3- The directive that “the night prayer is two by two” refers to all of it except Witr. The Prophet ﷺ would sometimes pray seven rakʿahs, sitting only in the last; sometimes five, again sitting only in the last; and sometimes nine, where he would sit for the tashahhud in the eighth without saying salām, then rise for the ninth, complete the tashahhud, and conclude with salām.

4- Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah said: “The best prayer after the prescribed ones is the night vigil, and the most emphatic parts of it are Witr and the two rakʿahs before Fajr.”

5- He further stated—after listing the various forms of Witr found in the Sunnah—“The correct position is that if the imam performs Witr in any of the ways reported in the Sunnah, the congregation should follow him.”

6- Al-Muḥāmalī enumerated six patterns for the Prophet’s ﷺ Witr:
a) a single rakʿah;
b) three rakʿahs separated (salām after the first two, then one);
c) five consecutive rakʿahs, sitting only in the last and ending with salām;
d) seven rakʿahs, sitting in the sixth without salām, then rising for the seventh and completing it;
e) nine rakʿahs, sitting for the tashahhud in the eighth without finishing the prayer, then rising for the ninth, completing it, and ending with salām;
f) eleven rakʿahs, concluding with salām after every two, then adding one.