Is Witr Fard?

Hi all readers! Are you looking for an explanation of “is Witr fard?”? If your answer is “Yes”, congratulations! Now you are reading the right article. Why? Because that is what I will explain in this article. As Muslims, we must understand that. That's why I wrote this article. So, you should read it to the end!

Specifically, there are three important things about “is Witr fard?” which I will explain in this article. The three important things I mean are as follows:

What Is Witr?

The first important thing about “is Witr fard?” what I will explain now is “what is Witr?”. I want you to understand that because it is one of the basic things in this discussion that must be well understood.

Witr is a word in Arabic. The writing is الْوِتْرُ. Literally, the meaning of the word Witr is odd.

In Islamic legal literacy, Witr (الْوِتْرُ) is one of the terms of the Sunnah prayer. The prayer is the Witr prayer (صَلَاةُ الْوِتْرِ). Witr prayer is a prayer that is performed with odd rakats, such as one rakat, three rakat, five rakat, seven rakat, and so on. So, Muslims cannot perform Witr prayers with even rakats, such as two rakats, four rakats, six rakats, eight rakats, and so on.

Witr prayer time is after Isha until the second dawn (dawn sadiq). Muslims can do it before they sleep or after waking up. We can find this explanation in the hadith below:

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, from the Prophet (Muhammad) sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, he said, "If dawn has arisen, then really the time for evening prayer and Witr prayer is gone. Pray Witr before dawn appears!" The hadith is narrated by at-Tirmidhi.

In Islam, the Witr prayer has many virtues. One of them is that Allah loves the Witr prayer and those who perform it. We can find this explanation in the hadith below:

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

From Ali radliyallahu anhu, he said, "Allah's Messenger sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said, "Pray Witr, O Ahul Quran! Indeed, Allah is one and likes the Witr prayer." The hadith is narrated by five people (Ahmad, Abu Daud, at-Tirmidhi, an-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah).

That's a brief explanation of "what is Witr?". As Muslims, we must understand that.

What Is Fard?

The second important thing about “is Witr fard?” what I will explain now is "what is fard?". I want you to understand that because it is one of the important things in this discussion that must be understood properly

In simple terms, I would like to say that “Fard” is one of the most important Arabic terms in Islamic law. The writing is فَرْضٌ.

Fard (فَرْضٌ) is the legal status of a thing to be done. In Islamic legal literacy, there are two types of fard (فَرْضٌ):

Fard 'ain (فَرْضُ الْعَيْنِ). Fard 'ain is the legal status of something that must be done by all Muslims who have matured (baaligh) and are intelligent (not crazy Muslims, fainted and so on). One example is the obligatory prayers five times every day (Fajr, Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib, and Isha).
Fard kifayah (فَرْضُ الْكِفَايَةِ). Fard kifayah is the legal status of something that must be done by some Muslims. If no Muslim does it, then all Muslims are sinful. One example is the Janazah prayer.

That's a brief explanation of "what is fard?". As Muslims, we must understand that.

Is Witr Fard?

The third important thing about “is Witr fard?” what I'm going to explain now is a specific answer. So, you should read some of the explanations below carefully.

Specifically, I want to say that Witr is not fard. The meaning is that Muslims will not sin if they do not perform the Witr prayer. In Islam, the Witr prayer is one of the recommended prayers. Muslims will be rewarded if they do that.

There are two reasons why Witr is not fard:

There is a hadith that specifically explains that Witr is not fard. The hadith I mean is as follows:

عَنْ جَابِرٍ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللهِ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُمَا أَنَّ رَسُوْلَ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَامَ فِيْ شَهْرِ رَمَضَانَ ثُمَّ انْتَظَرُوْهُ مِنَ الْقَابِلَةِ فَلَمْ يَخْرُجْ وَقَالَ ؛ إِنِّيْ خَشِيْتُ أَنْ يُكْتَبَ عَلَيْكُمْ الْوِتْرُ . رَوَاهُ ابْنُ حِبَّانٍ

From Jabir bin Abdillah radliyallahu anhuma, that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam performed tarawih prayer during the month of Ramadan. Then they waited for him the next night, but he did not come out (the house) and said, "Indeed I am worried that the Witr prayer will be obliged to you." The hadith is narrated by Ibn Hibban.

Muslims can choose the rakat Witr they will do. They can perform Witr with one rakat, three rakat, five rakat, seven rakat, nine rakat, and so on. The freedom to choose Witr rakat is one of the signs that Witr is not fard. We can find this explanation in the hadith below:

عَنْ أَبِيْ 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 radliyallahu anhu, that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said, "Witr prayer is the obligation of every Muslim. Whoever likes the five rakats, then he will do it. Whoever likes three rakats, then let him do. Anyone who likes one rakat, then let him do." The hadith is narrated by four people except at-Tirmidhi (Abu Daud, an-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah).

That's a brief explanation of “is Witr fard?” and some important things about it. Do you understand? If you want to ask, please ask!

I think that's enough for this article. Hope it is useful. Amen.

See you again in the next article!