or that the prescribed Witr is understood to include both an even-numbered prayer (shafʿ) followed by an odd one (witr). Once an odd rakʿah is added to an even number, the whole unit is classed as Witr. The earlier report of ʿAbdullāh ibn Qays supports this view, for in it the term “Witr” is applied to a total made up of both shafʿ and witr.

Mālik’s conviction that Witr, in essence, is a single rakʿah is also borne out by his own words: “How can anyone perform Witr with a single rakʿah when nothing precedes it? For what, then, is he making Witr? The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said, ‘One makes Witr for whatever he has already prayed.’” The plain sense of this statement shows that he regarded the legally defined Witr as the odd number by itself—that is, not a composite of shafʿ and witr—for only then does it serve as Witr to something else. This interpretation carries greater weight.

The correct position is that the outward meaning of these ḥadīths leaves the worshipper free to choose any form of Witr, from one up to nine rakʿahs, exactly as has been reported from the practice of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

The real point of inquiry is whether it is a condition of Witr that it be preceded by a separate even-numbered prayer. One might argue that it is a requirement, because that was how the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—habitually performed Witr. On the other hand, one might say it is not required, for Muslim relates that when the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—reached the time of Witr he would awaken ʿĀʾishah and she would perform it, which on its face implies that she offered Witr without praying any shafʿ beforehand.

Muslim likewise transmits from ʿĀʾishah:

“The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—would make Witr with nine rakʿahs, sitting during the eighth and ninth and not concluding with salām until the ninth; then he would pray two rakʿahs while sitting, making eleven in all. Later, when he grew older and heavier, he made Witr with seven rakʿahs, sitting only in the sixth and seventh and not giving salām until the seventh; then he would pray two rakʿahs while sitting, making nine in all.”

In this narration the Witr precedes the shafʿ, which proves that a preceding even-numbered prayer is not a necessary condition and that the term Witr may legitimately be applied to three rakʿahs.

Further evidence comes from the report recorded by Abū Dāwūd on the authority of Ubayy ibn Kaʿb:

“The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—used to recite ‘Glorify the Name of your Lord Most High,’ ‘Say: O you disbelievers,’ and ‘Say: He is Allah, One’ in Witr.”

ʿĀʾishah narrated the same and added: “In the third rakʿah he would recite ‘Say: He is Allah, One’ and the two chapters of seeking refuge.”

As for its time, the scholars unanimously agree that Witr may be performed from after the ʿIshāʾ Prayer until the break of dawn, a ruling established by numerous transmissions from him—peace and blessings be upon him. Among the most reliable of these is what Muslim relates from Abū