A note from the Shaykh on the recommended practice of performing Witr with three rak'ahs in a row without taslim.
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The Shaykh : And upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
As for what follows:
Before I begin with what I intend to speak about regarding what we heard from our imam's recitation, I will point out two things:
The first point is that our imam in the Witr prayer prayed all three rak'ahs without a break, and this is from the Sunnah. For the one who performs Witr with three, sit down, everyone, sit down, rest yourselves and let the people rest, take a break, sit down. For the one who performs Witr with three, he does so in two ways:
The first way is that he says taslim after two rak'ahs, then he performs the third one alone.
The second way is that he prays all three with one tashahhud and says taslim from all of them.
There is a third way that is prohibited, which is: that he prays two rak'ahs, then sits and recites the tashahhud, then stands up and performs the third. This manner is prohibited because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saidAl-Mustadrak lil-Hakim 8:21 So he prohibited the three that resemble the Maghrib prayer. And the Maghrib prayer, we all know, is what? Three rak'ahs with two tashahhuds. So performing Witr with three is done in three ways: one way is prohibited and two ways are permissible. What is the prohibited way? What is the prohibited way?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Rest. Yes.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : And he says taslim. The complete prohibited way is to make it resemble the Maghrib prayer, because Witr is a voluntary prayer and Maghrib is an obligatory prayer, and it is not permissible to make a voluntary prayer resemble an obligatory prayer in what is specific to it. Now, the two permissible, prescribed ways? The young man, stand up.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : That he prays three rak'ahs with one tashahhud and says taslim. Yes.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Or he prays two rak'ahs and says taslim, then he performs the third. May Allah reward you. All of this is permissible.
And if a person performs Witr with five, let him pray them all in a row with one tashahhud and one taslim. If he performs Witr with five, and if he performs Witr with seven, likewise he prays them all in a row with one tashahhud and one taslim. And if he performs Witr with nine, likewise he prays them all in a row with one taslim, except that he sits in the eighth and recites the tashahhud and does not say taslim, then he stands up and performs the ninth. As for if he performs Witr with eleven, he prays two rak'ahs, two rak'ahs, and performs Witr with one.
As for what follows:
Before I begin with what I intend to speak about regarding what we heard from our imam's recitation, I will point out two things:
The first point is that our imam in the Witr prayer prayed all three rak'ahs without a break, and this is from the Sunnah. For the one who performs Witr with three, sit down, everyone, sit down, rest yourselves and let the people rest, take a break, sit down. For the one who performs Witr with three, he does so in two ways:
The first way is that he says taslim after two rak'ahs, then he performs the third one alone.
The second way is that he prays all three with one tashahhud and says taslim from all of them.
There is a third way that is prohibited, which is: that he prays two rak'ahs, then sits and recites the tashahhud, then stands up and performs the third. This manner is prohibited because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said
Do not perform Witr with three in a way that resembles the Maghrib prayer.
لا توتروا بثلاث تشبهوا بصلاة المغربThe student: ...
The Shaykh : Rest. Yes.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : And he says taslim. The complete prohibited way is to make it resemble the Maghrib prayer, because Witr is a voluntary prayer and Maghrib is an obligatory prayer, and it is not permissible to make a voluntary prayer resemble an obligatory prayer in what is specific to it. Now, the two permissible, prescribed ways? The young man, stand up.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : That he prays three rak'ahs with one tashahhud and says taslim. Yes.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Or he prays two rak'ahs and says taslim, then he performs the third. May Allah reward you. All of this is permissible.
And if a person performs Witr with five, let him pray them all in a row with one tashahhud and one taslim. If he performs Witr with five, and if he performs Witr with seven, likewise he prays them all in a row with one tashahhud and one taslim. And if he performs Witr with nine, likewise he prays them all in a row with one taslim, except that he sits in the eighth and recites the tashahhud and does not say taslim, then he stands up and performs the ninth. As for if he performs Witr with eleven, he prays two rak'ahs, two rak'ahs, and performs Witr with one.