Does the witr prayer suffice for the greeting of the mosque?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : O Shaykh, O Shaykh, in the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
The Shaykh : May Allah send blessings and peace upon him.
The questioner :Sahih al-Bukhari 1167 Sometimes it happens in the Haram that a person enters late, before Fajr, and wants to pray witr with one rak'ah. Does that rak'ah suffice? Is the implication of the hadith that the two rak'ahs are not taken as the minimum? Does one rak'ah suffice, meaning the greeting of the mosque?
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed.
The questioner : I mean, is the witr valid as the greeting of the mosque?
The Shaykh : Yes, the witr suffices for the two rak'ahs. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said two rak'ahs because that is the common case. When does a person enter just to pray witr with one rak'ah? The rare case, as the scholars say, follows the common case. Yes.
The Shaykh : May Allah send blessings and peace upon him.
The questioner :
If anyone of you enters a Mosque, he should not sit until he has offered a tworak` at prayer.
إذا دخل أحدكم المسجد فلا يجلس حتّى يصلّي ركعتينThe Shaykh : Yes, indeed.
The questioner : I mean, is the witr valid as the greeting of the mosque?
The Shaykh : Yes, the witr suffices for the two rak'ahs. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said two rak'ahs because that is the common case. When does a person enter just to pray witr with one rak'ah? The rare case, as the scholars say, follows the common case. Yes.