Question

I totally disagree with your point of view on witr prayer and I respectfully submit my reservations over it. Indeed it was the first opinion about Witr I ever heard from anybody else. It raises many questions in my mind regarding it and have totally surprised me. I am astonished with your views about the Witr, my queries are as follows:

1. Tahajjud is not a Farz prayer, and there is no compulsion over its offering. We will not be questioned if we skip it, then why you are attaching the farz content with the Non-Farz ṣalāh. Don’t we offer witr if we are in travel?

2. If Witr is part of tahajud then why in Ramadan we offer it after Tarawi?

3. If Witr is part of tahajud then why in all Islamic countries like KSA, Indonesia, Malaysia, it is offered after Isha Prayer?

Answer

Thank you for writing back. I believe you are well aware of the fact that it is only Imam Abu Hanifah who held that witr prayer is wajib. You may also note that this wajib is a fiqhi term in a very specific meaning used by the ahnaf. You seem to be well aware of the source of Imam Abu Hanifah’s view and why the rest of the scholars of the ummah do not consider it an obligation. If you have not yet analyzed the basis of Imam Abu Hanifah’s view and its critique by the rest of the scholars of the ummah then please do so. The issue will become clear. After a thorough analysis of all the sources we have come to the conclusion that it is part of the tahajjud prayer. No sound or even weak narrative tells us that the Prophet pbuh ever performed the witr untis of prayer just after the isha prayer. However, he allowed the people to offer tahajjud prayer before going to sleep if they find it difficult for them to get up late night. All the traditions quoted about the time of the witr prayer, its units and other rulings are specifically related to the tahajjud prayer that was obligatory for the Prophet pbuh and supererogatory for the rest of the ummah.

Answered by: Tariq Mahmood Hashmi

Date: 2014-12-10