Is the witr salah (one rakah) must be said only once
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa
Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
Dear
Mr Burhan
assalamo
alaikum
Eid
mubarak to you & your team.
i have
a question for witr salah. pls. guide me
i go
to mosque for isha and taraweeh salah, i read only 8 taraweeh, i leave 2 plus 1
rakah since i come back to mosque for qayamul lail. duirng that period i read 8
rakah that is tahhajud and 2 + 1 . pls tell me one is witr what is the other 2
rakah before 1 witr ? is this sunnat or nafl? the lady standing next to me in the mosque
says when i go for taraweeh i must read the 2 rakah after taraweeh and before
witr. can i say this 2 rakah salah both the times i.e. after taraweeh and
during qayyamul lail? i told her i will do it during tahhajud (qayyamul lail)
i
would also like to inquire before saheri if i get up and pray some nafl is it o.kay
if i prayed the witr during qayamul lail? as i am not sure every day whether i
will get up at
is the
witr salah (one rakah) must be said only once or if i am in the mosque for
taraweeh i must say and if i go again for qayamul lail i must say the witr
again as i see many ladies doing both the times.
pls.
give me the answer in detail.
thanks
a lot
jazakallah
a
sister
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Answer:
Can one pray witr twice
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask
for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever
He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that
there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
It is reported that Hadrat Ali (r.a.) said:
"The witr prayer is not required like your obligatory prayers, but the
Prophet (saws) would perform the witr prayer and say: 'O you people [followers]
of the Qur'an, perform the witr prayer,
for Allah is One and He loves the witr.'"
The Prophet (saws) said: 'The night prayer is
sets of two rak'at. If one fears the
coming of the dawn, he should perform one rak'ah, thereby making all of them
odd [witr].'
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 2.112 Narrated by Abdullah bin Umar
The Prophet (saws) said, "Make Witr as
your last prayer at night."
The ‘witr’ prayers are not obligatory, but an extremely
preferred Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws), and he (saws) time and again
exhorted the believers to offer the witr prayers and make it the last prayer of
the night.
Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 2.13
It is permissible to perform the witr prayers
by praying two rak'at combinations[and concluding each of them with a tashahud
and the tasleems] and then praying one rak'ah with a tashahud and taslim. Likewise, it is allowed to pray all the
rak'at with two tashahuds and one taslim. One may pray an even number of
rak'ats, one after another, without making any tashahud, save in the one before
the last rak'ah in which case one makes the tashahud and then stands to perform
the last rak'ah wherein one will make another tashahud and end the prayer with
the taslim. One may also make only one tashahud and the taslim, in the last
rak'ah of witr. All of that is
permissible and can be traced to the Prophet (saws).
Al-Bukhari and Muslim quote 'Aishah saying
that the Prophet (saws) would perform thirteen rak'at during the night and
would make the witr prayer, and he would not 'sit' except in the last rak'ah of
them. In another hadith, 'Aishah reports
that the Prophet (saws) would perform nine rak'at during the night and that he
would not sit during them until the eighth rak'ah in which he would make
remembrance of Allah, praising Him, and would make supplication. Then, he would
stand without making the taslim and pray the ninth rak'ah, after which he would
sit, make the tashahud and make the taslim in such a manner that we could hear
him.
The Prophet (saws) said: 'The night prayer is
sets of two rak'at. If one fears the
coming of the dawn, he should perform one rak'ah, thereby making all of them
odd [witr].'
Since the number of rakahs of the voluntary night prayers
are not specified, one may pray as many rakahs as is easy for him, either in a
two rakah combination with a tashahud and tasleem for each, or all of them
together with only a tashahud at the end of the prayer with no tasleem; then
end these voluntary night prayers with one rakah of witr with a tashahud and
tasleems thus making all of them ‘witr’ or an odd number. The Messenger of Allah (saws) prayed the
night voluntary prayers in both ways, thus if one follows any one of the ways
he would be in accordance with the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws).
The term ‘Witr’ basically means an odd number, and the
wisdom or concept behind the ‘witr’ prayer is to conclude the day prayers with
‘witr’ or an odd number of rakahs which is fulfilled by the three rakahs of the
obligatory Magrib prayers, and the end the night prayers with ‘witr’ or an odd
number of rakahs.
Your Question: pls
tell me one is witr what is the other 2 rakah before 1 witr ? is this sunnat or
nafl?
Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 1418 Narrated by Ubayy ibn Ka'b
The Messenger of Allah (saws) used to observe
witr by (reciting) Surah 87 Al-Ala in the first rakah and Surah 109 Al-Kafiroon
in the second; and in the ‘witr’ or solitary rakah he (saws) would recite Surah
112 Al-Ikhlaas.
Aishah reported
that the Prophet (saws) would recite Surah 87Al a'la in the first rak'ah, Surah
109Al-Kafirun in the second, and the last three Surahs (112 Ikhlaas, 113 Falaq
and 114 Naas) in the final rak'ah of witr.
Related by Ahmad,
Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi
The ‘two-rakah’ prayer just before the solitary ‘witr’ prayer is called the ‘Shaff’ prayer, and it is amongst a preferred Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws).
Your Question: the
lady standing next to me in the mosque says when i go for taraweeh i must read
the 2 rakah after taraweeh and before witr. can i say this 2 rakah salah both
the times i.e. after taraweeh and during qayyamul lail? i told her i will do it
during tahhajud (qayyamul lail)
Beloved Sister, the ‘tarawih’ or ‘qiyam-ul-layl’ are
Sunnah and thus optional prayers, thus one may recite any number of rakahs as
one wills or is easy for them.
If one wills to offer the two rakahs of ‘shaff’ during
both the congregational ‘tarawih’ and the ‘qiyam ul-layl’ prayers, there is
absolutely no harm; and if one wishes to recite them only once after the
‘qiyam-ul-layl’, there is absolutely no harm either.
There is absolutely no obligation upon the believers that they ‘must’ recite the ‘shaff’ prayers during the ‘tarawih’ prayers, especially if one wishes to recite them after the ‘qiyam ul-layl’ prayers and before their ‘witr’ prayer.
i would also like to
inquire before saheri if i get up and pray some nafl is it o.kay if i prayed
the witr during qayamul lail? as i am not sure every day whether i will get up
at
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 2.112 Narrated by Abdullah bin Umar
The Prophet (saws) said, "Make Witr as
your last prayer at night."
The Prophet (saws) said: 'The night prayer is
sets of two rak'at. If one fears the
coming of the dawn, he should perform one rak'ah, thereby making all of them
odd [witr].'
Firstly, one should only pray one ‘witr’ prayer, and they
should strive to make the ‘witr’ their last prayer of their night prayers.
If one is fortunate enough to have a habit, or one has an
intention of offering ‘nawafil’ prayers alone in the night, then it would be
best to offer their solitary ‘witr’ prayer after their ‘nawafil’ prayers at
home; thus making the ‘witr’ prayer the last prayer of their night. Thus when the ‘witr’ is being offered after
the ‘qiyam ul-layl’ prayers in congregation in the mosques in Ramadan, one has
two lawful options:
- One
may pray the ‘witr’ prayers after the ‘qiyam ul-layl’ in congregation, and
when the ‘Imam’ does the tasleem after his one-rakah ‘witr’ prayer, one
should not do the tasleem with the congregation but stand up and offer one
more rakah; and offer their one-rakah ‘witr’ after their ‘nawafil’ prayers
at home.
- Or,
one may simply chose to abstain from joining the ‘witr’ prayer in
congregation after the ‘qiyam ul-layl’ prayers.
But if one has already prayed the ‘witr’ prayer in
congregation with the ‘qiyam-ul-layl’ in congregation, and happens to wake up
before ‘suhoor’ and intends to offer some ‘nawafil’ prayers, there is
absolutely no harm. They may pray as many ‘nawafil’ prayers in a two-rakah combination
as they will and please; and since they have already offered their ‘witr’
prayer earlier, they should not offer it again.
Your Question: is
the witr salah (one rakah) must be said only once or if i am in the mosque for
taraweeh i must say and if i go again for qayamul lail i must say the witr
again as i see many ladies doing both the times.
The Prophet (saws) said: 'The night prayer is
sets of two rak'at. If one fears the
coming of the dawn, he should perform one rak'ah, thereby making all of them
odd [witr].'
The sole purpose of offering the ‘witr’ prayer is to make
the number of ‘rakahs’ one offers in the night to add up to an odd number. If one were to offer the ‘witr’ prayer twice,
then that defeats the whole purpose! The
‘witr’ prayer should only be offered once, and preferably as the last prayer of
the night.
It would not be in accordance to the practice and Sunnah
of the Messenger of Allah (saws) for someone to intentionally offer the
one-rakah ‘witr’ prayer twice in one night.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to
Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source
of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan
Wister