(3-3) The Beginning and End of the Time for the Night Prayer and Witr

The time for the night prayer and Witr begins after the ʿIshā’ prayer and ends at the break of dawn. The following evidence establishes this:

a) Ā’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, reported: “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would pray eleven rakʿahs between completing the ʿIshā’ prayer—which people call the ʿatamah prayer—and dawn. He would say the salām after every two rakʿahs and perform Witr with one. When the caller to prayer had finished the call for Fajr, dawn had become clear to him, and the caller came to him, he would rise and pray two brief rakʿahs. He would then lie on his right side until the caller came to announce the commencement of the prayer.” Recorded by Muslim. (1)

b) Abū Basrah al-Ghifārī reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “Allah has granted you an additional prayer, namely Witr. Therefore, perform it between the ʿIshā’ prayer and the Fajr prayer.” Recorded by Ahmad. (2)

I say: These two hadiths clearly indicate that the time for the night prayer and Witr begins after the ʿIshā’ prayer—which people call the ʿatamah prayer—and continues until dawn.

That their time ends at dawn is further confirmed by the established report from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: “If any of you fears that dawn is near, let him pray one rakʿah, thereby making the prayers he has already performed odd-numbered.” (3)

Ibn Nasr said: “The scholars agree that the period between the ʿIshā’ prayer and