I say: These hadiths indicate that the night prayer and Witr are strongly recommended. Indeed, some of them may suggest that Witr is obligatory—either in all cases or specifically for one who performs the night vigil.
However, there is also evidence that neither the night prayer nor Witr is strictly obligatory. This includes the following:
Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “Witr is not obligatory like the prescribed prayer; rather, it is a Sunnah instituted by the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.” Recorded by al-Nasā’ī. (1)
I say: This explicitly establishes that Witr is not obligatory, and I know of no Companion who disagreed with him. His statement therefore carries the force of tacit consensus. (2)
Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-Ās, may Allah be pleased with them both, reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “O Abdullah, do not be like so-and-so: he used to stand in prayer at night, but then abandoned the night prayer.” Recorded by al-Bukhārī and Muslim. (3)
(1) A *hasan* report.
Ibn Abī Shaybah recorded it in *al-Musannaf* (2/296), Abd al-Razzāq in *al-Musannaf* (3/3, no. 4569), and al-Nasāī in the Book of Night Prayer and Voluntary Prayer During the Day, chapter “The Command to Perform Witr” (3/229); the quoted wording is his. Al-Tirmidhī also recorded it in the Book of Prayer, chapter “Reports That Witr Is Not Obligatory,” and said: “This is a *hasan* hadith.” Al-Albānī authenticated it in *Sahīh Sunan al-Nasāī* (1/368).
(2) I later found that Ibn Rajab, in his manuscript commentary on *Sahīh al-Bukhārī* (Book of Witr), states while explaining its first hadith: “It is related that Abū Ayyūb held Witr to be obligatory, and the same is related from Muādh through a disconnected chain.” End quote.
I say: I have not found this report from Abū Ayyūb. See *Mujam Fiqh al-Salaf* (2/186).
(3) A *sahīh* hadith.
Al-Bukhārī recorded it in the Book of Night Prayer, chapter “The Disapproval of Abandoning the Night Prayer by One Who Used to Perform It,” hadith no. 1152; the quoted wording is his. Muslim also recorded it in the Book of Fasting, chapter “The Prohibition of Perpetual Fasting,” hadith no. 1159.