Timing for the Witr Prayer
The time for the Witr prayer concludes at dawn, starting after the Isha prayer. While it is recommended to perform the Witr prayer late at night, particularly as it is highly revered and attended, those who are concerned they may fall asleep and miss it should pray their Witr before retiring for the night.
The Witr Prayer
In linguistic terms, “Witr” refers to an odd number. In a religious context, it denotes the prayer performed between the Isha and the dawn. This prayer is termed “Witr” because one can pray in an odd number of rak’ahs, such as one, three, or more. Scholars have varying opinions regarding its status; the majority view is that it is a confirmed Sunnah rather than obligatory, while the second opinion, held by Abu Hanifa, considers it mandatory. For those who have missed the Witr prayer, it is permissible to perform Witr as a two-rak’ah prayer during the forenoon, concluding it with a single rak’ah. This prayer holds significant importance for the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), who advocated for its observance among his companions, who in turn showed great diligence in performing it, thus revitalizing a Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
Number and Characteristics of Witr Rak’ahs
The individual can perform the Witr prayer with either one rak’ah or three rak’ahs. There are two ways to perform the three rak’ahs: the first is to pray two rak’ahs and conclude with a single rak’ah, or to pray all three rak’ahs with a single Tashahhud (testification) at the end. It is not advisable to perform it with two Tashahhuds and a single Tasleem, as this would resemble the Maghrib prayer. Additionally, one may pray Witr with five rak’ahs, sitting for the Tashahhud only at the end, followed by Tasleem. It is also possible to pray seven rak’ahs, which can be done in two ways: either by praying all seven consecutively with one Tashahhud at the end and then Tasleem, or by praying six rak’ahs and sitting for the Tashahhud on the seventh without concluding the prayer, followed by Tashahhud and Tasleem on the seventh rak’ah. Lastly, Witr can be prayed with nine rak’ahs, involving two Tashahhuds—one at the eighth rak’ah followed by standing without Tasleem, and another Tashahhud at the ninth Rak’ah, after which the prayer is concluded with Tasleem.