If one sleeps through the witr prayer, does he perform it during the day as eleven rak'ahs or twelve rak'ahs?
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The questioner : Regarding making up the witr prayer, it is mentioned in the hadith: . And if a person misses the witr prayer during the day and wants to pray it, does he pray it as twelve rak'ahs or as eleven rak'ahs?
The Shaykh : First, is the hadith you mentioned complete? Did he sleep, or did he miss it?
The questioner : He slept through his portion.
...
The Shaykh : What I remember is that the hadith says: "If it was missed from him." So if it is confirmed with the wording "if he slept," then the reconciliation is easy. We would say here that there are two sunnahs: a practical sunnah and a verbal sunnah. The practical sunnah is what you mentioned, and this is after confirming that the hadith uses the wording "slept." The verbal sunnah, as we know from the hadith, is that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said regarding the witr what he said regarding the obligatory prayer:Sunan Abi Dawud 1431Sahih (Al-Albani). So whichever of the two he does, he has followed the right path.
The questioner : If he prays twelve rak'ahs, is it considered making up the missed prayer, or is it a substitute for the night prayer?
The Shaykh : There is no making up (qada'). If it were making up a prayer that is made up, it would be made up as it was missed. The witr is odd-numbered, and here it is even-numbered; so it is not making up, but rather a substitute.
The questioner : A substitute.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray twelve rak'ahs during the day if he slept through his portion of the night prayer.
أن النبي - صلى الله عليه وسلم - كان إذا نام عن حزبه صلَّى من النهار ثنتي عشرة ركعةThe Shaykh : First, is the hadith you mentioned complete? Did he sleep, or did he miss it?
The questioner : He slept through his portion.
...
The Shaykh : What I remember is that the hadith says: "If it was missed from him." So if it is confirmed with the wording "if he slept," then the reconciliation is easy. We would say here that there are two sunnahs: a practical sunnah and a verbal sunnah. The practical sunnah is what you mentioned, and this is after confirming that the hadith uses the wording "slept." The verbal sunnah, as we know from the hadith, is that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said regarding the witr what he said regarding the obligatory prayer:
If anyone oversleeps and misses the witr, or forgets it, he should pray when he remembers.
من نام عن وتره أو نسيه ؛ فليصلِّه حين يذكرهThe questioner : If he prays twelve rak'ahs, is it considered making up the missed prayer, or is it a substitute for the night prayer?
The Shaykh : There is no making up (qada'). If it were making up a prayer that is made up, it would be made up as it was missed. The witr is odd-numbered, and here it is even-numbered; so it is not making up, but rather a substitute.
The questioner : A substitute.
The Shaykh: Yes.
Source
www.al-albany.com
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