Praise be to Allaah. There is nothing wrong with the person who prays Witr in the first part of the night or the middle of the night offering any naafil prayers he wants after Witr, even though it is mustahabb for the last of his prayer at night to be Witr. In this case he should not repeat Witr, rather the Witr that he prayed at the beginning of the night is sufficient.
It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Make the last of your prayer at night Witr.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 998; Muslim, 749.
And it was narrated that that Talq ibn ‘Ali said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say, “There should not be two Witrs in one night.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 470; al-Nasaa’i, 1679; Abu Dawood, 1439. Classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 7567. Ibn Hazm said in al-Muhalla, 2/92, 93:
Witr at the end of the night is better, but whoever prays Witr at the beginning of the night, that is fine. It is permissible to pray after Witr but one should not repeat Witr.Al-Nawawi said in al-Majmoo, 3/512:
If a person prays Witr then he wants to offer a naafil prayer etc at night, that is permissible and is not makrooh, but he should not repeat Witr. The evidence for that is the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) who was asked about the Witr of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). She said: “We used to prepare his siwaak (tooth stick) and water for wudoo’ for him, then Allaah would cause him to wake up at any time He willed at night. He would use the tooth stick, do wudoo’ and pray nine rak’ahs, in which he would not sit except in the eighth, when he would remember Allaah, glorify Him and make du’aa’. Then he would get up without saying salaam, and pray the ninth rak’ah. Then he would sit down and again remember Allaah, glorify Him and make du’aa’. Then he would say a salaam that we could hear, then he would pray two rak’ahs after that, whilst sitting down.” Narrated by Muslim; this is part of a lengthy hadeeth, which is to be understood as meaning that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) prayed two rak’ahs after Witr to show that it is permissible to pray after Witr.
It starts when a person has prayed ‘Isha’, even if it is joined to Maghrib at the time of Maghrib, and lasts until dawn begins, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah has prescribed for you a prayer (by which He may increase your reward), which is Witr; Allaah has enjoined it for you during the time between ‘Isha’ prayer until dawn begins.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 425; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi.
Is it better to offer this prayer at the beginning of its time or to delay it?
The Sunnah indicates that if a person thinks he will be able to get up at the end of the night, it is better to delay it, because prayer at the end of the night is better and is witnessed (by the angels). But whoever fears that he will not get up at the end of the night should pray Witr before he goes to sleep, because of the hadeeth of Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever fears that he will not get up at the end of the night, let him pray Witr at the beginning of the night, but whoever thinks that he will be able to get up at the end of the night, let him pray Witr at the end of the night, for prayer at the end of the night is witnessed (by the angels) and that is better.” Narrated by Muslim, 755.
Al-Nawawi said: This is the correct view. Other ahaadeeth which speak of this topic in general terms are to be interpreted in the light of this sound, specific and clear report, such as the hadeeth, “My close friend advised me not to sleep without having prayed Witr.” This is to be understood as referring to one who is not sure that he will be able to wake up (to pray Witr at the end of the night). Sharh Muslim, 3/277.
:salamext:
So why does it not mention that anywhere in the tafsir ibn kathir?
Sorry to cut in with a new question (since we seem to have a lot of knowledgeable people on this thread):
When is the best time to pray the sunnah of fajr if one misses it - right after fard or wait till sunrise?
The best time is to pray before the sun rises. If one has still missed it and the sun has begun to rise, he should make it up after about 10-15 mins (depending on the country) once the sun has risen.
But what about the ruling that there is no prayer between fajr and sunrise? Or is this an exception?
Sorry to cut in with a new question (since we seem to have a lot of knowledgeable people on this thread):
When is the best time to pray the sunnah of fajr if one misses it - right after fard or wait till sunrise?
From Tafsir Ibn Kathir:
For Verse: "And in some parts of the night offer the salah (prayer) with it (reciting the verses of the Quran), as an additional prayer (Tahajjud)" (Holy Quran 17:79)
Source: http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2796&Itemid=72
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