A:
The ruling on Witr is the same, whether in Ramadan or at any other time, and whether for an Imam (leader of congregational Prayer), Ma'mum (a person being led by an Imam in Prayer) or a person offering Salah alone. If a person offers Witr in the early part of the night, they can offer Salah as they wish as Shaf` (two units of Prayer, particularly before the final unit of the odd-number prayer), and they do not have to offer Witr again. If a person delays the Witr until the end of the night, they should offer it after Qiyam. This is based on what was narrated by
Talq ibn `Aly that he heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) stating:
Two Witrs are not to be offered during one night.
Narrated by the Five Compilers of Hadith (Imam Ahmad, Abu Dawud, Al-Tirmidhy and Al-Nasa'y) except Ibn Majah.
It was also reported from
Ibn `Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) stated:
Make Witr odd prayer your final Salah at night.
Related by the Six Hadith Compilers (Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Al-Tirmidhy and Al-Nasa'iy) except
Ibn Majah.
It was also reported from
Um Salamah (may (Part No. 7; Page No. 177) Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to offer two Rak`ahs (units of Prayer) after Witr.
Narrated by
Al-Tirmidhy,
Ahmad and
Ibn Majah,
who narrated the addition "while he was sitting".
Ahmad said, "It is an argument against those who do not approve of invalidating Witr."
Sa`id ibn Al-Musayyib
narrated that
Abu Bakr and
`Umar talked about Witr while they were with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).
Abu Bakr said, "I offer Witr, then I sleep. When I wake up, I offer Shaf` until dawn."
`Umar said, "I sleep after offering Shaf`, then I wake up to offer Witr in the late part of night." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to
Abu Bakr, "You are careful", and he told
`Umar, "You are strong."
Narrated by
Abu Sulayman Al-Khattaby.
Those who say that Witr can not be invalidated, and that (Part No. 7; Page No. 178) it should be offered only once include
Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq,
`Ammar ibn Yasir,
Rafi` ibn Khadij,
`A'idh ibn `Amr Al-Muzany,
Talq ibn `Aly,
Abu Hurayrah and
`Aishah. This was narrated by
Ibn Abu Shaybah in Al-Musannaf from
Sa`d ibn Abu Waqqas,
Ibn `Umar and
Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them all). Those who adopted this opinion among the Tabi`un (Followers, the generation after the Companions of the Prophet) include
Sa`id ibn Al-Musayyib,
`Alqamah,
Al-Sha`by,
Ibrahim Al-Nakh`y
Sa`id ibn Jubayr,
Makhul and
Al-Hasan Al-Basry This was narrated by
Ibn Abu Shaybah from them in Al-Musannaf as well. Those who adopted this opinion among the Tabi`un also include
Tawus and
Abu Maglaz; and among the Imams (initiators of Schools of Jurisprudence)
Sufyan Al-Thawry,
Malik,
Ibn Al-Mubarak and
Ahmad. This was narrated by
Al-Tirmidhy from them in his Sunan (Hadith compilations classified by jurisprudential themes), who said it is more authentic. It was narrated also by
Al-`Iraqy from
Al-Awza`y,
Al-Shafi`y and
Abu Thawr. It was also narrated by Al-Qady
`Iyad from all the Muftys (Islamic scholars qualified to issue legal opinions). We are not aware of any evidence authentically reported from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) which proves otherwise.May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.
The ruling on Witr
