heard the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, say: “There are not to be two witr prayers in a single night.”’” Reported by Abū Dāwūd and graded authentic by Ibn Hibbān. (1)
Abū ʿĪsā al-Tirmidhī, may Allah have mercy on him, commented on the Messenger of Allah’s statement, “There are not to be two witr prayers in a single night”:
“The scholars differed concerning someone who performs witr at the beginning of the night and then rises to pray toward its end.
“Some scholars among the Companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and those who came after them held that he should undo his witr. They said: He should add one rakʿah to it, pray as much as he wishes, and then perform witr at the end of his prayer, because ‘there are not to be two witr prayers in a single night.’ This is the view adopted by Ishāq.
“Other scholars among the Companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and others held that if he performs witr at the beginning of the night, then sleeps and rises toward its end, he may pray as much as he wishes without undoing his witr, leaving it as it was. This is the view of Sufyān al-Thawrī, Mālik ibn Anas, Ibn al-Mubārak, al-Shāfiʿī, the scholars of Kufa, and Ahmad.
“This is the more sound view, because it has been reported through more than one chain that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, prayed after witr.” (2) End quote.
I say: What Imam al-Tirmidhī, may Allah have mercy on him, described as “the more sound view” is