The Witr Guide What is the correct way to pray witr? When should it be prayed? And what should you recite? There are differences in the schools of thought on this matter, based on different narrations, which we will summarise for you inshallah. What is the witr prayer? Witr means odd number. It is the last prayer of the night, which follows the 4 rakats fard and the sunnah prayers of Isha. How is witr classified? The witr is a sunnah prayer. As a minimum it is considered an emphasized sunnah (sunnah mu’akkadah) which is how 3 schools of thought view it, and greater than this by the Hanafi school, who consider it compulsory (wajib). What difference does it make if witr is wajib or sunnah mu’akkadah? If you consider the witr as a sunnah, you do not have to repay it, if you miss it. However if you consider the witr to be wajib, it has to be repaid if you miss it. The reward of witr The reward of the witr prayer is described as being better than a red camel, which would be better than a Bentley or Ferrari in our time. This is why the Hanafi’s classify it as being more important than other sunnah prayers. “Allah has granted you an additional Salah, which is better for you than red camels; this Salah is Witr. Allah has appointed its time between ‘Isha Salah and the break of dawn.” (Abu Dawood and Tirmidhi) When should you pray witr? The witr can be prayed anytime after the isha prayer, either immediately after it or delayed if you are going to pray tahajjud. Ideally it should be the last prayer of the night before fajr.  Abdullah ibn Umar reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Make the … Continue reading How do you perform the witr prayer?