Was My Witr Prayer Valid Despite Not Raising My Hands?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi
Question
Is my Witr prayer valid if I doubted raising my hands before Qunut and forgot whether I recited a sura, but performed Sajdat al-Sahw?
Answer
In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
I pray this finds you in the best of states.
Yes, the Witr prayer in the situation you have described because all the obligatory (fard) components of this prayer have been performed. And raising one’s hand during the Witr is not obligatory. [Shurunbulali, Nur al-Idah]
Allah, Most High, says:
“Allah desires ease for you; He does not desire difficulty for you.” [Quran, 2.185]
And Allah knows best.
Wassalam
[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching for ways to learn Islam reliably and was disappointed at the answers he found locally.
Then he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor Shaykh Faraz Rabbani.
He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha‘ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others.
He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.
