Forgetfulness in the Witr Prayer: Between Separation and Continuation
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
May Allah forgive you. This person says: If I intend to pray the Witr prayer as three rak'ahs with two taslims, but then I forget and stand up for the third rak'ah, do I continue after I have started reciting al-Fatihah, or do I combine the three with a single taslim? And likewise the reverse: if I intend to pray three rak'ahs, but after two rak'ahs I sit and give the taslim, is there any harm in that?
The Shaykh:
The first issue: if you stand up intending to make the even number (shaf') with one taslim and the odd number (witr) with another taslim, that is the most complete and best. But if you forget and stand up and begin reciting al-Fatihah, you should continue and make the three rak'ahs of the Witr with a single taslim; there is no harm in this, because both are permissible: separation is permissible and continuation is permissible. So you stood up and continued; there is no obstacle to that, and you do not sit down, especially since you have begun reciting al-Fatihah, because you have begun a pillar, so you do not go back. This is the first issue. The second issue is...
The questioner:
...and it is the reverse, if he intends to pray the Witr.
The Shaykh:
If he intends to pray three consecutive rak'ahs, but then sits down in forgetfulness after the two, that is the most complete; there is no harm. He continues sitting, gives the taslim, stands up, and performs the third rak'ah, because he did the most complete thing.
The questioner:
There is no basis in the intention.
The Shaykh:
No, there is no basis in it. The intention: whatever you intend, whether this or that, it is all prescribed and sufficient, praise be to Allah. Yes.
May Allah forgive you. This person says: If I intend to pray the Witr prayer as three rak'ahs with two taslims, but then I forget and stand up for the third rak'ah, do I continue after I have started reciting al-Fatihah, or do I combine the three with a single taslim? And likewise the reverse: if I intend to pray three rak'ahs, but after two rak'ahs I sit and give the taslim, is there any harm in that?
The Shaykh:
The first issue: if you stand up intending to make the even number (shaf') with one taslim and the odd number (witr) with another taslim, that is the most complete and best. But if you forget and stand up and begin reciting al-Fatihah, you should continue and make the three rak'ahs of the Witr with a single taslim; there is no harm in this, because both are permissible: separation is permissible and continuation is permissible. So you stood up and continued; there is no obstacle to that, and you do not sit down, especially since you have begun reciting al-Fatihah, because you have begun a pillar, so you do not go back. This is the first issue. The second issue is...
The questioner:
...and it is the reverse, if he intends to pray the Witr.
The Shaykh:
If he intends to pray three consecutive rak'ahs, but then sits down in forgetfulness after the two, that is the most complete; there is no harm. He continues sitting, gives the taslim, stands up, and performs the third rak'ah, because he did the most complete thing.
The questioner:
There is no basis in the intention.
The Shaykh:
No, there is no basis in it. The intention: whatever you intend, whether this or that, it is all prescribed and sufficient, praise be to Allah. Yes.
Source
لقاء مفتوح [الزلفي] — alfawzan.live (36:37)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.