When does the time for Witr end?
Question When does the time of Witr end? Should I deliberately delay it until the time of Fajr?. Praise be to Allah. The time for Witr prayer lasts from after ‘Isha’ prayer until the dawn begins. See question no. 46544. Once dawn begins, the time for Witr is over, based on the words of the…
Question
Praise be to Allah.
The time for Witr prayer lasts from after ‘Isha’ prayer until
the dawn begins. See question no.
46544.
Once dawn begins, the time for Witr is over, based on the
words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “Pray
Witr before morning comes.” Narrated by Muslim, 754.
Muslim also narrated from Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased
with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: “Hasten to pray witr before dawn.”
And Muslim narrated (752) that the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Witr is one rak’ah at the
end of the night.”
Al-Tirmidhi narrated (469) from Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be
pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: “When dawn comes, all the night prayers and Witr are over,
so pray Witr before dawn comes.” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in
Saheeh al-Tirmidhi.
Al-Bukhaari (472) and Muslim (749) narrated that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The night prayers
are two (rak’ahs) by two, then when you think that morning (dawn) is about
to begin, pray one (rak’ah) and it will make what you have prayed Witr
(odd-numbered).”
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said:
This indicates that the time for Witr ends when the dawn
comes, because it is a prayer with which the night prayers are concluded, so
it cannot be done after the night has ended.
Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen,
14/115
Some of the scholars are
of the view that the time for Witr lasts after the dawn comes, until one has
prayed Fajr, and they quoted as evidence the report narrated about some of
the Sahaabah, that they prayed Witr after dawn had come and before the
iqaamah was said for Fajr prayer.
Ibn Rushd al-Qurtubi said:
With regard to the time for Witr, the scholars are
unanimously agreed that the time for it is from after ‘Isha’ prayer until
dawn begins, because that was narrated through numerous isnaads from the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). One of the
strongest such reports is that narrated by Muslim from Abu Nadrah al-‘Awfi,
which says that Abu Sa’eed told them that they asked the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) about Witr and he said: “Witr comes
before dawn.” They differed as to whether it is permissible to pray it after
dawn. Some of them said it is not allowed, and others said that it is
allowed so long as one has not yet prayed Fajr. The first view was expressed
by Abu Yoosuf and Muhammad ibn al-Hasan, two companions of Abu Haneefah, and
Sufyaan al-Thawri, and the second was expressed by al-Shaafa’i, Maalik and
Ahmad. The reason for their difference of opinion was the actions of some of
the Sahaabah which differed from what is mentioned in the reports.
My view concerning this
matter is that what they did does not contradict the reports that have been
narrated concerning that – I mean the reports which say that they allowed
praying Witr after dawn. Rather they allowed it in cases where it needs to
be made up, not as a regular practice. Their view would only contradict the
reports if they said that this prayer could be offered after dawn on a
regular basis. Think about it.
Bidaayat al-Mujtahid, 1/147,
148
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
There are many ahaadeeth
on this topic, which indicate that the time for witr ends when dawn begins.
Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz, 11/306.
