Because of this, one might be inclined to think that every one of the Companions we have named actually espoused that opinion merely because he was seen praying Witr after the break of dawn. It is therefore necessary to scrutinise carefully how those reports were conveyed from them.

Ibn al-Mundhir, when surveying the time of Witr, records five different opinions among the scholars:

1. The two well-known views already cited.
2. A third view: that one may pray Witr even after performing the Dawn Prayer; this is the position of Ṭāwūs.
3. A fourth: that it may be prayed even after sunrise; this was held by Abū Thawr and al-Awzāʿī.
4. A fifth: that the missed Witr should be offered the following night; this is the view of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr.

This divergence stems from their differing assessments of how strongly Witr is stressed and how close it is to the rank of an obligatory act. Whoever regarded it as nearer to an obligation required making it up at a time farther removed from its designated window; whoever saw it as more remote required its make-up in a nearer time; and whoever considered it a Sunnah like other supererogatory prayers judged the obligation to make it up to be weak, for a make-up is only binding for what is obligatory. On the same principle their disagreement over making up the ʿEid Prayer for one who misses it is based. One should not draw a distinction here between what is recommended and what is obligatory—that is, whoever holds that making up an obligatory act needs a fresh command should hold the same for a recommended act, and whoever holds that the original command suffices for the obligation to make it up should think likewise concerning a recommended act.

As for their disagreement over whether to recite the qunūt in Witr: Abū Ḥanīfah and his companions maintained that it is to be recited; Mālik forbade it; al-Shāfiʿī, in one of his two opinions, permitted it during the second half of Ramaḍān; some scholars allowed it in the first half; others, throughout the entire month.

The reason for this dispute is the variance in the transmitted reports: some narrations state that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—performed qunūt unconditionally; others that he did so for one month; still others that “in the last part of his life he did not make qunūt in any prayer, and he prohibited it.” This issue has already been discussed earlier.

With regard to praying Witr while mounted, regardless of the direction of travel: the majority deem it permissible, based on the established practice of the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—namely, that “he would pray Witr on his mount.” They rely on this as proof that Witr is not obligatory, for it is also authentically reported that “he performed supererogatory prayers on his mount,” whereas no sound report exists indicating that he ever prayed an obligatory prayer while mounted.

The Ḥanafīs, however, while sharing the premise that no obligatory prayer may be offered on a mount, nonetheless hold Witr to be obligatory. Consequently, they rule that it must not be prayed while mounted and reject the hadith on the basis of analogy—an argument that is weak.