Is Witr Prayer Compulsory? Find Out Here!

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Hi all readers! Are you looking for an explanation of "Is Witr prayer compulsory?" If your answer is "Yes," congratulations! You are now reading the right article. Why? Because that is what I will explain here. As Muslims, we must understand this. That's why I wrote this article, so you should read it to the end!

Specifically, there are some important points about "Is Witr prayer compulsory?" that I will explain in this article. The important points I mean are as follows:

Hadith About Witr Prayer

The important point about "Is Witr prayer compulsory?" that I will explain now is the hadith about Witr prayer. I want you to understand this first before reading more explanations in this article so that you have a foundational knowledge of the Witr prayer.

Read Also: Benefits of Witr Prayer

There are many hadiths about Witr prayer. Of course, I will not explain all of them in this article. I will now explain two general hadiths about the Witr prayer.

The two hadiths about Witr prayer that I refer to are as follows:

عَنْ خَارِجَةَ بْنِ حُذَافَةَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: إِنَّ الله أمَدَّكُمْ بِصَلاَةٍ هِيَ خَيرٌ لَكُمْ مِنْ حُمْرِ النَّعَمِ، قُلْنَا: وَمَا هِيَ يَا رَسُولَ الله؟ قالَ: الوِتْرُ مَا بَيْنَ صَلاَةِ العِشَاءِ إِلى طُلُوعِ الفَجْرِ

From Kharijah bin Hudzafah radliyallahu anhu, he said, "The Messenger of Allah (Prophet Muhammad) sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, 'Verily, Allah has advised you to pray that which is better for you than the most valuable treasure.' We asked, 'What is that, O Messenger of Allah?' He replied, 'The Witr performed between the Isha prayer and dawn.'"

عَنْ ابْنِ عُمَرٍ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُمَا عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: إِذَا طَلَعَ الْفَجْرُ فَقَدْ ذَهَبَ وَقْتُ كُلِّ صَلَاةِ اللَّيْلِ وَالْوِتْرِ، فَأَوْتِرُوْا قَبْلَ طُلُوْعِ الْفَجْرِ. رَوَاهُ التِّرْمِذِيُّ

From Ibn Umar radliyallahu anhumaa, the Prophet (Muhammad) sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said, "If dawn has arisen, then indeed, the time for evening prayers and Witr prayer has passed. Pray Witr before dawn appears!" This hadith is narrated by at-Tirmidhi.

All readers! If we understand the two hadiths about Witr prayer above, we can conclude several things:

1. Witr prayer is more important than the most luxurious wealth (first hadith).
2. The time for the Witr prayer is after the Isha prayer until before the second dawn (dawn shadiq) rises.

That is an important explanation of the hadith about Witr prayer. As Muslims, we must understand this.

Is Witr Prayer Compulsory?

The important point about "Is Witr prayer compulsory?" that I'm going to explain now is a specific answer. I want you to understand this because it is the main topic of this article. So, please read the explanation below carefully.

If we read some Islamic legal literature on Witr prayer, we will find an explanation stating that Witr prayer is not compulsory. It is not listed among the obligatory prayers for Muslims.

We can find this explanation in the two hadiths below:

عَنْ عَائِشَةَ زَوْجِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَتْ كَانَ أَوَّلَ مَا افْتُرِضَ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الصَّلَاةُ رَكْعَتَانِ رَكْعَتَانِ إِلَّا الْمَغْرِبَ فَإِنَّهَا كَانَتْ ثَلَاثًا ثُمَّ أَتَمَّ اللَّهُ الظُّهْرَ وَالْعَصْرَ وَالْعِشَاءَ الْآخِرَةَ أَرْبَعًا فِي الْحَضَرِ وَأَقَرَّ الصَّلَاةَ عَلَى فَرْضِهَا الْأَوَّلِ فِي السَّفَرِ

From Aisha, the wife of the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam), she said: "Among the obligations placed upon the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) was Salat, which consisted of two Rakats, two Rakats, except for Maghrib, which was three. Then Allah made Zuhr, Asr, and Isha four while one is not traveling and kept it the same as it was initially obligated while traveling (meaning two Rakats)."

عَنْ قَيْسِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو قَالَ رَأَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ رَجُلًا يُصَلِّي بَعْدَ صَلَاةِ الصُّبْحِ رَكْعَتَيْنِ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ صَلَاةُ الصُّبْحِ رَكْعَتَانِ فَقَالَ الرَّجُلُ إِنِّي لَمْ أَكُنْ صَلَّيْتُ الرَّكْعَتَيْنِ اللَّتَيْنِ قَبْلَهُمَا فَصَلَّيْتُهُمَا الْآنَ فَسَكَتَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ

From Qays ibn Amr, he said, "The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) saw a person praying two Rakats after the congregational prayer at dawn had finished. The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said: 'The dawn prayer consists of two Rakats (i.e., the prescribed Rakats).' The man replied: 'I did not pray the two Rakats before the dawn prayer, so I offered them now.' The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) remained silent."

The two hadiths above explain the types of obligatory prayers for Muslims (Fajr, Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib, and Isha). Witr prayer is not among them.

In addition to these two hadiths, we can also find explanations indicating that Witr prayer is a recommendation for Muslims, or a sunnah prayer, in the following hadiths:

عَنْ جَابِرٍ قَالَ : قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : مَنْ خَافَ أَنْ لَا يَقُومَ مِنْ آخِرِ اللَّيْلِ فَلْيُوتِرْ أَوَّلَهُ وَمَنْ طَمِعَ أَنْ يَقُومَ آخِرَهُ فَلْيُوتِرْ آخِرَ اللَّيْلِ فَإِنَّ صَلَاةَ آخِرِ اللَّيْلِ مَشْهُودَةٌ وَذَلِكَ أَفْضَلُ

From Jabir, he said, "The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said, 'Whoever is afraid of not being able to wake up at the end of the night, let him pray Witr at the beginning of the night. And whoever hopes to wake up at the end of the night, let him perform Witr at the end of the night, because the prayer at that time is witnessed (by the angels) and that is better.'"

اِجْعَلُوْا آخِرَ صَلاَتِكُم ْباِللّيْلِ وِتْرًا

"Make the end of your prayers at night Witr."

عَنْ أَبِيْ هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ : أَوْصَانِيْ خَلِيْلِيْ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِثَلَاثٍ : صِيَامُ ثَلَاثَةِ أَيَّامٍ مِنْ كُلِّ شَهْرٍ ، وَرَكْعَتَيْ الضُّحىَ ، وَأَنْ أُوْتِرَ قَبْلَ أَنْ أَنَامَ

From Abu Hurairah (radiyallahu anhu), he said, "My beloved (the Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) has instructed me in three things: to fast three days every month, to pray two Rakats in Duha, and to perform Witr before I sleep."

عَنْ عَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ ؛ قَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ؛ أَوْتِرُوْا يَا أَهْلَ الْقُرْآنِ فَإِنَّ اللهَ وِتْرٌ يُحِبُّ الْوِتْرَ . رَوَاهُ الْخَمْسَةٌ

From Ali (radiyallahu anhu), he said, "The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said, 'Pray Witr, O people of the Quran! Indeed, Allah is One and loves the Witr prayer.' This hadith is narrated by five sources (Ahmad, Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhi, an-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah).

So, once again, I want to emphasize that Witr prayer is not an obligation for Muslims. Rather, it is a recommended or sunnah prayer.

That is an important explanation of "Is Witr prayer compulsory?" As Muslims, we must understand this.

Another Reason Why Witr Prayer Is Sunnah

The important question of "Is Witr prayer compulsory?" leads us to another reason why the Witr prayer is considered sunnah (recommended). I want you to understand this because there are additional reasons beyond what I have explained before.

Read Also: How to Perform Witr Prayer in Isha?

If we explore some Islamic literature regarding why the Witr prayer is not obligatory for Muslims, we find that the various rakats in Witr prayer serve as another proof that it is a sunnah, not an obligation for Muslims.

As we know, the Witr prayer can be performed with 1 rakat, 3 rakats, 5 rakats, 7 rakats, 9 rakats, 11 rakats, and so on. This is different from the rakats in the compulsory prayers: Fajr (2 rakats), Zuhr (4 rakats), Asr (4 rakats), Maghrib (3 rakats), and Isha (4 rakats). The rakats for the compulsory prayers are fixed and cannot be changed.

We can find further explanation that the Witr prayer can be performed with various odd rakats in the following hadith:

عَنْ أَبِي أَيُّوْبَ الْأَنْصَارِيِّ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ أَنَّ رَسُوْلَ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: الْوِتْرُ حَقٌّ عَلَى كُلِّ مُسْلِمٍ، مَنْ أَحَبَّ أَنْ يُوْتِرَ بِخَمْسٍ فَلْيَفْعَلْ، وَمَنْ أَحَبَّ أَنْ يُوْتِرَ بِثَلَاثٍ فَلْيَفْعَلْ، وَمَنْ أَحَبَّ أَنْ يُوْتِرَ بِوَاحِدَةٍ فَلْيَفْعَلْ. رَوَاهُ الْأَرْبَعَةُ إِلَّا التِّرْمِذِيُّ

From Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, may Allah be pleased with him, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Witr prayer is the obligation of every Muslim. Whoever prefers to pray five rakats may do so; whoever prefers three rakats may do so; and whoever prefers one rakat may do so." This hadith is narrated by four scholars, except for at-Tirmidhi (Abu Dawood, an-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah).

This provides an important explanation of another reason why the Witr prayer is considered sunnah. As Muslims, we must understand this.

Conclusion

In conclusion, while the Witr prayer holds significant importance within Islamic practice, it is not deemed obligatory for Muslims. The teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) emphasize that Witr is a highly recommended (sunnah) prayer, celebrated for its spiritual benefits and connection to Allah. The various methods of performing Witr, including the number of rakats, further illustrate its non-compulsory nature, contrasting with the fixed rakats of obligatory prayers. The hadiths discussed provide a clear understanding of its status, highlighting that while Witr prayer is deeply valued and encouraged, it remains a personal choice rather than a mandatory act. As Muslims, we are encouraged to embrace this beautiful practice, recognizing its significance in enhancing our spiritual connection and devotion. Ultimately, the choice to perform Witr prayer should stem from a desire for closeness to Allah, reflecting personal commitment and faith.

I believe that concludes this article. I hope you find it useful. Amen.

See you again in the next article!