The Witr prayer
Witr is wajib after Isha: three rak'ahs with an extra surah in each, and the Dua-e-Qunoot recited standing in the third.
Witr is a prayer, called wudr, that you pray after Isha. You must pray it. If you skip it on purpose, it is a sin, just like skipping a fard prayer.
Witr is wajib (necessary). Skipping it without a good reason is sinful, in the same way as skipping a fard prayer, and a person who skips it is being disobedient.
Its time is after the Isha prayer. It has three rak'ahs, like Maghrib, but there is one big difference: in Witr you read another surah after Al-Fatihah in all three rak'ahs, not just the first two.
How to pray Witr
- Pray the first two rak'ahs the same way you pray a fard prayer, reading Al-Fatihah and another surah in each.
- In the third rak'ah, read Al-Fatihah and another surah as usual.
- Then raise both hands to your ears and say Allahu Akbar again, the same way you did at the very start of the prayer.
- Fold your hands again and quietly say the Dua-e-Qunoot.If you don't know it, you can say a shorter dua instead: see below.
- After the dua, go into ruku as normal and finish the prayer.
اَللّٰهُمْ إِنَّا نَسْتَعِينُكَ وَ نَسْتَغْفِرُكَ وَنُؤْمِنُ بِكَ وَ نَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَيْكَ وَ نُقْنِي عَلَيْكَ الْخَيْرَ وَ نَشْكُرُكَ وَ لا تَكْفُرُكَ وَ نَخْلَعُ وَنَتْرُكُ مَنْ يَفْجُرُكَ اَللّٰهُمَّ إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَ لَكَ نُصَلِّي وَ نَسْجُدُ وَ إِلَيْكَ نَسْعَى وَ نَحْفِدُ وَ نَرْجُو رَحْمَتَكَ وَ نَخْشَى عَذَابَكَ إِنَّ عَذَابَكَ بِالْكَفَّارِ مُلْحِقٌ
Allāhumma innā nastaʿīnuka wa nastaghfiruka wa nuʾminu bika wa natawakkalu ʿalayka wa nuqnī ʿalayka'l-khayra wa nashkuruka wa lā nakfuruka wa nakhlaʿu wa natruku man yafjuruk. Allāhumma iyyāka naʿbudu wa laka nuṣallī wa nasjudu wa ilayka nasʿā wa naḥfidu wa narjū raḥmataka wa nakhshā ʿadhābaka, inna ʿadhābaka bi'l-kuffāri mulḥiq.
O Allah, we seek Your help and Your forgiveness, we believe in You and rely on You, we praise You for all good and thank You, and we do not disbelieve in You; we cast off and leave whoever disobeys You. O Allah, You alone we worship, to You we pray and prostrate, to You we hasten, and we hope for Your mercy and fear Your punishment; Your punishment truly overtakes the disbelievers.
Witr is prayed after Isha and consists of three rak'ahs performed like Maghrib, except that a surah is recited after al-Fatihah in every rak'ah, including the third.
The Witr prayer is wajib. Skipping it is sinful, similar to neglecting a fard prayer, and one who skips it is considered disobedient.
Reciting another surah after al-Fatihah is obligatory in each of the three rak'ahs of Witr, unlike a four-rak'ah fard prayer, where this is only sunnah in the last two.
How Witr is prayed
- The method is the same as for the fard prayers, with one difference.
- In the third rak'ah, after reciting al-Fatihah and another surah, raise both hands to the ears while saying the takbir (Allāhu akbar), just as at the start of the prayer.
- Fold the hands again and silently recite the Dua-e-Qunoot.
- After reciting it, go into ruku, and complete the prayer as usual.
اَللّٰهُمْ إِنَّا نَسْتَعِينُكَ وَ نَسْتَغْفِرُكَ وَنُؤْمِنُ بِكَ وَ نَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَيْكَ وَ نُقْنِي عَلَيْكَ الْخَيْرَ وَ نَشْكُرُكَ وَ لا تَكْفُرُكَ وَ نَخْلَعُ وَنَتْرُكُ مَنْ يَفْجُرُكَ اَللّٰهُمَّ إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَ لَكَ نُصَلِّي وَ نَسْجُدُ وَ إِلَيْكَ نَسْعَى وَ نَحْفِدُ وَ نَرْجُو رَحْمَتَكَ وَ نَخْشَى عَذَابَكَ إِنَّ عَذَابَكَ بِالْكَفَّارِ مُلْحِقٌ
Allāhumma innā nastaʿīnuka wa nastaghfiruka wa nuʾminu bika wa natawakkalu ʿalayka wa nuqnī ʿalayka'l-khayra wa nashkuruka wa lā nakfuruka wa nakhlaʿu wa natruku man yafjuruk. Allāhumma iyyāka naʿbudu wa laka nuṣallī wa nasjudu wa ilayka nasʿā wa naḥfidu wa narjū raḥmataka wa nakhshā ʿadhābaka, inna ʿadhābaka bi'l-kuffāri mulḥiq.
O Allah, we seek Your help and Your forgiveness, we believe in You and rely on You, we extol all good upon You and thank You, and we do not disbelieve in You; we cast off and forsake whoever disobeys You. O Allah, You alone we worship, and to You we pray and prostrate, and to You we hasten to serve; we hope for Your mercy and fear Your punishment; indeed Your punishment overtakes the disbelievers.
Witr is prayed in the time after ʿIshāʾ. It comprises three rakʿahs performed on the pattern of Maghrib, with the qualification that a surah is joined to al-Fātiḥah in every rakʿah, including the third, the point at which its method departs from that of the four-rakʿah farḍ prayers.
Witr is wājib. Its omission is sinful in the same manner as the omission of a farḍ prayer, and one who abandons it is disobedient (ʿāṣī).
Joining another surah to al-Fātiḥah is wājib in each of the three rakʿahs of Witr. In the farḍ prayers of four rakʿahs, by contrast, this joining is sunnah, and confined to the last two rakʿahs, the point of distinction between the two methods.
The method of Witr
- The method follows that of the farḍ prayers throughout, with a single difference in the third rakʿah.
- After reciting al-Fātiḥah and a further surah in the third rakʿah, the hands are raised to the ears for the takbīr (Allāhu akbar), exactly as at the takbīr al-taḥrīmah.
- The hands are then folded again and the Duʿāʾ-e-Qunūt is recited silently.
- Rukūʿ follows the duʿāʾ, and the prayer is completed as usual.
اَللّٰهُمْ إِنَّا نَسْتَعِينُكَ وَ نَسْتَغْفِرُكَ وَنُؤْمِنُ بِكَ وَ نَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَيْكَ وَ نُقْنِي عَلَيْكَ الْخَيْرَ وَ نَشْكُرُكَ وَ لا تَكْفُرُكَ وَ نَخْلَعُ وَنَتْرُكُ مَنْ يَفْجُرُكَ اَللّٰهُمَّ إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَ لَكَ نُصَلِّي وَ نَسْجُدُ وَ إِلَيْكَ نَسْعَى وَ نَحْفِدُ وَ نَرْجُو رَحْمَتَكَ وَ نَخْشَى عَذَابَكَ إِنَّ عَذَابَكَ بِالْكَفَّارِ مُلْحِقٌ
Allāhumma innā nastaʿīnuka wa nastaghfiruka wa nuʾminu bika wa natawakkalu ʿalayka wa nuqnī ʿalayka'l-khayra wa nashkuruka wa lā nakfuruka wa nakhlaʿu wa natruku man yafjuruk. Allāhumma iyyāka naʿbudu wa laka nuṣallī wa nasjudu wa ilayka nasʿā wa naḥfidu wa narjū raḥmataka wa nakhshā ʿadhābaka, inna ʿadhābaka bi'l-kuffāri mulḥiq.
O Allah, we seek Your help and Your forgiveness, we believe in You and rely on You, we extol all good upon You and thank You, and we do not disbelieve in You; we cast off and forsake whoever disobeys You. O Allah, You alone we worship, and to You we pray and prostrate, and to You we hasten to serve; we hope for Your mercy and fear Your punishment; indeed Your punishment overtakes the disbelievers.
Terms on this page
Related
- Salat al-Tarawih The confirmed sunnah of Ramadan night prayer: its twenty rak'ahs, its timing, completing the Qur'an, and the rules of praying it in congregation.
- The obligatory acts of prayer (wajibat) The twelve wajib acts of prayer: Fatiha, the surah, order, tumaninah, the sittings, tashahhud, recitation volume, salam, qunoot and the Eid takbirs.
- Tahiyyat al-Masjid, Tahiyyat al-Wudu, Ishraq, Duha, Tahajjud and Istikhara A handful of further recommended prayers tied to particular moments, and how to pray Salat al-Istikhara when facing a decision.
- The prostration of forgetfulness (sajdah sahw) Two extra prostrations put right specific mistakes in prayer: the five general causes, the particular cases, and how to act on a doubt about your rak'ahs.