Happy 2BA Muslim
Islamophilic
:salam2:
It was proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) prayed Witr in different ways. He prayed one rak’ah, and three, and five, and seven, and nine. And he prayed three rak’ahs in two different ways, either continuously with one tashahhud, or saying salaam after two rak’ahs and praying one rak’ah and saying salaam after it. He did not pray it like Maghrib, with two tashahhuds and one salaam. Rather he forbade doing that, and said:
“Do not pray Witr with three rak’ahs like Maghrib.”
Narrated by al-Haakim, 1/403; al-Bayhaqi, 3/31; al-Daaraqutni, p. 172. Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar said in Fath al-Baari (4/301): Its isnaad fulfils the conditions of the two Shaykhs (al-Bukhaari and Muslim).
Shaykh Muhammad al-Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen said:
It is permissible to pray Witr with three rak’ahs, or with five, or with seven, or with nine. If a person prays Witr with three, it may be done in one of two ways, both of which are prescribed in sharee’ah:
1 – Praying the three rak'ahs continually with one tashahhud.
2 – Saying salaam after two rak’ahs, then praying one rak’ah on its own.
Both of these are narrated in the Sunnah, so if a person does it one way sometimes and the other way sometimes, that is good.
…
It is permissible to say it with one salaam, but it should be with only one tashahhud and not two, because if he does it with two tashahhuds, it will be like Maghrib prayer, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade making it like Maghrib prayer.
Al-Sharh al-Mumti’, 4/14-16
Recitation during three rak’ahs of witr
It is Sunnah to recite Sabbih bi ismi Rabbika al-‘A’laa in the first rak’ah, Qul Yaa ayyuha’l-Kaafiroon in the second rak’ah, and Qul Huwa Allaahu ahad in the third rak’ah. Sometimes Qul a’oodhu bi Rabbi’l-Falaq and Qul a’oodhu bi Rabbi’l-Naas may be added as well.
It was reported in a saheeh report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) once recited one hundred aayaat of Soorat al-Nisa’ in one rak’ah of witr.
Du’aa’ al-Qunoot
A person may also humble himself before Allaah by reciting the du’aa’ which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) taught to his grandson al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him), which is:
“Allaahumma’hdinee fiman hadayta wa ‘aafinee fiman ‘aafayta wa tawallanee fiman tawallayta wa baarik lee fimaa a’tayta wa qinee sharra maa qadayt, fa innaka taqdee wa laa yuqdaa ‘alayk. Wa innahu laa yadhillu man waalayta wa laa ya’izzu man ‘aadayt. Tabaarakta Rabbanaa wa ta’aalayt. Laa majaa minka illa ilayk (O Allaah, guide me along with those whom You have guided, pardon me along with those whom You have pardoned, be an ally to me along with those whom You are an ally to, and bless for me that which You have bestowed. Protect me from the evil You have decreed for verily You decree and none can decree over You. For surety, he whom You show allegiance to is never abased and he whom You take an enemy is never honored and mighty. O our Lord, Blessed and Exalted are You. There is no refuge from You except with You).”
Sometimes one may send blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and there is nothing wrong with adding other du’aa’s that are known from the Sunnah.
There is nothing wrong with reciting Qunoot after rukoo’, or with adding curses against the kuffaar, sending blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or praying for the Muslims in the second half of Ramadaan, because it is proven that the imaam used to do this at the time of ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him). At the end of the hadeeth of ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn ‘Ubayd al-Qaari mentioned above, it says:
“… They used to curse the kuffaar in the middle, saying, ‘Allaahumma qaatil al-kafarata alladheena yasuddoona ‘an sabeelik wa yukadhdhiboona rusulak wa laa yu’minoona bi wa’dik. Wa khaalif bayna kalimatihim wa alqi fi quloobihim al-ru’b wa alqi ‘alayhim rijzaka wa ‘adhaabak ilaah al-haqq (O Allaah, destroy the kuffaar who are trying to prevent people from following Your path, who deny Your Messengers and who do not believe in Your promise (the Day of Judgement). Make them disunited, fill their hearts with terror and send Your wrath and punishment against them, O God of Truth).” Then he would send blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and pray for good for the Muslims as much as he could, and seek forgiveness for the believers.
After he had finished cursing the kuffaar, sending blessings on the Prophet, seeking forgiveness for the believing men and women and asking for his own needs, he would say:
“Allaahumma iyyaaka na’bud wa laka nusalli wa najud, wa ilayka nas’aa wa nahfud, wa narju rahmataka rabbanaa wa nakhaafu ‘adhaabak al-jadd. Inna ‘adhaabaka liman ‘aadayta mulhaq (O Allaah, You do we worship, to You do we pray and prostrate, for Your sake we strive and toil. We place our hope in Your Mercy, O our Lord, and we fear Your mighty punishment, for Your punishment will certainly overtake the one whom You have taken as an enemy.” Then he would say “Allaahu akbar” and go down in sujood.
What should be said at the end of witr
It is Sunnah to say at the end of witr (before or after the salaam):
“Allaahumma innee a’oodhu bi ridaaka min sakhatika wa bi mu’aafaatika min ‘aqoobatika, wa a’oodhu bika minka. La uhsee thanaa’an ‘alayka, anta kamaa athnayta ‘ala nafsik (O Allaah, I seek refuge in Your good pleasure from Your wrath, and in Your protection from Your punishment. I seek refuge with You from You. I cannot praise You enough, and You are as You have praised Yourself.”
When he gave salaam at the end of witr, he said:
“Subhaan il-Malik il-Quddoos, subhaan il-Malik il-Quddoos, subhaan il-Malik il-Quddoos (Glory be to the Sovereign, the Most Holy),
elongating the syllables, and raising his voice the third time.
Two rak’ahs after witr
A person may pray two rak’ahs after witr if he wishes, because it is proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did this. Indeed, he said,
“This travelling is exhausting and difficult, so after any one of you prays witr, let him pray two rak’ahs. If he wakes up, this is fine, otherwise these two rak’ahs will be counted for him.''
It is Sunnah to recite Idha zulzilat al-ard and Qul yaa ayyuha’l-kaafiroon in these two rak’ahs.
It was proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) prayed Witr in different ways. He prayed one rak’ah, and three, and five, and seven, and nine. And he prayed three rak’ahs in two different ways, either continuously with one tashahhud, or saying salaam after two rak’ahs and praying one rak’ah and saying salaam after it. He did not pray it like Maghrib, with two tashahhuds and one salaam. Rather he forbade doing that, and said:
“Do not pray Witr with three rak’ahs like Maghrib.”
Narrated by al-Haakim, 1/403; al-Bayhaqi, 3/31; al-Daaraqutni, p. 172. Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar said in Fath al-Baari (4/301): Its isnaad fulfils the conditions of the two Shaykhs (al-Bukhaari and Muslim).
Shaykh Muhammad al-Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen said:
It is permissible to pray Witr with three rak’ahs, or with five, or with seven, or with nine. If a person prays Witr with three, it may be done in one of two ways, both of which are prescribed in sharee’ah:
1 – Praying the three rak'ahs continually with one tashahhud.
2 – Saying salaam after two rak’ahs, then praying one rak’ah on its own.
Both of these are narrated in the Sunnah, so if a person does it one way sometimes and the other way sometimes, that is good.
…
It is permissible to say it with one salaam, but it should be with only one tashahhud and not two, because if he does it with two tashahhuds, it will be like Maghrib prayer, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade making it like Maghrib prayer.
Al-Sharh al-Mumti’, 4/14-16
Recitation during three rak’ahs of witr
It is Sunnah to recite Sabbih bi ismi Rabbika al-‘A’laa in the first rak’ah, Qul Yaa ayyuha’l-Kaafiroon in the second rak’ah, and Qul Huwa Allaahu ahad in the third rak’ah. Sometimes Qul a’oodhu bi Rabbi’l-Falaq and Qul a’oodhu bi Rabbi’l-Naas may be added as well.
It was reported in a saheeh report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) once recited one hundred aayaat of Soorat al-Nisa’ in one rak’ah of witr.
Du’aa’ al-Qunoot
A person may also humble himself before Allaah by reciting the du’aa’ which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) taught to his grandson al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him), which is:
“Allaahumma’hdinee fiman hadayta wa ‘aafinee fiman ‘aafayta wa tawallanee fiman tawallayta wa baarik lee fimaa a’tayta wa qinee sharra maa qadayt, fa innaka taqdee wa laa yuqdaa ‘alayk. Wa innahu laa yadhillu man waalayta wa laa ya’izzu man ‘aadayt. Tabaarakta Rabbanaa wa ta’aalayt. Laa majaa minka illa ilayk (O Allaah, guide me along with those whom You have guided, pardon me along with those whom You have pardoned, be an ally to me along with those whom You are an ally to, and bless for me that which You have bestowed. Protect me from the evil You have decreed for verily You decree and none can decree over You. For surety, he whom You show allegiance to is never abased and he whom You take an enemy is never honored and mighty. O our Lord, Blessed and Exalted are You. There is no refuge from You except with You).”
Sometimes one may send blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and there is nothing wrong with adding other du’aa’s that are known from the Sunnah.
There is nothing wrong with reciting Qunoot after rukoo’, or with adding curses against the kuffaar, sending blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or praying for the Muslims in the second half of Ramadaan, because it is proven that the imaam used to do this at the time of ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him). At the end of the hadeeth of ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn ‘Ubayd al-Qaari mentioned above, it says:
“… They used to curse the kuffaar in the middle, saying, ‘Allaahumma qaatil al-kafarata alladheena yasuddoona ‘an sabeelik wa yukadhdhiboona rusulak wa laa yu’minoona bi wa’dik. Wa khaalif bayna kalimatihim wa alqi fi quloobihim al-ru’b wa alqi ‘alayhim rijzaka wa ‘adhaabak ilaah al-haqq (O Allaah, destroy the kuffaar who are trying to prevent people from following Your path, who deny Your Messengers and who do not believe in Your promise (the Day of Judgement). Make them disunited, fill their hearts with terror and send Your wrath and punishment against them, O God of Truth).” Then he would send blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and pray for good for the Muslims as much as he could, and seek forgiveness for the believers.
After he had finished cursing the kuffaar, sending blessings on the Prophet, seeking forgiveness for the believing men and women and asking for his own needs, he would say:
“Allaahumma iyyaaka na’bud wa laka nusalli wa najud, wa ilayka nas’aa wa nahfud, wa narju rahmataka rabbanaa wa nakhaafu ‘adhaabak al-jadd. Inna ‘adhaabaka liman ‘aadayta mulhaq (O Allaah, You do we worship, to You do we pray and prostrate, for Your sake we strive and toil. We place our hope in Your Mercy, O our Lord, and we fear Your mighty punishment, for Your punishment will certainly overtake the one whom You have taken as an enemy.” Then he would say “Allaahu akbar” and go down in sujood.
What should be said at the end of witr
It is Sunnah to say at the end of witr (before or after the salaam):
“Allaahumma innee a’oodhu bi ridaaka min sakhatika wa bi mu’aafaatika min ‘aqoobatika, wa a’oodhu bika minka. La uhsee thanaa’an ‘alayka, anta kamaa athnayta ‘ala nafsik (O Allaah, I seek refuge in Your good pleasure from Your wrath, and in Your protection from Your punishment. I seek refuge with You from You. I cannot praise You enough, and You are as You have praised Yourself.”
When he gave salaam at the end of witr, he said:
“Subhaan il-Malik il-Quddoos, subhaan il-Malik il-Quddoos, subhaan il-Malik il-Quddoos (Glory be to the Sovereign, the Most Holy),
elongating the syllables, and raising his voice the third time.
Two rak’ahs after witr
A person may pray two rak’ahs after witr if he wishes, because it is proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did this. Indeed, he said,
“This travelling is exhausting and difficult, so after any one of you prays witr, let him pray two rak’ahs. If he wakes up, this is fine, otherwise these two rak’ahs will be counted for him.''
It is Sunnah to recite Idha zulzilat al-ard and Qul yaa ayyuha’l-kaafiroon in these two rak’ahs.
