Establishing the Prayer and the Sunnah Regarding Them

It wasnarrated that ‘Ali said: “At every part of the night theMessenger of Allah (ﷺ) prayed Witr, at the beginning and in themiddle, and finally his Witr was just before dawn.”

It wasnarrated from Jabir that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Whoeveramong you fears that he will not wake up at the end of thenight, lethim pray Witr at the beginning of the night, then go tosleep.Whoever hopes that he will wake up at the end of the night, lethimpray Witr at the end of the night, for recitation (of the Qur’an)at the end of the night is attended (by the angels), and that isbetter.”

It wasnarrated that Abu Sa’eed said: “The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)said: ‘Whoever sleeps and misses Witr, or forgets it, let him prayitwhen morning comes, or when he remembers.’”

It wasnarrated that Abu Sa’eed said: “The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)said: ‘Pray Witr before morning comes.’”

It wasnarrated from Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari that the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ)said: “Witr is Haqq.* Whoever wishes let him pray Witr with five(Rak’ah), and whoever wishes let him pray Witr with three (Rak’ah),and whoever wishes let him pray Witr with one (Rak’ah).”

It wasnarrated that Sa’d bin Hisham said: “I asked ‘Aishah: ‘OMother of the Believers! Tell me about the Witr of the Messenger ofAllah (ﷺ).’ She said: ‘We used to keep his tooth stick andwater forablution ready for him. Allah would wake him as He willedto duringthe night, and he would use the tooth stick and performablution, thenhe would pray nine Rak’ah, during which he would notsit until theeighth Rak’ah. Then he would call upon his Lord andremember Allah andpraise Him and supplicate to Him. Then he wouldget up without sayingthe Salam. Then he would stand up and pray theninth Rak’ah. Then hewould sit and remember Allah and praise Him,and supplicate to hisLord and send blessing upon His Prophet. Thenhe would say Salam thatwe could hear. Then he would pray two Rak’ahafter the Salam, while hewas sitting down. That was eleven Rak’ah.When the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) grew older and had gained weight,he would pray Witr with sevenRak’ah and then pray two more Rak’ahafter he had said the Salam.’”

It wasnarrated that Umm Salamah said: “The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)usedto pray Witr with seven or five Rak’ah, and he would not saySalamor speak in between them.”

It wasnarrated from Salim that his father said: “The Messenger ofAllah(ﷺ) used to pray two Rak’ah while traveling, and he did not domore than that. And he used to pray Tahajjud at night.” I asked:“Didhe pray Witr?” He said: “Yes.”

It wasnarrated that Ibn ‘Abbas and Ibn ‘Umar said: “The Messenger ofAllah (ﷺ) prescribed two Rak’ah of prayer when traveling; theyarecomplete and are not shortened. And Witr when traveling isSunnah.”

It wasnarrated from Umm Salamah that the Prophet (ﷺ) used to praytwoshort Rak’ah after Witr, sitting down.

It wasnarrated that Abu Salamah said: “Aishah narrated to me thattheMessenger of Allah (ﷺ) prayed Witr with one Rak’ah, then heprayed two Rak’ah in which he recited while sitting, then when hewanted to bow, he stood up and bowed.”

It wasnarrated that ‘Aishah said: “I never used to see the Prophet(ﷺ) at the end of the night, except that he was sleeping near me.”

It wasnarrated that ‘Aishah said: “When the Prophet (ﷺ) prayed thetwo (Sunnah) Rak’ah of Fajr, he would lie down on his right side.”

It wasnarrated that Abu Hurairah said: “When the Messenger of Allah(sawprayed the two (Sunnah) Rak’ah of Fajr, he would lie down.”

It wasnarrated that Sa’eed bin Yasar said: “I was with Ibn ‘Umar andI lagged behind and prayed Witr. He said: ‘What kept you?’ Isaid: ‘Iwas praying Witr.’ He said: ‘Do you not have the bestof examples inthe Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)?’ I said: ‘Ofcourse.’ He said: ‘TheMessenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to pray Witrwhile riding his camel.’”

It wasnarrated from Ibn ‘Abbas that the Prophet (ﷺ) used to prayWitrwhile riding his mount.

It wasnarrated that Jabir bin ‘Abdullah said: “The Messenger ofAllah(ﷺ) said to Abu Bakr: ‘When do you pray Witr?’ He said: ‘Atthe beginning of the night, after ‘Isha’.’ He said: ‘And you,O‘Umar?’ He said: ‘At the end of the night.’ The Prophet(ﷺ) said:‘As for you, O Abu Bakr, you have seized thetrustworthy handhold(i.e., you want to be on the safe side), and asfor you, O ‘Umar, youhave seized strength (i.e., you are confidentthat you have theresolve to get up and pray Witr).’”

It wasnarrated that ‘Abdullah said: “The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)prayed, and he added or omitted something.” (One of the narrators)Ibrahim said: “The confusion stems from me (i.e., he was not surewhich it was).” “It was said to him: ‘O Messenger of Allah! Hassomething been added to the prayer?’ He said: ‘I am only human, Iforget just as you forget. If anyone forgets, let him perform twoprostrations when he is sitting (at the end).’ Then the Prophet(ﷺ)turned and prostrated twice.”

‘Iyadnarrated that he asked Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudri: “One of us praysandhe does not know how many (Rak’ah) he has prayed.” He said: “TheMessenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘When anyone of you prays and doesnotknow how many he has prayed, let him perform two prostrationswhile heis sitting.’”

It wasnarrated that ‘Abdullah said: “(Once) the Prophet (ﷺ) prayedZuhr with five Rak’ah, and it was said to him: ‘Has somethingbeenadded to the prayer?’ He said: ‘What is that?’ They toldhim, and heturned back towards the Qiblah and performed twoprostrations.”

It wasnarrated from Ibn Buhainah: “The Prophet (ﷺ) offered prayer,Ithink it was the ‘Asr, and in the second Rak’ah he stood upbeforehe sat. Before he said the Salam, he prostrated twice.”

It wasnarrated from ‘Abdur-Rahman Al-A’raj that Ibn Buhainah toldhimthat the Prophet (ﷺ) stood up in the second Rak’ah of Zuhr andforgot to sit. When he had finished his prayer, and before he saidtheSalam, he performed the two prostrations for forgetfulness (Sahw)andsaid the Salam.

It wasnarrated that Mughirah bin Shu’bah said: “The Messenger ofAllah(ﷺ) said: ‘If anyone of you stands after two Rak’ah, if he hasnot yet stood up fully, let him sit down again, but if he has stoodupfully, then let him not sit down, and let him perform twoprostrationsfor forgetfulness (Sahw).’”

It wasnarrated that ‘Abdur-Rahman bin ‘Awf said: “I heard theMessenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: ‘If anyone of you is uncertain as towhether he has prayed one or two Rak’ah, let him assume it is one.Ifhe is uncertain as to whether he has prayed two or three, let himassume it is two. If he is uncertain as to whether he has prayedthreeor four, let him assume it is three. Then let him complete whatisleft of his prayer, so that the doubt will be about what is more.Thenlet him prostrate twice while he is sitting, before the Taslim(sayingthe Salam).’”

It wasnarrated that Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudri said: “The Messenger ofAllah(ﷺ) said: ‘If anyone of you is uncertain about his prayer, lethim put aside uncertainty and act upon that which is certain. When hehas made sure his prayer is complete, then let him prostrate twice.Then if his prayer was complete, that (extra) Rak’ah will becountedas voluntary, and if his prayer was lacking, that Rak’ahwill completehis prayer, and the two prostrations will rub theSatan’s nose in thedust.’”

It wasnarrated that ‘Abdullah said: “The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)offered prayer, and I am not sure whether he did something extra oromitted something. He asked, and we told him, so he turnd to face theQiblah and prostrated twice, then he said the Salam. Then he turnedto face us and said: ‘If any new command has been revealedconcerning the prayer, I would certainly have told you. But I am onlyhuman and I forget and you forget. If I forget, then remind me. Andif anyone of you is uncertain about the prayer, let him do what isclosest to what is correct, then complete the prayer, say the Salamand prostrate twice.”

It wasnarrated that ‘Abdullah said: “The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)said:‘If anyone of you is uncertain about his prayer, let him try todowhat is correct then let him prostrate twice.’”

It wasnarrated from Ibn ‘Umar that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)forgotand said the Taslim after two Rak’ah. A man who was calledDhul-Yadain said to him: ‘O Messenger of Allah, has the prayer beenshortened or did you forget?’ He said: ‘It has not been shortenedandI did forget.’ He said: ‘But you prayed two Rak’ah.’ Hesaid: ‘Is whatDhul-Yadain says true?’ They said: ‘Yes.’ Sohe went forward andperformed two Rak’ah and said the Salam, thenhe prostrated twice forprostrations of forgetfulness.

It wasnarrated that Abu Hurairah said: “The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)ledus in one of the afternoon prayers, and he prayed two Rak’ah, thenhe said the Salam. Then he stood up and went to a piece of wood inthemosque, and leaned against it. Those who were in a hurry left themosque, saying that the prayer had been shortened. Among the peoplewere Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, but they dared not say anything. Among thepeople there was also a man with long hands who was calledDhul-Yadain. He said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, has the prayer beenshortenedor did you forget?’ He said: ‘It has not been shortenedand I didforget.’ He said: ‘But you prayed two Rak’ah.’ Hesaid: ‘Is what Dhul-Yadain says true?’ They said: ‘Yes.’ Sohe went forward and performedtwo Rak’ah and said the Salam, thenhe prostrated twice, and then hesaid the Salam again.”