297 – Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Witr is a duty upon every Muslim. Whoever wishes to perform five (rakʿahs) may do so; whoever wishes to perform three may do so; and whoever wishes to perform one may do so.” Narrated by the Four except al-Tirmidhī; Ibn Ḥibbān declared it sound, while al-Nasāʾī deemed the mawqūf version stronger.⦗1⦘

Hadith grading:
The report is ṣaḥīḥ but mawqūf. Al-Talkhīs states: It was transmitted by Abū Dāwūd, al-Nasāʾī, Ibn Mājah, Ibn Ḥibbān, al-Dāraqutnī (2/23), and al-Ḥākim (1/302) through the chain of Abū Ayyūb with several wordings. Abū Ḥātim, al-Dhuhlī, al-Dāraqutnī, al-Bayhaqī, and a number of other scholars affirmed that the correct version is mawqūf, and that is the sound view.
Al-Ṣanʿānī said in Subul al-Salām: “It has the ruling of being marfūʿ, for independent reasoning has no place in this matter.” Ibn al-Jawzī weakened the ḥadith because Muḥammad ibn Ḥassān appears in its chain, but al-Ḥāfiẓ rebutted him, stating that the narrator is trustworthy.

Vocabulary:
• al-witr (odd-numbered prayer): with a kasrah on the wāw; it denotes the single or odd unit, the opposite of shafʿ (even).
• ḥaqq (right, due): from ḥaqqa–yaḥiqqu, meaning “to be obligatory” or “to be firmly established.” Here it underscores the strong emphasis on its legislation.