How to Pray the Witr Prayer During the Day for One Who Slept Through It
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Also, he says in his letter: “Respected Shaykhs, I pray eleven rak'ahs after the 'Isha' prayer and perform the witr. Some days I am unable to do so because I am working all day, and I pray them in the last third of the night. If sleep overcomes me and I do not wake up, I pray them during the day. Is this valid? Please advise us, may Allah reward you with the best reward.”
Answer: This is a good deed, and it is in accordance with the Sunnah; because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) usually performed the witr with eleven rak'ahs. Sometimes he would perform the witr in the first part of the night, then in the middle, then in the last part, and finally he settled on the last part of the night, (peace and blessings be upon him). So what was predominant for him was that he would pray in the last part of the night, (peace and blessings be upon him). What you have done is the Sunnah. If you sleep through it, there is no blame on you. If you sleep through it sometimes, or it becomes heavy for you, or it is not easy for you to perform it, then do it during the day. Pray during the day whatever is easy for you, but without making it odd-numbered. Pray it as an even number: for example, you pray twelve rak'ahs. That is: six taslims instead of eleven rak'ahs, if that is easy for you. And if you pray less than that, such as eight, or six, or four rak'ahs, it is all good. But the best is to pray the number you used to do at night and add one rak'ah. Add one rak'ah so that you do not perform the witr with a single rak'ah during the day. Or pray an even number. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), if his night prayer was missed due to illness or sleep, would pray twelve rak'ahs during the day, as Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said. This is the Sunnah. The one who misses his night prayer due to sleep, illness, or something similar, prays during the day, but it must be an even number, not an odd number. And you, praise be to Allah, have succeeded in following the Sunnah. Even if a person performs the witr with less than that, or performs it with one, three, or five rak'ahs, it is all Sunnah, and praise be to Allah. The minimum is one rak'ah. If he prays it after 'Isha' or in the last part of the night, he has done the Sunnah. Yes.
Answer: This is a good deed, and it is in accordance with the Sunnah; because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) usually performed the witr with eleven rak'ahs. Sometimes he would perform the witr in the first part of the night, then in the middle, then in the last part, and finally he settled on the last part of the night, (peace and blessings be upon him). So what was predominant for him was that he would pray in the last part of the night, (peace and blessings be upon him). What you have done is the Sunnah. If you sleep through it, there is no blame on you. If you sleep through it sometimes, or it becomes heavy for you, or it is not easy for you to perform it, then do it during the day. Pray during the day whatever is easy for you, but without making it odd-numbered. Pray it as an even number: for example, you pray twelve rak'ahs. That is: six taslims instead of eleven rak'ahs, if that is easy for you. And if you pray less than that, such as eight, or six, or four rak'ahs, it is all good. But the best is to pray the number you used to do at night and add one rak'ah. Add one rak'ah so that you do not perform the witr with a single rak'ah during the day. Or pray an even number. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), if his night prayer was missed due to illness or sleep, would pray twelve rak'ahs during the day, as Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said. This is the Sunnah. The one who misses his night prayer due to sleep, illness, or something similar, prays during the day, but it must be an even number, not an odd number. And you, praise be to Allah, have succeeded in following the Sunnah. Even if a person performs the witr with less than that, or performs it with one, three, or five rak'ahs, it is all Sunnah, and praise be to Allah. The minimum is one rak'ah. If he prays it after 'Isha' or in the last part of the night, he has done the Sunnah. Yes.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.