Benefits of the Hadith: (… Jabir reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
This hadith, in both its wordings, indicates a distinction: which is better, Witr in the first part of the night or in the last part? It states that whoever is confident that he will get up in the last part of the night should make it in the last part of the night, and whoever is not confident should make it in the first part of the night. In this is evidence that Witr has two times: a time of excellence and a time of permissibility. The permissibility is that it be in the first part of the night after the 'Isha' prayer and its regular voluntary prayers, whether they are combined with Maghrib or separated from it. The time of excellence is the last part of the night. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) explained this by saying that the prayer of the last part of the night is witnessed, witnessed by the angels. Likewise, the Lord, Mighty and Majestic, descends to the lowest heaven when one-third of the night remains, and He saysSahih al-Bukhari 1145 to the end. And this is an opportunity and a gain.
The apparent meaning of the hadith is that if one has already prayed Witr in the first part of the night and then gets up, he does not pray Witr again. This is the truth, because if he prayed Witr again, there would be two Witr prayers in the night.
It also contains the point that he does not make his first Witr even in number, which is called breaking the Witr. That is, when he first gets up in the last part of the night, he prays one rak'ah to make the rak'ah that was in the first part of the night even, then he prays in pairs, and then he prays Witr with one. The correct view is that if a person has prayed Witr in the first part of the night, he does not repeat the Witr again, nor does he break it. But how do we reconcile this which we have established, or…? More accurately, how is this which we have established correct in light of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)Sahih Muslim 751b? We say that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did not say “Do not pray after Witr,” but rather he said Sahih Muslim 751b. This man made the end of his night prayer Witr. Then he said, “What does he do? Does he just keep reciting the Qur'an?” We say, “Pray, for prayer is better than…” For this reason, the wording of the hadith was not “Do not pray after Witr.” And you saw that I shifted from saying “How do we reconcile our saying, or our establishment, with the saying of the Messenger” to saying…
The student: How is it correct?
The Shaykh : How is it correct? Because it is not possible for us to say “How do we reconcile the saying of the Messenger with our saying,” since our saying is not a scriptural text, a text that must be followed, but rather it is an opinion. And one does not say “How do we reconcile this opinion with the saying of the Messenger, or with the saying of Allah,” because there is no contradiction at all. Rather, one says, “How is this saying, or this division, or something similar, correct?” Yes. Yes, Salim.
This hadith, in both its wordings, indicates a distinction: which is better, Witr in the first part of the night or in the last part? It states that whoever is confident that he will get up in the last part of the night should make it in the last part of the night, and whoever is not confident should make it in the first part of the night. In this is evidence that Witr has two times: a time of excellence and a time of permissibility. The permissibility is that it be in the first part of the night after the 'Isha' prayer and its regular voluntary prayers, whether they are combined with Maghrib or separated from it. The time of excellence is the last part of the night. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) explained this by saying that the prayer of the last part of the night is witnessed, witnessed by the angels. Likewise, the Lord, Mighty and Majestic, descends to the lowest heaven when one-third of the night remains, and He says
Is there anyone to invoke Me, so that I may respond to invocation?
من يدعوني فأستجيب لهThe apparent meaning of the hadith is that if one has already prayed Witr in the first part of the night and then gets up, he does not pray Witr again. This is the truth, because if he prayed Witr again, there would be two Witr prayers in the night.
It also contains the point that he does not make his first Witr even in number, which is called breaking the Witr. That is, when he first gets up in the last part of the night, he prays one rak'ah to make the rak'ah that was in the first part of the night even, then he prays in pairs, and then he prays Witr with one. The correct view is that if a person has prayed Witr in the first part of the night, he does not repeat the Witr again, nor does he break it. But how do we reconcile this which we have established, or…? More accurately, how is this which we have established correct in light of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
Make Witr the end of your night prayer.
اجعلوا ءاخر صلاتكم بالليل وتراMake Witr the end of your night prayer.
اجعلوا ءاخر صلاتكم بالليل وتراThe student: How is it correct?
The Shaykh : How is it correct? Because it is not possible for us to say “How do we reconcile the saying of the Messenger with our saying,” since our saying is not a scriptural text, a text that must be followed, but rather it is an opinion. And one does not say “How do we reconcile this opinion with the saying of the Messenger, or with the saying of Allah,” because there is no contradiction at all. Rather, one says, “How is this saying, or this division, or something similar, correct?” Yes. Yes, Salim.