What Should I Do If I Did Not Pray Witr?
Answered by Shaykh Dr. Muhammad Abu Bakr Badhib
Question
What should I do if I did not pray Witr?
Answer
In the name of Allah, and all praise is due to Allah, and blessings and peace be upon our master Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, his Family, his Companions, and those who follow him.
Importance of Witr Prayer
Witr prayer is one of the prayers highly recommended in many Prophetic hadith. Due to the abundance of these narrations, several scholars have dedicated entire works to it, including Marwazi in his book Kitab al-Witr. The scholar Maqrizi later summarized it, and the summary is well-known and published.
The Ruling on Witr
The discussion on Witr prayer revolves around its ruling: is it a sunna (recommended) or a wajib (obligatory) act? The Hanafi School holds that it is wajib (necessary), while the majority view it as a confirmed sunna.
Regarding the majority’s view that it is a confirmed sunna, Imam Nawawi included a chapter in “Riyad al-Salihin” titled “The Chapter on Encouraging Witr Prayer and Clarifying that it is a Confirmed Sunna and its Timing.” He began it with the statement of ‘Ali (Allah be pleased with him):
“Witr is not mandatory like the obligatory prayers, but the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) prescribed it. He said: ‘Indeed, Allah is Witr (One) and loves the Witr (prayer), so perform Witr, O people of the Quran.’” [Nawawi, Riyad al-Salihin; Abu Dawud; Ibn Maja; Tirmidhi; Nasa’i]
Virtues of Witr Prayer
Among the narrations encouraging Witr are:
From Ibn ‘Umar (Allah be pleased with him and his father), the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:
“Make the last of your prayers at night Witr.” [Bukhari; Muslim]
From Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri (Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:
“Perform Witr before dawn.” [Muslim]
Witr prayer is considered the best of the supererogatory prayers by the Shafi‘i School, which are the recommended prayers for which congregation is not prescribed. This is as determined by ‘Izz al-Din Ibn ‘Abd al-Salam in “Mukhtasar Nihayat al-Matlab.” He mentioned the difference of opinion regarding which is better: Witr or the two units of the Fajr Prayer. There are two opinions. [‘Izz, al-Ghaya fi Ikhtisar al-Nihaya]
According to the new opinion, Witr is better; according to the old opinion, the sunna of Fajr is better. In one view, they are equal in virtue, and Marwazi said: The night prayer is better than the sunna of Fajr, which Imam Nawawi supported. [Shashi, Hilyat al-‘Ulama; Nawawi, Rawdat al-Talibin, al-Majmu‘]
Hanafi Perspective
As for the Hanafi School, the Witr is wajib (necessary), and they have based this on several hadiths, including the hadith of ‘Aisha (Allah be pleased with her): The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) used to pray Witr with five (units) and would not sit except in the last of them. [Nasa’i]
In another narration, he prayed Witr with three. Abu ‘Alia states that the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) taught us that Witr is like the Maghrib prayer, except that we also recite in the third unit. This is the Witr of the night, and this is the Witr of the day. [Tahawi, Sharh Ma‘ani al-Athar]
Shaykh Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi also wrote a treatise titled “Kashf al-Sitr an Fardiyyat al-Witr,” which discussed the obligation of Witr.
Making Up Missed Witr: Shafi‘is
Based on the above, if one misses the Witr prayer due to sleep or forgetfulness, or delays it with the intention of praying it during the night prayer but then falls asleep, should it be made up?
According to the Shafi’i School, in “al-Taliqa” by Qadi Marwazi, it is mentioned:
“If we say it should be made up, then when should it be made up? There are several opinions: the most apparent is that it can be made up anytime, like the obligatory prayers. The second opinion, as narrated by Muzani, is that the two units of the Fajr Prayer can be made up until Dhuhr, and Witr can be made up until Fajr.” [Marwazi, al-Ta‘liqa]
‘Izz al-Din Ibn ‘Abd al-Salam, in discussing making up voluntary and regular prayers, said:
“According to one opinion, the regular sunna prayers can be made up until the following obligatory prayer is performed. Hence, Witr can be made up until Fajr. Once Fajr is performed, it cannot be made up.” [‘Izz, al-Ghaya fi Ikhtisar al-Nihaya]
Imam Nawawi summarized the previous opinions by saying:
“The regular sunna prayers after the obligatory prayer start after performing the obligatory prayer and end when its time ends. We have an irregular opinion that Witr remains valid until the Fajr prayer. The well-known opinion is that it ends with the break of dawn.” [Nawawi, Rawdat al-Talibin]
Making Up Missed Witr: Hanafis
According to the Hanafi School, in “Kitab al-Asl” by Muhammad Shaybani, it is stated:
“Abu Hanifa said: If a person prays Fajr and does not pray Witr, then remembers Witr, he must make it up.” [Shaybani, al-Asl]
In “al-Hujja,” it is stated:
“Abu Hanifa (Allah have mercy on him) said regarding Witr: If a man forgets it, he should make it up just as he makes up any of the five obligatory prayers he forgets, even if days have passed. The people of Madina said, one should make up Witr as long as he had not prayed Fajr. If he has prayed Fajr, then there is no Witr.” [Shaybani, al-Hujja ‘ala Ahl al-Madina]
In “al-Lubab,” it is mentioned: “Tirmidhi narrated from Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri (Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: ‘Whoever sleeps through Witr or forgets it, let him pray it when he remembers or wakes up.’ [Tirmidhi]
This is a command to make it up, and a command implies wujub (necessity). When making it up is necessary, performing it initially is also necessary.” [Manbaji, al-Lubab fi al-Jam‘ bayn al-Sunna wa-al-Kitab; Samarqandi, Tuhfat al-Fuqaha’]
Summary
Therefore, a Muslim should be diligent in performing prayers on time, whether obligatory or voluntary. If one follows the Shafi‘i School, it is more prudent to adhere to the Hanafi opinion, which necessitates Witr, and to maintain it as much as possible. If missed despite strong adherence, it is permissible to make it up before the Fajr prayer according to the Shafi‘i School, or after it according to Abu Hanifa’s opinion. We ask Allah to enable us to perform righteous deeds and accept our prayers and worship, for He is the Most Merciful of the merciful.
[Shaykh] Dr. Muhammad Abu Bakr Badhib
Shaykh Dr Muhammad Abu Bakr Badhib is a prominent Islamic scholar from Yemen born in Shibam, Hadhramaut, in 1976. He received his degree in Shari‘a from Al-Ahqaf University, a master’s degree from the Islamic University of Beirut, and a PhD in Usul al-Din from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).
He studied under great scholars such as Shaykh al-Habib Ahmad Mashhur al-Haddad, Shaykh Fadl Ba‘ fadl, Habib Salim al-Shatiri, Habib Ali Mashhur bin Hafeez, and others. He has served as the Director of Publications at Dar al-Fiqh, the former Deputy Director of Cultural Relations at Al-Ahqaf University, a former Assistant for Employee Affairs at Atiyah Iron Company, a researcher at the Sunna Center affiliated with the Dallah al-Baraka Foundation, and a researcher at Al-Furqan Foundation’s Makka al-Mukarrama and Madina al-Munawwara Encyclopedia branch.
Currently, he is a researcher at Al-Furqan Foundation’s Makka al-Mukarrama and Madina al-Munawwara Encyclopedia branch, teaches traditionally through the Ijaza system at Dar al-Fuqaha in Turkey, supervises the Arabic department at Nur al-Huda International Institute (SeekersGuidance), and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Manuscript House in Istanbul.
His works include “The Efforts of Hadhramaut Jurists in Serving the Shafi‘i School,” “Contributions of Hadhramaut Scholars in Spreading Islam and its Sciences in India,” “Hada’iq al-Na‘im in Shafi‘i Fiqh,” in addition to verifying several books in Fiqh, history, the art of biographies, and Asanid (chains of narration).
