The majority of scholars hold that if a person has already prayed Witr, then sleeps and later rises for additional voluntary prayers, he should not perform a second Witr. They rely on the Prophet’s—peace and blessings be upon him—statement: “There are not two Witrs in a single night,” a report recorded by Abū Dāwūd.
Some jurists, however, contend that he should render the first Witr even by adding a second rakʿah to it, then, after completing his supererogatory prayers, perform a new Witr to conclude the night on an odd number. This ruling, known as “nullifying the Witr,” is weak for two reasons:
- Pairing the existing Witr does not turn it into a mere voluntary prayer.
- Offering a nafl consisting of a single rakʿah is unknown in the Sacred Law.
Whether one permits or forbids this practice is the very cause of the disagreement. Whoever considers Witr only in its rational sense—as the opposite of shafʿ (even)—argues that it becomes even once a second rakʿah is added. Whoever considers its legal designation maintains that it does not become even, because shafʿ is an ordinary supererogatory act, whereas Witr is a confirmed Sunnah, or, according to some, an obligation.
[Chapter Two: The Two Rakʿahs of Fajr]
Chapter Two
On the Two Rakʿahs preceding Fajr
The scholars unanimously agree that the two rakʿahs of Fajr are Sunnah. Their consensus rests on three points: the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—persisted in performing them more consistently than he did any other nafl prayer; he strongly encouraged the community to observe them; and he made them up after sunrise on the day he overslept the Dawn Prayer.
They nevertheless differed on several subsidiary matters, the first of which concerns what is recommended to be recited during these rakʿahs.
• Mālik held it preferable to recite only the Opening Chapter (al-Fātiḥah).
• al-Shāfiʿī said there is no harm in reciting al-Fātiḥah together with a short sūrah.
• Abū Ḥanīfah maintained that no specific passage is prescribed; a person may recite in them whatever portion of the Qur’an he normally reads at night.
The reason behind their divergence lies in the varying reports of the Prophet’s—peace and blessings be upon him—recitation in this prayer and their differing approaches to fixing specific readings for particular prayers. It is reported that he kept the two rakʿahs of Fajr extremely light; ʿĀʾishah said, “So brief were they that I would wonder, ‘Did he recite the Opening Chapter or not?’”