The Ruling on Performing the Witr Prayer at the Beginning of the Night and Then Standing in Prayer at the End of It
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Question:
With the start of this episode, we return to the message from our listener (N. B.) from Jeddah. We presented part of her questions in a previous episode, and she has a number of questions remaining for this episode. In one of them, she says: I, praise be to Allah, stand in prayer at night, but I perform the witr after completing the sunnah of the night prayer; this is out of fear that Allah may take my soul before I perform it, and out of fear that sleep may overcome me and I will not be able to perform it. So what do you advise me to do, and is what I am doing correct?
Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow his guidance. As for what follows:
Standing in prayer at night is among the best of the means of drawing near to Allah, and it is among the characteristics of the righteous servants of Allah, and among the characteristics of the pious. Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) said in His great Book: [Surat al-Dhariyat: 15-18]. And He, the Exalted, said regarding the characteristics of the servants of Allah: [Surat al-Furqan: 64].
So you are upon good. We advise you to remain steadfast, to ask Allah for acceptance, and to be upright. However, it is better for you to make the witr at the end of the night, as long as you stand in prayer at the end of the night; so make the witr at the end of the night. Have good opinion of Allah, have good opinion of Allah, and be glad with good news, as long as you have accustomed yourself to this good and stand in prayer at the end of the night; so make your witr at the end of the night. This is based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the authentic hadith:.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained that the prayer at the end of the night is witnessed, and that it is better than the prayer at the beginning of the night. And you, praise be to Allah, hope to be able to stand in prayer, and you have accustomed yourself to standing; so delay the witr to the end of the night.
And if sleep overcomes you, you should pray during the day what corresponds to that, in pairs without a witr, just as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do. When sleep or pain overcame him, he would pray twelve rak'ahs during the day. And his custom (peace and blessings be upon him) was generally eleven rak'ahs, so if sleep or illness occupied him, he would add one and pray twelve rak'ahs. This is how Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated it in Sahih Muslim.
The believer must have a good opinion of Allah So you should have a good opinion of Allah, strive in good, and have your prayer in the last part of the night along with the witr, because of this authentic hadith, and because of his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) in the authentic hadith:Sunan Abi Dawud 4733Sahih (Al-Albani) This is a great hadith, mass-transmitted from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and it indicates the virtue of the last part of the night, that worship in it has a great status, and that the supplication of the servant is likely to be answered, and so is his repentance, and his seeking of forgiveness.
And this descent is a descent befitting the majesty of Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He), He does not resemble His creation in any of His attributes So in His descent, He is like His other attributes, such as rising above the Throne, speech, anger, and satisfaction, and others; all of them are attributes befitting Allah, in which He does not resemble His creation Just as the Salaf said regarding rising above the Throne: that it is in the manner befitting Allah, so it is with the descent, and so it is with the rest of the attributes. He (Exalted and Majestic is He) says: [Ta-Ha:5].
Malik (may Allah have mercy on him), the famous imam, the imam of the city of migration in his time, Malik ibn Anas, was asked: O Abu Abdullah: [Ta-Ha:5] How did He rise above? He said: The rising is known, the how is unknown, and belief in it is obligatory. And so it was narrated from Umm Salama, the mother of the believers, and from Rabi'ah, the teacher of Malik, that they said this meaning: The rising is not unknown, and the how is not comprehensible. And so the descent is known, and the how is unknown. He descends: as He wills a descent befitting His majesty, not resembling His creation in His attributes And so He speaks when He wills, with speech befitting His majesty, and He becomes angry when He wills, with anger befitting His majesty, at those who disobey Him and disbelieve in Him, not resembling the anger of the created beings.
And so is His satisfaction, and so are the rest of the attributes All of them must be passed over as they came, with belief in them, and holding that they are true, and that they are befitting Allah, in which He does not resemble His creation, and no one knows their how except He .
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.
With the start of this episode, we return to the message from our listener (N. B.) from Jeddah. We presented part of her questions in a previous episode, and she has a number of questions remaining for this episode. In one of them, she says: I, praise be to Allah, stand in prayer at night, but I perform the witr after completing the sunnah of the night prayer; this is out of fear that Allah may take my soul before I perform it, and out of fear that sleep may overcome me and I will not be able to perform it. So what do you advise me to do, and is what I am doing correct?
Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow his guidance. As for what follows:
Standing in prayer at night is among the best of the means of drawing near to Allah, and it is among the characteristics of the righteous servants of Allah, and among the characteristics of the pious. Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) said in His great Book:
(15) Indeed, the righteous will be among gardens and springs, (16) Accepting what their Lord has given them. Indeed, they were before that doers of good. (17) They used to sleep but little of the night, (18) And in the hours before dawn they would ask forgiveness,
إِنَّ الْمُتَّقِينَ فِي جَنَّاتٍ وَعُيُونٍ آخِذِينَ مَا آتَاهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا قَبْلَ ذَلِكَ مُحْسِنِينَ كَانُوا قَلِيلًا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ وَبِالأَسْحَارِ هُمْ يَسْتَغْفِرُونَAnd those who spend [part of] the night to their Lord prostrating and standing [in prayer]
وَالَّذِينَ يَبِيتُونَ لِرَبِّهِمْ سُجَّدًا وَقِيَامًاSo you are upon good. We advise you to remain steadfast, to ask Allah for acceptance, and to be upright. However, it is better for you to make the witr at the end of the night, as long as you stand in prayer at the end of the night; so make the witr at the end of the night. Have good opinion of Allah, have good opinion of Allah, and be glad with good news, as long as you have accustomed yourself to this good and stand in prayer at the end of the night; so make your witr at the end of the night. This is based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the authentic hadith:
Whoever fears that he will not be able to stand in prayer at the end of the night, let him perform the witr at the beginning of it. And whoever hopes to stand in prayer at the end of the night, let him perform the witr at the end of the night, for the prayer at the end 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 أفضلThe Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained that the prayer at the end of the night is witnessed, and that it is better than the prayer at the beginning of the night. And you, praise be to Allah, hope to be able to stand in prayer, and you have accustomed yourself to standing; so delay the witr to the end of the night.
And if sleep overcomes you, you should pray during the day what corresponds to that, in pairs without a witr, just as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do. When sleep or pain overcame him, he would pray twelve rak'ahs during the day. And his custom (peace and blessings be upon him) was generally eleven rak'ahs, so if sleep or illness occupied him, he would add one and pray twelve rak'ahs. This is how Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated it in Sahih Muslim.
The believer must have a good opinion of Allah So you should have a good opinion of Allah, strive in good, and have your prayer in the last part of the night along with the witr, because of this authentic hadith, and because of his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) in the authentic hadith:
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؟And this descent is a descent befitting the majesty of Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He), He does not resemble His creation in any of His attributes So in His descent, He is like His other attributes, such as rising above the Throne, speech, anger, and satisfaction, and others; all of them are attributes befitting Allah, in which He does not resemble His creation Just as the Salaf said regarding rising above the Throne: that it is in the manner befitting Allah, so it is with the descent, and so it is with the rest of the attributes. He (Exalted and Majestic is He) says:
The Most Merciful [who is] above the Throne established.
الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَىMalik (may Allah have mercy on him), the famous imam, the imam of the city of migration in his time, Malik ibn Anas, was asked: O Abu Abdullah:
The Most Merciful [who is] above the Throne established.
الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَىAnd so is His satisfaction, and so are the rest of the attributes All of them must be passed over as they came, with belief in them, and holding that they are true, and that they are befitting Allah, in which He does not resemble His creation, and no one knows their how except He .
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.