Some people pray one rak'ah when they get up at the end of the night, and this is what you referred to, namely that it does not invalidate it; he prays one rak'ah, then says the taslim, then gets up and prays the rest of the prayer, then

The questioner : Some people pray one rak'ah when they get up at the end of the night, and this is what you referred to "that it does not invalidate it"; he prays one rak'ah, then says the taslim, then gets up and prays the rest of the prayer, then does he do the witr?

The Shaykh : Yes, this has no basis. It is narrated from Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) that he used to do this, but it has no basis, because it is not possible to build a rak'ah upon a previous rak'ah when a state of ritual impurity, sleep, and coming and going have occurred between them. It is not possible.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : And if it is not possible to build this second rak'ah upon the first rak'ah, it follows from that that the man has done the witr with three witr prayers.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : The witr before he sleeps, the witr before he performs the tahajjud, and the witr with which he concludes his tahajjud.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : And this is not prescribed, without a doubt.

The questioner : Yes.