AL-MUSTAPHA INSTITUTE OF BRISBANE

Compiled by Br. Abdul-Halīm Khalīl (25-05-14)

Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahīm

Salāt-ul-Witr, as performed by Habīb Allāh

I – The Indispensable Nature of Salāt-ul-Witr

Salāt-ul-Witr is an ‘essential’ aspect of the worship of Muslims – viz., Salāt-ul-Witr is wajib,

according to Imam Abu Hanifah ( ),1 and cannot consciously be abandoned. Indeed, it is

reported upon the authority of Buraidah ( ), that the Blessed Prophet ( ) said:

‘Witr is a duty, so he who does not pray it does not belong to us.

Witr is a duty, so he who does not pray it does not belong to us.

Witr is a duty, so he who does not pray it does not belong to us.’2

The Supplication of the Blessed Prophet (Sall Allâhu ‘Alayhi wâ-Alihi wâ-Sah’bihi wâ-Salâm)

~ Du‘â’-e-Qunūt ~ The word ‘qunūt’, basically, means ‘supplication’, and forms a portion of Salāt-ul-Witr. As

such, it is reported upon the authority of Al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali ( ), who said,

1 See Hassan Shurunbulali, Nur al-Idah (‘The Light of Clarification’) 201. 2 According to Imam Abu Hanifah (radi Allāhu anhu), the cogent repetition of this statement of the Beloved

Prophet ( ) indicates that Salāt-ul-Witr is ‘wājib’ (Ma‘ariful Hadees, vol. III, 328 [cited in Syed

Anwaer Ali, Sunnah: The Way of Qur’ānic Life [Zia-ul-Qur’ān Publications, 2002] Volume 2, 477]). Also, refer

to this narration, as reported in the text of Abu Dawūd, 1414 (cited in Nur al-Idah, above n 1).

‘Rasūl Allāh ( ) taught me some words to say, when standing in supplication, during

the Witr:

“O Allah, Guide me, amongst those whom You have guided.

Grant me security, amongst those whom You have granted security.

Befriend me, amongst those whom You have befriended.

Bless me, in what You have given (to me).

Guard me from the evil of what You have decreed;

Verily, You Decree and nothing is decreed for You.

He whom You befriend is not … [humiliated].

Blessed and Exalted are You, our Lord!”’ 3

3 Reported in the authoritative texts of Tirmidhi, Abu Dawūd, Nasā’i, Ibn Majah, Dārimi (cited in Syed Anwaer

Ali, Sunnah: The Way of Qur’ānic Life, above n 2, 475-476 [cf. 476-477]). Also consider the same narration, in

S. Strauch, Fiqh Course (International Islamic Publishing House, 1st ed., 2003) volume 1, 136-137.

The Content of His Blessed Recitation (Salawat Allâh wâ Salâmuhu 'Alayhi wâ Alihi)

~ Pronouncing the Glorious Qur’ān ~ It is reported upon the authority of ‘Abdul Aziz bin Juraij ( ), who narrates,

‘I asked Aa’shah ( ) with what (verses of the Qur’ān) the Messenger of Allāh ( )

used to prayer the Witr. She said:

“In the first Rak‘at he ( ) recited, ‘Glorify the Name of your Lord, the Most High’,4 in the

second, ‘Say, O disbelievers’,5 and in the third, ‘Say, He is Allāh, the One’,6 and Mu‘awwizatān.”7

II – The Time of Salāt-ul-Witr and Du‘ā’-e-Qunūt

It is reported upon the authority of Jabir ( ), who said,

‘Rasūl Allāh ( ) has said:

“Whoever is afraid that … [they] may not get up in the latter part of night, … [they]

should observe a Witr in the first part of it; and whoever is eager to get up in the last part

of it, … [they] should pray a Witr at the end of the night, because prayer at the end of the

night is attended by the angels, and that is better.”’8

As for the Du‘ā’-e-Qunūt, following the recitation of the Glorious Qur’ān, during the third

rak‘ah, one should raise their hands to the level of the ears, pronouncing the takbīrah

4 Refer to the Glorious Qur’ān, Surat Al-‘A‘lá (‘The Chapter of the Most High’) 87 (consider ayah 1). 5 Refer to the Glorious Qur’ān, Surat Al-Kāfirūn (‘The Chapter of the Disbelievers’) 109 (consider ayah 1). 6 Refer to the Glorious Qur’ān, Surat Al-‘Ikhlāș (‘The Chapter of the Purification’ [or ‘the Sincerity’]) 112

(consider ayah 1). 7 The Mu‘awwizatān refer to chapters 113 and 114, of the Glorious Qur’ān, viz., Surat Al-Falaq (‘The Chapter

of the Daybreak’) and Surat An-Nās (‘The Chapter of Humanity’), respectively. Importantly, this hadīth

narration is reported in the venerable texts of Tirmidhi and Abu Dawūd (nota bene: Nasā’i transmitted this

narration from Abdur-Rahman ibn Abza [radi Allāhu anhu], Ahmad from Ubayy ibn Ka‘b [radi Allāhu

anhu], and Dārimi from Ibn Abbas ([radi Allāhu anhu]. However, the reference to the mu‘awwizatān does not

appear in the īsnad of Ahmad, nor of Dārimi). Refer to Ali, Sunnah: The Way of Qur’ānic Life, above n 2, 475). 8 Reported in the revered text, Sahīh Muslim (translated by Nasiruddin Al-Khattab, Darussalam, 2007) 1191/7.

(‘Allahū Akbar!’), thereafter returning their hands to beneath the naval,9 uttering the qunūt

(supplicating Allāh Subḥānahu wā Ta'āla), before continuing to ruku (the bowing posture).10

III – The Number of Rak‘at During Salāt-ul-Witr

It is reported upon the authority of Ibn Mas‘ud, Ubayy ibn Ka‘b, Aa’ishah, and Umm

Salamah (May Allāh Azza Wa-Jal bestow His Pleasure upon them all), who narrate that Rasūl

Allāh ( ) would perform Salāt-ul-Witr, consisting of three rak‘at, and would not utter

the taslīm (the conclusive salutation, “as-salāmu ‘alaikum wā-raĥmītullah”) until the end of

the third rak‘ah.11

IV – The Sublimity of Salāt-ul-Witr

It is reported upon the authority of ‘Ali ( ), who narrates that Rasūl Allāh ( )

proclaimed:

‘Allāh is Single (Witr), and loves what is single, so pray the Witr,

O people of the Qur’ān.’ 12

Therefore, let us ever render Salāt-ul-Witr our last expression of peace, love, and contentment

with the Sunnah of Allāh Subḥānahu wā Ta'āla, for Ibn ‘Umar ( ) narrates that Habīb

Allāh ( ) lovingly tells us:

‘Make the last of your prayer at night a Witr.’13

9 This concerns the jurisprudential opinion of Imam Abu Hanifah (radi Allāhu anhu), whereas Abu Yusuf

(rahmatullahi ‘alay) – during the recitation of the qunūt – would raise his hands, supinated, assuming the

posture of supplication (as this was the practice of Ibn Mas‘ud [radi Allāhu anhu]): refer to Nur al-Idah, above n

1, 202. 10 Reported in the text of Nasā’i (1,698) (cited in Nur al-Idah, above n 1, 202). 11 Importantly, the narration of Ubayy ibn Ka‘b (radi Allāhu anhu) is transmitted in the texts of Musnad Ahmad

ibn Hanbal (5/123), Nisā’i (3/235), and Ibn Majah (1,182). The narration of Aa’ishah (radi Allāhu anha) is

transmitted in the texts of Al-Mustadrak (1/304), Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal (1/155-156), and Al-Mujtaba Min

As-Sunan (of Nisā’i, 3/234, 1,698). Furthermore, Al-Hakim reports that this narration is ‘sound’, according to

the standards of Muslim and Bukhari (in Al-Ikhtiyar, 85). Refer to Nur al-Idah, above n 1). 12 Tirmidhi, Abu Dawūd, and Nasā’i (1,197/13) (cited in Ali, Sunnah: The Way of Qur’ānic Life, above n 2,

474). 13 Reported in the text of Sahīh Muslim (1,189/5) (cited in Ali, Sunnah: The Way of Qur’ānic Life, above n 2,

472).