Is it better to offer witr prayer at the beginning of its time or to delay it? 

• Number of rak’ahs in witr prayer 

• How to offer witr prayer with 3 rak`ahs

• How to offer witr prayer with 5 or 7 rak`ahs

• How to offer witr prayer with 9 rak`ahs

• How to offer witr prayer with 11 rak`ahs

• The least complete way of praying Witr and what is to be recited therein 

 

Praise be to Allah.

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Is witr prayer obligatory or sunnah?

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Witr prayer is one of the greatest acts of worship that draw one closer to Allah. Some of the scholars – the Hanafis – even thought that it is one of the obligatory prayers, but the correct view is that it is one of the confirmed Sunnahs (Sunnah muakkadah) which the Muslim should observe regularly and not neglect. 

Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Whoever neglects Witr is a bad man whose testimony should not be accepted. This indicates that Witr prayer is something that is confirmed. 

We may sum up the manner of offering Witr prayer as follows: 

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Time of witr prayer 

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The witr prayer starts when a person has prayed ‘Isha, even if it is joined to Maghrib at the time of Maghrib, and lasts until dawn begins , because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Allah has prescribed for you a prayer (by which He may increase your reward), which is Witr; Allah has enjoined it for you during the time between ‘Isha prayer until dawn begins.” (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 425; classed as saheeh by al-Albani in Sahih al-Tirmidhi) 

 

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Is it better to offer witr prayer at the beginning of its time or to delay it? 

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The Sunnah indicates that if a person thinks he will be able to get up at the end of the night, it is better to delay it , because prayer at the end of the night is better and is witnessed (by the angels). 

But whoever fears that he will not get up at the end of the night should pray Witr before he goes to sleep, because of the hadith of Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever fears that he will not get up at the end of the night, let him pray Witr at the beginning of the night, but whoever thinks that he will be able to get up at the end of the night, let him pray Witr at the end of the night, for prayer at the end of the night is witnessed (by the angels) and that is better.” (Narrated by Muslim, 755)

Al-Nawawi said: 

“This is the correct view. Other ahadith which speak of this topic in general terms are to be interpreted in the light of this sound, specific and clear report, such as the hadith, “My close friend advised me not to sleep without having prayed Witr.” This is to be understood as referring to one who is not sure that he will be able to wake up (to pray Witr at the end of the night).” (Sharh Muslim, 3/277)

 

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Number of rak’ahs in witr prayer 

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The minimum number of rak’ahs for Witr is one rak’ah, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Witr is one rak’ah at the end of the night.” (Narrated by Muslim, 752)

And he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The night prayers are two (rak’ahs) by two, but if one of you fears that dawn is about to break, let him pray one rak’ah to make what he has prayed odd-numbered.”  (Narrated by al-Bukhari, 911; Muslim, 749)

If a person limits himself to praying one rak’ah, then he has performed the Sunnah. But Witr may also be three or five or seven or nine.  

 

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How to offer witr prayer with 3 rak`ahs

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If a person prays three rak’ahs of Witr this may be done in two ways, both of which are prescribed in shari’ah: 

1 – To pray them one after another, with one tashahhud, because of the hadith of ‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) who said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used not to say the tasleem in the (first) two rak’ahs of Witr. According to another version: “He used to pray Witr with three rak’ahs and he did not sit except in the last of them.” (Narrated by al-Nasai, 3/234; al-Bayhaqi, 3/31. al-Nawawi said in al-Majmu’ (4/7): it was narrated by al-Nasai with a hasan isnad, and by al-Bayhaqi with a sahih isnad.) 

2 – Saying the tasleem after two rak’ahs, then praying one rak’ah on its own, because of the report narrated from Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), that he used to separate the two rak’ahs from the single rak’ah with a tasleem, and he said that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to do that. (Narrated by Ibn Hibban (2435); Ibn Hajar said in al-Fath (2/482): its isnad is qawi (strong).) 

 

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How to offer witr prayer with 5 or 7 rak`ahs

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But if he prays Witr with five or seven rak’ahs, then they should be continuous, and he should only recite one tashahhud in the last of them and say the tasleem, because of the report narrated by ‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to pray thirteen rak’ahs at night, praying five rak’ahs of Witr, in which he would not sit except in the last rak’ah. (Narrated by Muslim, 737)

And it was narrated that Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to pray Witr with five or seven (rak’ahs) and he did not separate between them with any salam or words. (Narrated by Ahmad, 6/290; al-Nasai, 1714. al-Nawawi said: Its isnad is jayyid. Al-Fath al-Rabbani, 2/297. and it was classed as sahih by al-Albani in Saheeh al-Nasai.)

 

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How to offer witr prayer with 9 rak`ahs

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If he prays Witr with nine rak’ahs, then they should be continuous and he should sit to recite the tashahhud in the eighth rak’ah, then stand up and not say the tasleem, then he should recite the tashahhud in the ninth rak’ah and then say the tasleem. 

It was narrated in Muslim (746) from ‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to pray nine rak’ahs in which he did not sit except in the eighth, when he would remember Allah, praise Him and call upon Him, then he would get up and not say the tasleem, and he would stand up and pray the ninth (rak’ah), then he would sit and remember Allah and praise Him and call upon Him, then he would say a tasleem that we could hear. 

 

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How to offer witr prayer with 11 rak`ahs

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If he prayed Witr with eleven rak’ahs, he would say the tasleem after each two rak’ahs, then pray one rak’ah at the end. 

 

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The least complete way of praying Witr and what is to be recited therein 

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The least complete way in Witr is to pray two rak’ahs and say the tasleem, then to pray one rak’ah and say the tasleem. It is permissible to say one tasleem, but one should say one tashahhud not two, as stated above. 

In the first rak’ah one should recite Sabbih isma rabbika al-‘a’la (“Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High” – Surah al-A’la 87). In the second one should recite Surah al-Kafirun (109), and in the third Surah al-Ikhlas (112).  

Al-Nasai (1729) narrated that Ubayy ibn Ka’b said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to recite in Witr Sabbih isma rabbika al-‘a’la (“Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High” – Surah al-A’la 87), Qul ya ayyuha’l-kafirun (“Say: O disbelievers…” – Surah al-Kafirun 109) and Qul Huwa Allahu ahad (“Say: He is Allah, the One” – Surah al-Ikhlas 112). Classed as sahih by al-Albani in Saheeh al-Nasai. 

All these ways of offering Witr prayer have been mentioned in the Sunnah, but the best way is not to stick to one particular way; rather one should do it one way one time and another way another time, so that one will have done all the Sunnahs. 

And Allah knows best.

 

https://islamqa.info/en/answers/46544/how-to-pray-witr

 

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What Is Qunut?

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Summary of answer

Qunut is the name of a du’a (supplication) offered during prayer at a specific point while standing. Qunut is recommended in wit prayer and when a calamity befalls Muslims. For more, see the detailed answer.

 

Answer

 

• What is Qunut?

• When should Qunut be recited?

• Qunut in Fajr prayer all the time, in all circumstances: Valid?

• Is there a specific wording for Qunut?

• Qunut at times of calamity (Qunut al-Nazilah) 

• Other formula for Qunut 

• Qunut: Before or after Ruku’?

• Is prayer with a longer Qunut the best?

 

Praise be to Allah.

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What is Qunut?

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Qunut, according to the definition of the fuqaha, “is the name of a du’a (supplication) offered during prayer at a specific point while standing.” 

 

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When should Qunut be recited?

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It is prescribed in the Witr prayer after the ruku’ (bowing), according to the more correct of the two scholarly opinions. 

If a calamity (nazilah) befalls the Muslims , it is prescribed to say Du’a al- Qunut after standing up from ruku’ in the last rak’ah of each of the five daily obligatory prayers, until Allah relieves the Muslims of that calamity. (See Tashih al-Du’a by Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd, p. 460). 

 

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Qunut in Fajr prayer all the time, in all circumstances: Valid?

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With regard to saying Du’a al-Qunut in Fajr prayer all the time, in all circumstances, there is no sahih report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) singled out Fajr for Qunut, or that he always recited it in Fajr prayer. Rather what is proven is that he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said Du’a al-Qunut at times of calamity with words that were appropriate to the situation . 

He said Du’a al-Qunut in Fajr and in other prayers, praying against Ra’l, Dhakwan and ‘Usayyah for killing the Quran-readers whom the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had sent to them in order to teach them their religion. 

And it was proven that he prayed in Fajr prayer and other prayers for the weak and oppressed believers, that Allah would save them from their enemies. But he did not do that all the time. The Rightly-Guided khalifas after him followed the same practice. 

It is better for the imam to limit Qunut to times of calamity, following the example of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), as it was proven that Abu Malik al-Ash’ari said: “I said to my father, ‘O my father, you prayed behind the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and behind Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman and ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with them). Did they say Du’a al-Qunut in Fajr?’ He said, ‘O my son, this is a newly-invented matter.’” (Narrated by the five, apart from Abu Dawud; classed as sahih by al-Albani in al-Irwa, 435). The best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). 

And Allah is the Source of strength. May Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and Companions. (al-Lajnah al-Daimah li’l-Buhuth al-‘Ilmiyyah wa’l-Ifta, 7/47) 

 

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Is there a specific wording for Qunut?

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If you ask, is there a specific wording for Qunut during Witr prayer, or Qunut at times of calamity? 

The answer is: for Du’a al-Qunut in Witr prayer a number of wordings have been narrated, including the following: 

1 – The version which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) taught to al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), which is: 

“Allaahumma ihdini fiman hadayta wa ‘afini fiman ‘afayta wa tawallani fiman tawallayta wa barik li fima a’tayta, wa qini sharra ma qadayta , fa innaka taqdi wa la yuqda ‘alayk, wa innahu la yadhillu man walayta wa la ya’izzu man ‘adayta, tabarakta Rabbana wa ta’alayta la manja minka illa ilayk

(O Allah, guide me among those whom You have guided, pardon me among those whom You have pardoned, turn to me in friendship among those on whom You have turned in friendship, and bless me in what You have bestowed, and save me from the evil of what You have decreed. For verily You decree and none can influence You; and he is not humiliated whom You have befriended, nor is he honoured who is Your enemy. Blessed are You, O Lord, and Exalted. There is no place of safety from You except with You).” (Narrated by Abu Dawud, 1213; al-Nasai, 1725; classed as sahih by al-Albani in al-Irwa, 429). 

It was narrated from ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to say at the end of Witr: 

“Allahumma inni a’udhu bi ridaka min sakhatika wa bi mu’afatika min ‘uqubatika wa a’udhu bika minka, la uhsi thanaan ‘alayka anta kama athnayta ‘ala nafsika (O Allah, I seek refuge in Your pleasure from Your wrath and in Your forgiveness from Your punishment. I cannot praise You enough; You are as You have praised Yourself.” (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 1727; classed as sahih by al-Albani in al-Irwa, 430; Sahih Abi Dawud, 1282). 

Then he should send blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) as it was narrated that some of the Sahabah (may Allah be pleased with them) – including Ubayy ibn Ka’b and Mu’adh al-Ansary (may Allah be pleased with them) – did that at the end of Qunut al-Witr. (See Tashih al-Du’a by Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd, p. 460). 

 

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Qunut at times of calamity (Qunut al-Nazilah) 

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When praying Qunut at the time of calamity , one should make supplication as is appropriate to the situation, as it was narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) cursed some Arab tribes who had betrayed his Companions and killed them, and he prayed for the weak and oppressed believers in Makkah, that Allah would save them.  It was narrated that ‘Umar prayed Qunut with the following words:

“Allahumma inna nasta’inuka wa numinu bika, wa natawakkalu ‘alayka wa nuthni ‘alayka al-khayr, wa la nakfuruka. Allahumma iyyaaka na’budu wa laka nusalli wa nasjudu, wa ilayka nas’a wa nahfid. Narju rahmataka wa nakhsha ‘adhabaka, inna ‘adhabaka al-jadd bil kuffari mulhaq. Allahumma ‘adhdhib il-kafarata ahl al-kitab alladhina yasudduna ‘an sabilika

(O Allah, verily we seek Your help, we believe in You, we put our trust in You and we praise You and we are not ungrateful to You. O Allah, You alone we worship and to You we pray and prostrate, for Your sake we strive. We hope for Your mercy and fear Your punishment, for Your punishment will certainly reach the disbelievers.  O Allah, punish the infidels of the People of the Book who are preventing others from following Your way).” (Narrated by al-Bayhaqi, 2/210; classed as sahih by al-Albani in al-Irwa, 2/170. Al-Albani said: This was reported from ‘Umar concerning Qunut in Fajr, and it seems that this Qunut is Qunut al-Nazilah (Qunut at times of calamity) as is indicated by his praying against the kuffar). 

 

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Other formula for Qunut 

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If you ask, can we make du’a using words other than those mentioned here? 

The answer is: 

Yes, that is permissible. Al-Nawawi said in al-Majmoo’ (3/497): “The correct view which was stated definitively by the majority of scholars is that there are no specific words, rather any du’aa’ may be said.” 

The version narrated from ‘Umar is not something that we have to follow, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not pray using these words, so there is nothing wrong with adding more to them. Shaykh al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “There is nothing wrong with adding more to this, cursing the infidels and sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and praying for the Muslims.” (Qiyam Ramadan by al-Albani, 31). 

 

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Qunut: Before or after Ruku’?

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We still have an important question which is: should Du’a al-Qunut be said before ruku’ (bowing) or after? 

The answer is: Most of the ahadith and the opinion of most of the scholars state that Qunut comes after ruku’, but if you say Qunut before ruku’ that is acceptable. So you have the choice of doing ruku’ when you have finished reciting Quran, then standing up and saying “Rabbana wa laka al-hamd” then saying Qunut… or saying Qunut when you have finished reciting Quran, then saying “Allahu akbar” and bowing. Both of these were narrated in the Sunnah. (Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on him), al-Sharh al-Mumti’, 4/64) 

 

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Is prayer with a longer Qunut the best?

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Note: The questioner says that the best prayer is that which has longer Qunut. Perhaps he is referring to the hadith narrated by Muslim (1257) from Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him), which says that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The best of prayer is tool al-qunut (the longest in standing).”

 Al-Nawawi said: “What is meant by qunut here is the standing, according to the consensus of the scholars, as far as I know.”

 So the hadith is not referring to Qunut in the sense of the du’a said after standing up from ruku’, rather it is referring to standing for a long time.

 And Allah knows best.

 

https://islamqa.info/en/answers/20031/what-is-qunut

 

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Can You Pray Witr Twice?

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Summary of answer

If the Muslim prays Witr then he wants to pray Qiyam Al-layl after that, he should pray them two by two, and he does not have to repeat Witr.

 

Answer

 

Related

Praise be to Allah.

If the Muslim prays Witr then he wants to pray Qiyam Al-layl after that, he should pray them two by two, and he does not have to repeat Witr . 

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) commanded that the last prayer offered at night should be Witr , but this command is in the sense that is it recommended, not obligatory

Shaykh Ibn Baz (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: 

If I have prayed Witr at the beginning of the night, then I get up to pray Qiyam at the end of the night, how should I pray? 

He replied: 

“If you have prayed Witr at the beginning of the night then Allah enables you to get up at the end of the night, then pray whatever you can two by two – without Witr , because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “There cannot be no two Witrs in one night .” 

And it was narrated from `Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to pray two Rak`ahs after Witr sitting down. The reason for that – and Allah knows best – was to show the people that it is permissible to pray after Witr .” (Majmu` Fatawa Ash-Shaykh Ibn Baz, 11/311) 

And Allah knows best.

 

https://islamqa.info/en/answers/38400/can-you-pray-witr-twice

 

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If anyone misses the witr

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 “‏ مَنْ نَامَ عَنْ وِتْرِهِ أَوْ نَسِيَهُ فَلْيُصَلِّهِ إِذَا ذَكَرَهُ ‏”‏ ‏.‏

 

Narrated AbuSa’id al-Khudri:

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: If anyone oversleeps and misses the witr, or forgets it, he should pray when he remembers.

 

[Sunan Abi Dawud 1431]

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Ruling on neglecting witr prayer

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Ibn Qudamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

“Witr is not obligatory. This is the view of Malik and al-Shafi’i. Abu Hanifah said: it is obligatory. Then he said: Ahmad said: Whoever omits to pray Witr deliberately is a bad man, whose testimony should not be accepted. He wanted to emphasize that it is confirmed because of the ahadith which say that it is enjoined and encouraged.” (Al-Mughni, 1/827) 

The scholars of the Standing Committee were asked: Is Witr prayer obligatory, and will the one who prays it on some days and not on others be punished for that? 

They replied: 

“Witr prayer is Sunnah muakkadah (a confirmed Sunnah) which the believer should adhere to. Whoever prays it on some days and not on others will not be blamed for that, but he should be advised to pray Witr regularly. 

It is prescribed to pray two rak’ahs during the day instead if a person misses it , because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to do that, as it was narrated that ‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: If sleep or sickness kept him from praying at night, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would pray twelve rak’ahs during the day. (Narrated by Muslim in his Sahih)

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) usually prayed eleven rak’ahs at night, saying the salam after each two rak’ahs then praying one rak’ah on its own. But if sleep or sickness kept him from doing that, he would pray twelve rak’ahs during the day, as ‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) stated. 

Based on this, if a person usually prays five rak’ahs at night but he sleeps or misses them for any other reason, it is prescribed for him to pray six rak’ahs during the day, saying salam after each two rak’ahs. If his habit is to pray three rak’ahs, then he should pray four rak’ahs with two salams, and if his habit is to pray seven rak’ahs, he should pray eight with the salam after each two rak’ahs.” (Fatawa al-Lajnah al-Daimah, 7/172)

And Allah knows best.

 

https://islamqa.info/en/answers/36793/is-witr-compulsory