The Best Time for the Witr Prayer
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Question:
He asks another question and says: What is the best time for the witr prayer, and what do you advise me to do so that I can be consistent with it in the middle of the night? Because I have become one who does not perform it except after the 'Isha' prayer?
Answer:
The best option for one who is able to do so is to pray the witr and the tahajjud in the last part of the night, in the final third; for it is established from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:Sunan Abi Dawud 4733Sahih (Al-Albani) It is agreed upon as authentic, and it is a great hadith indicating that He (Exalted and Majestic is He) descends to the earth's sky every night when the final third remains, in every direction according to their times, and He says : Sahih al-Bukhari 1145 So if the believing man and woman are able to be among those praying and supplicating at this time, that is the best.
The descent of the Lord (Exalted and Majestic is He) does not resemble the descent of created beings; rather, it is a descent befitting Allah , and no one knows its manner except He (Exalted and Majestic is He). It does not imply that the Throne becomes empty, for He is above the Throne , above all creation, and He descends in a manner befitting His majesty, which does not contradict His being above and His being over . So it is a descent befitting Him (Exalted and Majestic is He), and He is the One who knows its manner . It is upon us to believe in this, to affirm this, and to say that no one knows the manner of this except He .
And so it is with the rest of the attributes: we know them and pass them over as they came, but no one knows their manner except He . This applies to rising above the Throne, the descent, and the coming on the Day of Resurrection to judge between His servants, as well as His mercy and His anger. How does He show mercy? How does He become angry? How is His hearing? How is His sight? How is His hand? How is His foot? They are all attributes of Allah, and we do not know their manner; rather, no one knows their manner except He .
And for this reason, when Imam Malik ibn Anas (may Allah have mercy on him), the Imam of the city in his time in the second century, was asked (may Allah have mercy on him), the questioner said to him: O Abu 'Abdullah: [Taha:5] How did He rise above? So he remained silent for a long time, and a sweat broke out on him out of reverence for this question due to its gravity—and the sweat is the perspiration—then he said: The rising is known, the manner is unknown, belief in it is obligatory, and asking about it is a religious innovation. I do not think you are anything but a man of evil. Then he ordered that he be taken out.
So the point is: he said: The rising is known, the manner is unknown. And this is the statement of all the people of the Sunnah and the community, just as Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) said it, so did the Imams other than him: such as Abu Hanifah, al-Shafi'i, al-Awza'i, al-Thawri, Ibn 'Uyaynah, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ishaq ibn Rahawayh, and others of the Imams of Islam. And it is narrated from Umm Salama (may Allah be pleased with her), the mother of the believers, and it is also the statement of Rabi'ah ibn Abi al-'Abd al-Rahman, the teacher of Malik, for he said the meaning of this statement, and it is the statement of all the Imams from the people of the Sunnah and the community.
Rising above the Throne is known, the manner is unknown, belief in it is obligatory, and asking about the manner is a religious innovation. And so it is with the rest of the attributes, such as the descent, mercy, anger, hearing, sight, the hand, the foot, the fingers, and others. It is said of all of them: they are known in terms of meaning and in terms of the Arabic language, but their manner is known by no one except He .
And in this hadith is the indication of the lawfulness of the tahajjud prayer in the last part of the night, and supplication in the last part of the night. But whoever is not able to do so, he performs the witr in the first part of the night. Whoever is not able to do that, the recommended practice for him is to perform the witr in the first part of the night, or in the middle of the night according to his capacity; for it is established from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:.
So he (peace and blessings be upon him) specified this: whoever hopes to stand in the last part of the night, that is better; and whoever fears, he performs the witr in the first part of the night.
And he (peace and blessings be upon him) did this and that and this. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: Meaning: his witr settled in the final third (peace and blessings be upon him). Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.
He asks another question and says: What is the best time for the witr prayer, and what do you advise me to do so that I can be consistent with it in the middle of the night? Because I have become one who does not perform it except after the 'Isha' prayer?
Answer:
The best option for one who is able to do so is to pray the witr and the tahajjud in the last part of the night, in the final third; for it is established from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:
Our lord gets down every night to the heaven of this world when a third night remains and says: (Is there anyone) who prays to Me so that I may accept his prayer? (Is there anyone) who asks of Me so that I may give him? (Is there anyone) who asks for my forgiveness so that I may forgive him?
ينزل ربنا إلى سماء الدنيا كل ليلة حين يبقى ثلث الليل الآخر، فيقول: من يدعوني فأستجيب له؟ من يسألني فأعطيه؟ من يستغفرني فأغفر له حتى ينفجر الفجرIs there anyone to invoke Me, so that I may respond to invocation? Is there anyone to ask Me, so that I may grant him his request? Is there anyone seeking My forgiveness, so that I may forgive him?
من يدعوني فأستجيب له؟ من يسألني فأعطيه؟ من يستغفرني فأغفر له؟The descent of the Lord (Exalted and Majestic is He) does not resemble the descent of created beings; rather, it is a descent befitting Allah , and no one knows its manner except He (Exalted and Majestic is He). It does not imply that the Throne becomes empty, for He is above the Throne , above all creation, and He descends in a manner befitting His majesty, which does not contradict His being above and His being over . So it is a descent befitting Him (Exalted and Majestic is He), and He is the One who knows its manner . It is upon us to believe in this, to affirm this, and to say that no one knows the manner of this except He .
And so it is with the rest of the attributes: we know them and pass them over as they came, but no one knows their manner except He . This applies to rising above the Throne, the descent, and the coming on the Day of Resurrection to judge between His servants, as well as His mercy and His anger. How does He show mercy? How does He become angry? How is His hearing? How is His sight? How is His hand? How is His foot? They are all attributes of Allah, and we do not know their manner; rather, no one knows their manner except He .
And for this reason, when Imam Malik ibn Anas (may Allah have mercy on him), the Imam of the city in his time in the second century, was asked (may Allah have mercy on him), the questioner said to him: O Abu 'Abdullah:
The Most Merciful [who is] above the Throne established.
الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَىSo the point is: he said: The rising is known, the manner is unknown. And this is the statement of all the people of the Sunnah and the community, just as Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) said it, so did the Imams other than him: such as Abu Hanifah, al-Shafi'i, al-Awza'i, al-Thawri, Ibn 'Uyaynah, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ishaq ibn Rahawayh, and others of the Imams of Islam. And it is narrated from Umm Salama (may Allah be pleased with her), the mother of the believers, and it is also the statement of Rabi'ah ibn Abi al-'Abd al-Rahman, the teacher of Malik, for he said the meaning of this statement, and it is the statement of all the Imams from the people of the Sunnah and the community.
Rising above the Throne is known, the manner is unknown, belief in it is obligatory, and asking about the manner is a religious innovation. And so it is with the rest of the attributes, such as the descent, mercy, anger, hearing, sight, the hand, the foot, the fingers, and others. It is said of all of them: they are known in terms of meaning and in terms of the Arabic language, but their manner is known by no one except He .
And in this hadith is the indication of the lawfulness of the tahajjud prayer in the last part of the night, and supplication in the last part of the night. But whoever is not able to do so, he performs the witr in the first part of the night. Whoever is not able to do that, the recommended practice for him is to perform the witr in the first part of the night, or in the middle of the night according to his capacity; for it is established from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:
Whoever fears that he will not be able to stand in the last part of the night, let him perform the witr in the first part; and whoever hopes to stand in the last part of the night, let him perform the witr in the last part; for the prayer in the last part of the night is witnessed, and that is better.
من خاف ألا يقوم من آخر الليل؛ فليوتر أوله، ومن طمع أن يقوم آخر الليل؛ فليوتر آخر الليل؛ فإن صلاة آخر الليل مشهودة، وذلك أفضلSo he (peace and blessings be upon him) specified this: whoever hopes to stand in the last part of the night, that is better; and whoever fears, he performs the witr in the first part of the night.
And he (peace and blessings be upon him) did this and that and this. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said:
The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) performed the witr from the first part of the night, the middle, and the last, and then his witr ended with the late night.
من كل الليل قد أوتر الرسول ﷺ من أوله، وأوسطه، وآخره، ثم انتهى وتره إلى السحرThe presenter: May Allah reward you with good.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.