Thus, as for the sets of five and three, a person may—if he wishes—pray them with a single sitting and one taslīm, as in the second pattern; if he wishes, he may sit after every two rakʿahs without giving salām, as in the fourth pattern; and if he wishes, he may give salām after every two rakʿahs—and this is preferable—just as in the third pattern and the like.
Al-Ḥāfiẓ Muḥammad ibn Naṣr al-Marwazī, may Allah have mercy on him, said in Qiyām al-Layl:
‘What we deem preferable for anyone who performs the night prayer—whether in Ramadan or at other times—is that he give salām after every two rakʿahs. Thus, when he intends to pray three rakʿahs, he should recite Sabbiḥ isma rabbika al-aʿlā in the first, Qul yā ayyuhā al-kāfirūn in the second, sit for the tashahhud in that second rakʿah, and give salām. He then rises to pray one rakʿah, reciting the Opening of the Book (al-Fātiḥah), Qul huwa Allāhu aḥad, and the two muʿawwidhatayn.’
(He then mentioned some of the earlier patterns) and went on to say:
‘All of these modes are permissible as an imitation of him ﷺ; yet the preferred option is what we have just described, for when the Prophet ﷺ was asked about the night prayer he answered, “The night prayer is two by two.” We therefore chose for people what he chose for his ummah, while still allowing those who follow him to act as he acted, so long as no prohibition from him has been transmitted concerning it.’
He continued:
‘In our view, acting on all of these reports is permissible. Their diversity exists only because the night prayer—including witr and other supererogatory prayers—is voluntary; accordingly, his night prayer and his witr varied in the manner we have outlined: at times he prayed like this, at other times like that—all of it lawful and commendable. As for witr of three rakʿahs, we have found no sound, explicit report from the Prophet ﷺ that he performed witr with three and withheld the salām until the end, as we have found for five, seven, and nine. What we have found are narrations that he performed witr with three in which no mention of the salām occurs.’
He then produced with a sound chain the report from Ibn ʿAbbās: ‘The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to perform witr with three rakʿahs, reciting Sabbiḥ isma rabbika al-aʿlā, Qul yā ayyuhā al-kāfirūn, and Qul huwa Allāhu aḥad.’
He added:
‘There are also narrations on this matter from ʿImrān ibn Ḥuṣayn, ʿĀʾishah, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abzā, and Anas ibn Mālik. These are unspecified reports; it is possible that the Prophet ﷺ gave salām after the two rakʿahs of the three with which he performed witr. Indeed, it is perfectly acceptable to say of someone who prays ten rakʿahs, giving salām after every two, “So-and-so prayed ten rakʿahs.” The explicit reports that can bear only one meaning are the first that should be followed and cited as proof. ⦗108⦘
‘Nevertheless, we have transmitted from the Prophet ﷺ that he allowed the person performing witr to choose between five, three, or one rakʿah; and we have transmitted from some of the Companions that they performed witr with three without giving salām until the end. Acting upon that is permissible, while the preferred course remains what we have set out.’
He also said:
‘Our position is that witr with one, three, five, seven, or nine rakʿahs is all permissible and excellent, based on the reports we have related from the Prophet ﷺ and from his Companions after him. What we regard as preferable is the pattern we have already described. If a man has prayed the last obligatory night prayer and then wishes to perform witr immediately afterwards with a single rakʿah without offering anything before it, we consider it preferable and recommend that he first perform two rakʿahs—or more—and then offer a single rakʿah of witr. If he does not do so and performs witr with merely one rakʿah, that is still valid, and we have reported that more than one of the eminent Companions of Muhammad ﷺ did so. Mālik and others disliked it, yet the Companions of the Prophet are more deserving of being followed.’ ⦗109⦘
He further said: ⦗110⦘