Introduction:
Al-witr is the night voluntary prayer. The nobel Quran mentions al witr prayer. Al-”witr” means an odd number in Arabic. Scholars classify it as the best voluntary prayer. Prophet Mohammad was most keen on performing it. Either staying home or traveling, the Prophet never left performing it.
The favor of al-witr prayer:
Al-witr prayer has a lot of favors. Prophet Mohammad was so keen on performing it that scholars recommended that a Muslim not to leave performing it. Some other scholars even considered that whoever abandons this salah is not a very good Muslim. One of its great favors is that a Muslim can perform it anytime if they missed performing it in time. The time of this prayer starts from just after performing al-Isha prayer till just before the time of al-Fajr prayer. Therefore, a Muslim can perform this voluntary prayer anytime from after al-Isha till the Adhan of al-Fajr prayer.
How to perform salat al-witr:
Al-witr takes its name from the Arabic word “witr” which means an odd number. Therefore, the last rakat is an odd number. A Muslim can do them one, three, five, etc. Amazingly enough, the Maghrib prayer concludes the daytime prayers. The Maghrib prayer consists of three rakat which is an odd number. Therefore, al-Maghrib can be considered the witr of the daytime prayers. al-witr prayer consists of an odd number. Therefore, it concludes the nighttime prayers. al-witr prayer and al-taraweeh prayer are both voluntary night prayers. However, they are not the same. The taraweeh prayer consists of a double number. Al-witr prayer consists of an odd number of rakat.
The Witr prayer in detail:
The Witr prayer is closely connected with the night voluntary (Qeyam) prayer. Al-witr is considered as a part of the night voluntary prayer. Therefore, on the other hand, not all the night voluntary prayer is Witr. Rather, the night voluntary prayer includes the Witr prayer. This is very important in counting the number of rakat of the Witr prayer. Scholars said that the fewest number of rakat in al-witr prayer is only one rakat. Other scholars said that the fewest number in a complete Witr prayer is three rakat. a worshiping Muslim reads and recites in the first rakat surah (Al-aala). In the second rakat, a worshiping Muslim reads and recites surah (Al-Kafiroon).
More details about al-witr prayer:
In the third witr rakat, a Muslim reads and recites surah (Al-Ikhlas). Therefore, the least complete Witr consists of three rakat. On the other hand, the most complete Witr consists of eleven rakat. Aisha said that prophet Mohammad never prayed and offered more than eleven rakat for his Witr prayer, whether staying home or traveling. However, it is allowed for a Muslim to pray more than eleven rakat. The surplus rakat can be considered a voluntary night (Qeyam) prayer. The eleven rakat are better to be performed in twos with Tasleem at the end of each pair of rakat. Eventually, a Muslim concludes their Witr prayer by offering one rakat with Tasleem.
