May Allah reward you. The questioner says: On this night, the imam, may Allah guide him, performed the witr in the tarawih prayer with three rak'ahs and one taslim. Which is better?

The questioner : May Allah reward you, he saysThe questioner : On this night, the imam, may Allah guide him, performed the witr in the tarawih prayer with three rak'ahs and one taslim. Which is better for one who wants to stand with the imam at the end of the night? Should he make this witr even-numbered so that he has prayed four rak'ahs with one taslim, or should he make the witr even-numbered at the end of the night and be content with his witr at the beginning?

The Shaykh : The matter is as the questioner stated: on this night, the imam, may Allah guide him, prayed the witr with three rak'ahs and one taslim. This is one of the two positions regarding performing the witr with three rak'ahs. If one performs the witr with three rak'ahs, there are two permissible positions for his witr: The first position is that he says the taslim after the first two rak'ahs, then he performs a single rak'ah separately. The second position is that he prostrates for all three with one tashahhud and one taslim. Both are permissible. So, the first two rak'ahs of the witr, which are separate, even though we call them "shaf" (even-numbered), they are an even-numbered part of the witr. Therefore, we say that if one wants to perform the witr with three separate rak'ahs, he should intend with the shaf that it is witr, not that it is part of the night prayer, even if it is separated from the third rak'ah. There is a third position regarding performing the witr with three rak'ahs: to perform the witr with three rak'ahs with two tashahhuds and one taslim. This is prohibited because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The resemblance to the Maghrib prayer only occurs if one recites the tashahhud twice and says the taslim once. Accordingly, there are three forms for performing the witr with three rak'ahs: two prescribed forms and one prohibited form. The two prescribed forms, yes?
The student: Three rak'ahs together and two rak'ahs...

The Shaykh : Three rak'ahs together with one tashahhud. Yes.
The student: The second position is two rak'ahs together, reciting the tashahhud and saying the taslim, then one rak'ah. As for the prohibited position, it resembles the Maghrib prayer.

The Shaykh : Perfect. The two prescribed positions are: three rak'ahs with one taslim and one tashahhud, and three rak'ahs with two taslims and two tashahhuds. The prohibited one is three rak'ahs with two tashahhuds and one taslim. How is the witr performed with five rak'ahs? It has one position: to recite them consecutively with one tashahhud and one salam. Regarding the witr with seven rak'ahs, there are two opinions among the scholars: some said: recite them all consecutively with one tashahhud and one taslim; and some said: sit in the sixth rak'ah, recite the tashahhud, and do not say the taslim, then come to the seventh. The witr with nine rak'ahs is performed with two tashahhuds and one taslim: if one prays eight rak'ahs, he sits and recites the tashahhud, then stands and performs the ninth and says the taslim.
Here it is appropriate for us to speak about a hadith in which some people have made a mistake. It is the hadith of Aisha when she was asked how the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was in Ramadan. She said: She did not mention that he lengthened them. Some people assumed that he prayed four rak'ahs with one taslim and four rak'ahs with one taslim. There is no doubt that this is the apparent meaning of the wording. However, the hadiths explain one another. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: This is in Sahih Muslim from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). She clarified (may Allah be pleased with her) that he prayed eleven rak'ahs and said the taslim after every two rak'ahs. If someone asks: Why do you not make this two forms, sometimes saying the taslim after every two rak'ahs and sometimes after every four? We say: It is possible to make it two forms, sometimes praying four and saying the taslim, and sometimes praying two and saying the taslim. But the first position, or the first form, is prevented by the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when he was asked about the night prayer, and he said: This indicates that the night prayer is restricted to being two by two. The original principle is that the action of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is in accordance with what? With this saying. This is the original principle, unless there is explicit evidence that takes the action out of the saying. As for the witr, the Sunnah has come explicitly that a person prays the three rak'ahs all together, the five rak'ahs all together, the seven rak'ahs all together, and the nine rak'ahs all together. So it is an exception to his saying: And on this occasion, I would like to advise my brothers, the students of knowledge, and especially the successful brothers who are associated with hadith—and what a good association it is—to advise them not to rush in judgment when they see a hadith with a specific wording until they gather the ends of the hadith and look between these ends. Because rushing and looking at the texts from one side without exhausting the effort to reconcile them is like the view of a one-eyed person who sees only with one eye. Be careful, everyone. This is a matter and an advice I offer to my brothers who have taken an interest in the science of hadith. I advise every person to take an interest in the science of hadith, because it is the second foundation in establishing the rulings of the Islamic Shari'ah. But I do not want the student of hadith to be superficial, looking at the mere wording without referring to the established, decisive meanings in the Islamic Shari'ah, or looking at the hadith from one side without gathering its ends. For that is a deficiency in argumentation. And a deficiency in argumentation is not just a simple error, but it leads to action: the action of the person himself and the action of those who follow him and emulate him. So the matter is serious. It is not befitting to rush or hasten. And praise be to Allah, the matter is broad. What you do not grasp today, you will grasp tomorrow. Be patient, gather the hadiths, gather their ends, look at the legal principles which are like mountains in their firmness in this complete Shari'ah. Do not rush, do not be superficial, for the matter is serious. We ask Allah for success for us and for you.
As for what happened tonight, there are three possibilities, or two possibilities: The first possibility is that we say: if the imam stands for the third rak'ah, you sit down, because your prayer is not a witr prayer, but it is a night prayer. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: This is one possibility. The second possibility is that we say: follow the imam and make it even-numbered with a rak'ah. The fact that you are praying four rak'ahs here is only obligated upon you by following the imam. You did not intend the four rak'ahs independently, but you prayed them in following your imam. This is what appears to me, and it is what I did tonight. When the imam said the taslim, I performed a rak'ah to make this witr even-numbered.

The questioner : May Allah bless you. The questioner says...

The questioner : The third possibility?

The Shaykh : The third possibility is that he intends to separate from the imam completely when he stands for the third rak'ah.

The questioner : He prays the witr with him...

The Shaykh : No, he does not pray the witr with him, because he did not intend the witr at all. He entered with the imam with the intention that it is a night prayer.

The questioner : ...

The Shaykh : No, no. Now we are finished. The matter can only be one thing: that you follow your imam and then come after him with a rak'ah. This is what is stronger in my opinion.