The Night Prayers of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم

Below are my notes for Lesson 126, the second lesson of the Book of Witr.

Du'as requested.

Wasalaam.
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540. عَنْ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهَا: أَنّ رَسُولَ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم كانَ يُصَلّي إِحْدَى عَشْرَةَ رَكْعَةً, كانَتْ تِلْكَ صَلاَتَهُ تَعْنِي بِاللّيْلِ فَيَسْجُدُ السّجْدَةَ مِنْ ذلِكَ قَدْرَ ما يَقْرَأُ أَحَدُكُمْ خَمْسِينَ اَيَةً, قَبْلَ أَنْ يَرْفَعَ رَأْسَهُ, وَيَرْكَعُ رَكْعَتَيْنِ قَبْلَ صَلاَةِ الْفَجْرِ, يَضْطَجعُ عَلَى شِقّهِ الأَيْمَنِ, حَتّى يأْتِيَهُ المُؤَذّنُ لِلصّلاَةِ. رواه البخاري: 994


Narrated 'Aisha رضى الله عنها : Allâh's Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم used to pray eleven Rak'ât at night and that was his night prayer and each of his prostrations lasted for a period enough for one of you to recite fifty Verses before Allâh's Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم raised his head. He also used to pray two Rak'ât (Sunna) before the (compulsory) Fajr prayer and then lie down on his right side till the Mu'adhdhin came to him for the Salât (prayer). [Hadeeth 540, al Tajrid al Sarih]

In this hadeeth we learn about the practice of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) with regard to prayer at night – there is no mention of Witr in this hadeeth. Due to the close nature of Tahajud and Witr, the two prayers are often mentioned together as is the case in this hadeeth. Aisha (رضى الله عنها) doesn’t mention the word Witr – in some narrations it is reported that the number of rakaats that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) prayed at night was 7, 9, 11, 13 or 17. In some narrations it is clarified for example that 7 rakaats was 4 rakaat nafil and 3 rakaat Witr. Aisha (رضى الله عنها) then describes the length and duration of the night prayers of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). She says that his prostrations were as long as it would take one to recite 50 verses of the Qur’an. Some people mistakenly think that the wording in this hadeeth refers to a special sajdah that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) would do after Witr salah, and hence do a sajdah after Witr (not due to reciting Surah Sajdah which was a noble practice of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) before retiring alongside Surah Mulk). The ulema of the past have stated that doing such a special sajdah is a bidah. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) would also make a point of lying down after praying Tahajud and then Witr. Other narrations say that he would lie down after praying Tahajud, witr and 2 sunnah of Fajr. Why would the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) lie down? Firstly, because he had been standing for a long time in salah. Secondly, some ulema have stated that when the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) would pray Tahajud and Witr he would have a connection with Allah that one cannot begin to understand. Hence, he would then lie down on the floor to bring himself down to earth. This can be understood by using anger as an analogy. If someone is angry and he sits down, or if he is sitting he lies down it helps to extinguish anger. This is because you bring yourself down to the dust of the earth. Similarly, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) would lie down after praying Tahajud and Witr after having spent time in the company of Allah and having scaled spiritual heights.

Scholars of the Shafi fiqh say that it is recommended to lie down after having prayed Witr salah or Tahajud. Other ulema of fiqh say that this should not be done (i.e. if thinking that one will be acting upon a sunnah by lying down) and some have called it makruh (undesirable) and that this was something unique to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Abdullah ibn Masud (رضى الله عنه) and Abdullah ibn Umar (رضى الله عنه) disapproved of this practice. Abdullah ibn Masud (رضى الله عنه) called it a bidah.

Shaykh then mentioned the opinion of ibn Hazam al-Andalusi but prior to this he gave a brief introduction to this scholar. Ibn Hazam was well-respected by orientalists and non-Muslims. He was well-versed, erudite with a sharp pen and a sharp tongue. He has works on fiqh, has commented on the Qur’an, hadeeth, written poetry and had even written poems/essays on love. However, he didn’t adhere to any main schools of fiqh and was a literalist. He is the only scholar to say that it is wajib and an obligation for the validity of Fajr salah that a person lies down after praying Witr. In contrast, all the other scholars say that it is makruh if person thinks that there is a virtue in lying down after Witr or Tahajud, or if he thinks that he is acting on the sunnah. However, if a person is genuinely lying down out of the need to do say then it is permissible.

باب: سَاعَاتُ الوِتْر

Chapter 2 – The timing of Witr

541. وَعَنْهَا رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهَا قَالَتْ: كُلّ اللّيْلِ أَوْتَرَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم, وَانْتَهَى وِتْرُهُ إِلَى السّحَرِ. رواه البخاري: 996

Narrated Aisha (رضى الله عنها): Allâh's Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم offered Witr prayer at different nights at various hours extending (from the 'Ishâ' prayer) up to the last hour of the night. [Hadeeth 541, al Tajrid al Sarih]

This hadeeth tells us that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) prayed Witr at different times on different nights e.g. early night, middle of the night etc, however predominantly his practice was to pray at the end of the night just before dawn. All ulema agree that the timing of Witr salah begins when Esha time begins. Witr can only be performed after Esha salah except according to Imam Abu Hanifah (رحمة الله عليه) and Sufyan ad Thobi (رحمة الله عليه) as they say that it is a unique salah which shares its time with Esha salah but it is better to pray Esha first but if a person for example prays Esha and then some time later prays Witr salah with a fresh wudhu, and it suddenly occurs to him that he wasn’t in a state of purity for Esha, according to Imam Abu Hanifah he can repeat Esha without having to repeat Witr. Other ulema say he would have to repeat Esha and Witr.

All ulema agree that the time for Witr ends with the beginning time for Fajr. If you miss Witr you can pray as qadha at Fajr time. Imam Shafi says Witr can be prayed till noon, others say till sunrise. Imam Abu Hanifah (رحمة الله عليه) says that qadha Witr salah can be performed at any time. However, Imam Abu Yusuf and Imam Muhammad say that once Esha time ends and Fajr begins you do not pray qadha Witr. The fatwa according to the majority of the Hanafi fiqh is with the view of Imam Abu Hanifah i.e. that you pray qadha Witr.

باب: لِيَجْعَل اَخِرَ صَلاَتِهِ وِتْرًا

Chapter 3 – One should make his final prayer Witr

542. عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُمَا قَالَ: قَالَ النّبِيّ صلى الله عليه وسلم: (اجْعَلُوا اَخِرَ صَلاَتِكُمْ بِاللّيْلِ وِتْرًا). رواه البخاري: 998

Narrated 'Abdullâh bin 'Umar رضى الله عنهما : The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said Make Witr as your last Salât (prayer) at night. [Hadeeth 542, al Tajrid al Sarih]

An important question which can be posed from this hadeeth is whether this is an obligation or a recommendation. Some tabi’een were of the opinion that if you pray Witr in the early part of the night, you cannot pray any salah thereafter. So they would make Witr their final prayer. Thus, if they started praying again later on in the night e.g. Tahajud then they would pray Witr once more. However, there is a hadeeth where the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) says that there is only one Witr in a night, so you do not have to pray Witr a second time. Also, Aisha (رضى الله عنها) narrates a hadeeth that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) would pray 2 rakaats nafil sitting down after Witr. This hadeeth is found in the Saheeh of Imam Muslim and hence the command in Hadeeth 542 is not obligatory. Some ulema say that this means that one should make his final obligatory prayer Witr.

The most preferred time to pray Witr is at the end of the night. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) did tell Abu Hurairah (رضى الله عنه) to pray Witr and then sleep. This was because he found it difficult to get up and hence it was better for him to pray and then sleep.

Abu Bakr (رضى الله عنه) would pray Witr and then sleep. Umar (رضى الله عنه) would sleep and then wake up for Witr. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said one was cautious (Abu Bakr (رضى الله عنه)) and the other was strong (Umar (رضى الله عنه))

The Real Holy Grail

Normally I only post notes from recent daroos i.e. Kitab-al-Jumu'ah onwards, however today I'm breaking from tradition by posting something quite interesting from Lesson 7 of al Tajrid al Sarih which was given by Shaykh on 4th September 2001. The reason being is that I think the point I mention below may be of interest to many people due to the recent interest in the quest for 'Holy Grail' after Da Vinci code book and film...

In this lesson the long and famous hadeeth about the Roman Emperor Heraclius is discussed, and Shaykh Riyadh ul Haq mentions that that Heraclius didn't embrace Islam but deep down he knew that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) was the Prophet of Allah. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) sent letters to many rulers inviting them to Islam. The ruler of the Persian empire ripped the letter he received from the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) to shreds and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said that his kingdom would also be ripped apart and this is exactly what happened. In contrast, Heraclius preserved and respected the letter that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) sent to him, and kept it in a golden casket. This was then passed from king to prince for generations, and this fact is documented in many books of hadeeth (not the most famous ones). They believed as long as the letter remained, their kingdom would remain. The Shaykh says that it is his opinion that this letter is the HOLY GRAIL i.e. the golden casket containing the letter from the Prophet and not a Christian relic.

Number of Rakaats of Witr Salah

Here's the final part of my notes for Lesson 125.
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باب: مَا جَاءَ فِي الْوِتْر
539. عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُمَا: أَنّ رَجُلًا سَأَلَ رَسُولَ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَنْ صَلاَةِ اللّيْلِ, فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم: صَلاَةُ اللّيْلِ مَثْنَى مَثْنَى, فَإِذَا خَشِيَ أَحَدُكُمُ الصّبْحَ صَلّى رَكْعَةً وَاحِدَةً, تُوتِرُ لَهُ ما قَدْ صَلّى

539. Narrated Ibn 'Umar رضى الله عنهما : Once a man asked Allâh's Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم about the night prayer. Allâh's Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم replied, The night prayer is offered as two Rak'ât followed by two Rak'ât and (so on) and if anyone is afraid of the approaching dawn (Fajr prayer) he should pray one Rak'ât and this will be a Witr for all the Rak'ât which he has prayed before.

In this hadeeth the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said that at night you should pray two rakaats followed by two, and when you fear the arrival of dawn you should pray one rakaat. Virtually all the ulema agree that it is better (preferable) to pray salah at night in twos i.e. you should pray two rakaats then say salaam – this is according to all ulema except Imam Malik (رحمة الله عليه) and Imam Abu Hanifah (رحمة الله عليه).

Imam Abu Hanifah (رحمة الله عليه) says that it is preferable to pray 4 rakaats. Imam Shafi (رحمة الله عليه) and Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (رحمة الله عليه) are of the opinion that it is permissible to pray 4 rakaats during the day and night but 2 is preferable. Imam Abu Yusuf (رحمة الله عليه) and Imam Muhammad (رحمة الله عليه) say it is preferable to pray 4 during the day and 2 at night. Imam Malik (رحمة الله عليه) says one should pray 2 rakaats during the day and night, but it is not permissible to pray 4 rakaats at night. He is alone in saying that you can only pray 2 rakaats at night.

A question which arises is whether it is permissible to pray just 1 rakaat or is 2 the minimum. Imam Abu Hanifah (رحمة الله عليه), Imam Abu Yusuf (رحمة الله عليه), and Imam Muhammad (رحمة الله عليه) say it is not permissible to pray 1 rakaat. Imam Malik (رحمة الله عليه) says Witr salah is 1 rakaat. Imam Shafi (رحمة الله عليه) and Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (رحمة الله عليه) say that for both nafil and Witr salah it is permissible to pray 1 rakaat.

The wording in this hadeeth from the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is that you should pray at night by praying 2 rakaats followed by 2 rakaats etc, and when you fear the onset of dawn you should end your night prayers in an odd manner. Maghrib salah comes at the end of the day and makes the prayer of the day so similarly the night prayers should also end in an odd manner. In is not explained in this hadeeth how one should pray 1 rakaat.

So the next question is whether Witr salah consists of 1 rakaat or 3 rakaats? In the Haramain and in Madinah, 1 rakaat is prayed. In the Hijaz, people predominantly follow the fiqh of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal – it should be noted that all of the scholars have their evidences on which they have based their opinion.

According to the Hanafi fiqh, Witr salah should be 3 rakaats. Imam Hakim (رحمة الله عليه) narrates a hadeeth from Aisha (رضى الله عنها) that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) would pray 3 rakaats and would only say salaam at the end. Someone once said to Hasan al Basri (رحمة الله عليه) that Abdullah ibn Umar (رضى الله عنه) would pray 1 rakaat for Witr salah (after praying 2 rakaats). Hasan al Basri replied that his father who was more learned would pray 3 rakaats. Ali (رضى الله عنه), Anas (رضى الله عنه) and other sahabah would pray 3 rakaats for Witr salah.

Imam Malik (رحمة الله عليه) says in his muwatta that you have to add two rakaats prior to praying the 1 rakaat, so collectively you pray 3 rakaats with salaam in between. Imam Malik (رحمة الله عليه) says something similar but says it is not obligatory. From this hadeeth, it appears that 1 rakaat can be added without saying salaam after two before dawn. All the different methods are permissible.

Imam Shafi (رحمة الله عليه), Imam Malik (رحمة الله عليه) and other scholars say that if the Imam is praying 3 rakaats, you follow the Imam. The majority of the Hanafi scholars say that if an Imam is praying 3 rakaats with 2 salaams, then it is not permissible to pray behind such an Imam for Witr salah. The reason for this is not bigotry but because salah of 1 rakaat is non-existent according to Hanafi fiqh. It came to the attention of Abdullah ibn Masud (رضى الله عنه) that people were praying 1 rakaat and was reported as saying that 1 rakaat has never been sufficient. However, some ulema (a minority) of the Hanafi School of Fiqh say it is permissible to pray behind an Imam when he prays Witr salah of 1 rakaat. Shaykh Riyadh ul Haq said he is more inclined to act on the opinion of the minority.

The Importance of Witr

After 9 weeks, Alhamdulilah the daroos of Saheeh al-Bukhari resumed :) May Allah preserve the Shaykh and allow us to continue to benefit from his ilm, and implement the teachings into our life. Ameen. I'll post the lesson notes in two parts - below is the first part, of Lesson 125 - the Book of Witr. I pray that Allah forgives any errors in my note taking. Ameen.
wasalaam
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The reason why Imam Bukhari (رحمة الله عليه) places the Book of Witr in his Saheeh after the Books of Jumu’ah and Eidain but before other prayers because it is also an important prayer other than the five Fardh prayers.

Witr salah is the most important daily prayer other than the five daily prayers. Some ulema consider Witr salah to be wajib but others call it an emphasised sunnah, but they all consider it to be obligatory. It is performed after Esha salah and although it seems very simple, it is very complicated and detailed in its components and structure. The ulema mention 20 major issues (masail) where there are points of difference. Hence, the Book of Witr is very complicated.

Witr is sometimes pronounced watr, as in Surah al Fajr:

وَالْوَتْ وَالشَّفْعِ

And by the even and the odd [89:3]

Both are correct according to different qiraat. Both words mean something which is single, or odd. Shafaa means even. Allah has also been described as Witr i.e. one. He has also been described as loving that which is Witr, and so has the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). In salah, everything is either one or even e.g. tasbeeh in rukuh is 3, 5, 7 etc and never an even number.

Maghrib and Witr salah are both three rakaats and both are significant. Maghrib ends prayers of the day and Witr ends prayers of the night.

Chapter 1 – Chapter of that which has been said about Witr.

In this chapter Imam Bukhari (رحمة الله عليه) wishes to explain some of the things that have been narrated from the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) with regard to Witr. Some ulema including Imam Abu Hanifah (رحمة الله عليه) say that Witr is wajib (obligatory). Other ulema say it is sunnah including Imam Abu Yusuf (رحمة الله عليه), Imam Muhammad (رحمة الله عليه), Imam Malik (رحمة الله عليه) and Imam Shafi (رحمة الله عليه), and the majority of the ulema. A point that should be understood here is that it is very easy for common people to misunderstand and misinterpret the verdicts of the ulema. A common phrase we often hear is “It’s just sunnah”. By uttering such phrases we belittle the importance and significance of many sunnah, whether the sunnah is related to the prayers or the habits of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). The ulema are very careful before calling something fardh, wajib or sunnah. One of the reasons why the ulema call something makruh is because although the evidence is available to call the thing haraam, there may be circumstantial evidence or a mitigating factor for which they fear calling it haraam. This is one of the usuls (principles) of fiqh.

There is a famous story of Imam Abu Yusuf (رحمة الله عليه) who in Kufa was regarded as a faqih. Someone asked Imam Abu Hanifah (رحمة الله عليه) about the status of Witr. Imam Abu Hanifah (رحمة الله عليه) replied that it is wajib. Imam Abu Yusuf (رحمة الله عليه) said to Imam Abu Hanifah (رحمة الله عليه) that you have committed kufar (Imam Abu Yusuf was not a student of Imam Abu Hanifah at this time). Imam Abu Yusuf’s reasoning was that there are five daily prayers which have been made Fardh by Allah. Imam Abu Hanifah (رحمة الله عليه) replied that listen very carefully. Your takfir does not concern me as I am aware of the difference between Fardh and wajib. He continued that the difference between the Fardh and wajib is like the difference between the heavens and the earth. Imam Abu Hanifah (رحمة الله عليه) had said it is Wajib not Fardh. He then went on to explain to Imam Abu Yusuf (رحمة الله عليه). According to this narration, Imam Abu Yusuf became a student of Imam Abu Hanifah from this moment onwards.

Imam Abu Hanifah (رحمة الله عليه) says Witr salah is wajib. Imam Abu Yusuf (رحمة الله عليه) and Imam Muhammad (رحمة الله عليه) and other ulema say it is sunnah.
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However, Imam Malik (رحمة الله عليه) and Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (رحمة الله عليه) say if someone misses Witr salah his testimony cannot be accepted in an Islamic court. This shows the importance stressed by the scholars to Witr.

Imam Malik (رحمة الله عليه), Imam Shafi (رحمة الله عليه) and Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal (رحمة الله عليه) say time for Witr is between Esha and break of dawn. But if someone hasn’t prayed by break of dawn, he can still pray all the way till Fajr (even though the time has finished). You cannot pray qadha of Witr but according to these ulema you can pray qadha Witr.

The points above are some of the reasons why despite calling the salah a sunnah, these ulema consider it to be obligatory and hence should not be missed. All of the ulema agree that Witr is the most important salah apart from Fardh including the two sunnah of Fajr.

One of the reasons why Imam Abu Hanifah (رحمة الله عليه) called it wajib is because of certain hadeeth including a hadeeth in Saheeh Muslim from Abu Sa'id al Khudri.

Abu Sa'id (al Khudri) reported Allah's Apostle صلى الله عليه وسلم) as saying: Observe Witr prayer before it is morning. Abu Sa'id reported that they (the Prophet's Companions) asked the Apostle of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) about Witr (prayer). (In reply to their inquiry) he said: Observe Witr prayer before it is morning.

And another narration in the Sunan of Abu Dawud:

Narrated Kharijah ibn Hudhafah al-Adawi:
The Apostle of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) came out to us and said: Allah the Exalted has given you an extra prayer which is better for you then the red camels (i.e. high breed camels). This is the witr which Allah has appointed for you between the night prayer and the daybreak.
The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) nor the sahabah ever missed Witr salah.