even, and from this meaning the Prayer of Witr takes its name.

– ḥaqq: a verbal noun signifying “that which is firmly established”; plural: ḥuqūq.
– “Not one of us”: i.e., he is not upon our complete guidance.

What may be drawn from the hadith

1. This report is one of the proofs cited by those who hold that Witr is obligatory. As mentioned earlier, its authenticity has been disputed. Granting the grading of ḥasan, the wording is taken to underscore the confirmed sunnah status of Witr rather than its being obligatory, which is the position of the majority of scholars.
2. Ibn al-Munḏir narrates the hadith with the wording: “Witr is a ḥaqq, but it is not obligatory.” This plainly shows that ḥaqq here means “established in the Law,” not “compulsory,” and therefore the hadith does not prove that Witr is obligatory.
3. Evidence that Witr is not mandatory but a strongly encouraged supererogatory prayer includes:
   (a) When the Prophet ﷺ informed the various Arab delegations and individual tribes about the obligatory acts of worship—including the prayer—he told them of nothing incumbent upon them beyond the five prescribed daily prayers.
   (b) Al-Bukhārī (1458) and Muslim (19) relate that he ﷺ sent Muʿādh ibn Jabal to Yemen, instructing him: “Teach them that Allah has made five prayers obligatory upon them each day and night.”
   (c) In his Farewell Sermon he ﷺ mentioned only the five obligatory prayers, nothing more; on that very day the verse was revealed, “Today I have perfected your religion for you” (Q 5:3).
   (d) It is authentically reported that Abū Bakr and ʿAlī, may Allah be pleased with them both, stated after the Prophet’s death: “Witr is not an absolute duty like the prescribed prayers; rather, it is a sunnah.” Could either of them have been unaware of this ruling?
   (e) Sound hadiths establish that Witr may be performed as a single rakʿah, or three, or five,