The number of rak'ahs in the night prayer and the witr
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The questioner:
Is it better to pray eight rak'ahs of the night prayer and then add three as witr, or ten and then three?
The Shaykh:
The better option is eleven, and if one prays thirteen, there is no harm. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did both: he prayed eleven on one occasion and thirteen on another. He would sometimes pray this and sometimes that, with eleven being the most common. If one prays twenty with the witr, or more, there is no harm, as 'Umar and the Companions did. There is no blame in that. The matter is broad in this regard. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "The night prayer is two by two," and he did not specify a fixed number. So he would conclude with seven, or five, or eleven, or thirteen, or nine. It is all broad from Allah. The Companions prayed twenty-three with 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and grant him satisfaction), and they also prayed ten.
The questioner:
All right.
The Shaykh:
And if some of them connected more than that, there is no harm in that.
The questioner:
A group is necessary; it must be in congregation.
The Shaykh:
No, this is better. If he prays in his house, there is no harm.
The questioner:
Yes. 'Eid is not studied in Ramadan or outside of Ramadan.
The Shaykh:
This is according to her knowledge, but she herself narrated that he prayed for three months at one time. And Ibn 'Abbas, Ibn Khalid, Ibn Hani, and others narrated that he prayed nine, and seven, and ten of them. Yes.
Is it better to pray eight rak'ahs of the night prayer and then add three as witr, or ten and then three?
The Shaykh:
The better option is eleven, and if one prays thirteen, there is no harm. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did both: he prayed eleven on one occasion and thirteen on another. He would sometimes pray this and sometimes that, with eleven being the most common. If one prays twenty with the witr, or more, there is no harm, as 'Umar and the Companions did. There is no blame in that. The matter is broad in this regard. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "The night prayer is two by two," and he did not specify a fixed number. So he would conclude with seven, or five, or eleven, or thirteen, or nine. It is all broad from Allah. The Companions prayed twenty-three with 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and grant him satisfaction), and they also prayed ten.
The questioner:
All right.
The Shaykh:
And if some of them connected more than that, there is no harm in that.
The questioner:
A group is necessary; it must be in congregation.
The Shaykh:
No, this is better. If he prays in his house, there is no harm.
The questioner:
Yes. 'Eid is not studied in Ramadan or outside of Ramadan.
The Shaykh:
This is according to her knowledge, but she herself narrated that he prayed for three months at one time. And Ibn 'Abbas, Ibn Khalid, Ibn Hani, and others narrated that he prayed nine, and seven, and ten of them. Yes.
Source
ندوات الجامع الكبير مع الأسئلة - 50 — archive.org (1:29:05)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.