the witr prayer
this is what A Sheikh said
(1) Is it wajib? It is only highly recommended to perform Witr, as it was practiced by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and he encouraged Muslims to practice it. However, it is not compulsory according to the most preponderant opinion in islam, for indeed Allah the Almighty obligated only five prayers for this Ummah as the authentic hadith mentions.
Saying this I do strongly advise all muslims not to take the praying of witr lightly instead try your utmost not to miss it as the prophet (peace be upon him) always prayed it,and he advised abu huraira not to abandon three actions until he dies (1)Duha prayer.(2)Fasting three days a month.(3)and witr prayer.
(2)DUA QUNOOT
What is authenticated in the Sunnah is that the Prophet (peace be upon him),
Performed DUA QUNOOT only when a calamity (naazilah) befalls the Muslims,
with words that were appropriate to the situation.
And this dua is not restricted to salat Al-witr rather it can be performed in the last rak’ah of each of the five daily obligatory prayers, until Allaah relieves the Muslims of that calamity.
Just as the prophet (peace be upon him) did praying against Ra’l, Dhakwaan and ‘Usayyah for killing the Qur’aan-readers whom the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah 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 Allaah would save them from their enemies. But he did not do that all the time. The Rightly-Guided khaleefahs after him followed the same practice. It is better for the imam to limit Qunoot to times of calamity, following the example of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), as it was proven that Abu Maalik al-Ash’ari said: “I said to my father, ‘O my father, you prayed behind the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and behind Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthmaan and ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with them). Did they used to say Du’aa’ al-Qunoot in Fajr?’ He said, ‘O my son, this is a newly-invented matter.’” (Narrated by the five, apart from Abu Dawood; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Irwa’, 435).
What is meant by “this is a newly invented matter” is for those who restrict or obligate it for salat Al-fajr.Likewise those who obligate it for salat Al-witr the same thing can be said to them.
May Allah the Almighty guide us all to that which benefits us.
(3)Before or after ruku:
Du’a’ al-Qunoot is recited in the last rak’ah of Witr prayer, after bowing, but if one recites it before bowing it doesn’t matter. But reciting it after bowing is better.
Shaykh al-Islam [Ibn Taymiyah] said in Majmoo’ al-Fataawa (23/100):
With regard to qunoot: there are two extreme views and one middle (or moderate) view. Some say that qunoot should only be recited before bowing and some say that it should only be recited after bowing. The fuqaha’ among the scholars of hadeeth, such as Ahmad and others, say that both are allowed, because both are mentioned in the saheeh Sunnah, but they preferred reciting qunoot after bowing because this is mentioned more often.
The evidence for this is found in Sahîh Muslim.
(4)raising the hands in qunut.
It is permissible to raise one’s hands in qunût, because it was narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) did so in the qunût he offered during times of calamity.
As mentioned in a saheeh report from ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him), as was narrated by al-Bayhaqi in a report which he classed as saheeh (2/210).
(5)DUA.
The version which the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) taught to al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him), which is:
“Allaahumma ihdini feeman hadayta wa ‘aafini feeman ‘aafayta wa tawallani feeman tawallayta wa baarik li feema a’tayta, wa qini sharra ma qadayta , fa innaka taqdi wa la yuqda ‘alayk, wa innahu laa yadhillu man waalayta wa laa ya’izzu man ‘aadayta, tabaarakta Rabbana wa ta’aalayta la munji minka illa ilayk
(O Allaah, 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 Dawood, 1213; al-Nasaa’i, 1725; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Irwa’, 429).