Islamic Fiqh > Prayer > Supererogatory prayers: rawatib, tarawih, witr and duha > The witr and the duha prayer
Contents
Updated on 24 September 2026 at 7:46 PM
Last part of the chapter on supererogatory prayers: it covers making up the witr, its number of rak'ahs, how it is performed, what is recited in it, the witr on the mount while traveling, its nullification and the qunut, then the duha prayer in its regularity, its time and its number of rak'ahs. Each sheet presents the positions of the schools with their evidence, their takhrij (hadith grading) and their classical references.
The Hanafis hold that whoever leaves the witr at its time must make it up. According to Abu Hanifa this poses no problem: the witr is an obligation (wajib), so it is owed in makeup like the obligatory prayer. According to Abu Yusuf and Muhammad, analogy would suggest not making it up, and this is transmitted from them outside the works of usul; but they preferred making it up out of regard for the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him):
Whoever sleeps and misses the witr, or forgets it, let him pray it in the morning or when he remembers it.Authentic hadith narrated by Abu Dawud (1431) and al-Tirmidhi (466)
They did not distinguish between remembering within the time or after it, the matter being one of ijtihad; they therefore made the makeup obligatory as a precaution (Ma'ani al-Athar, 2/228-229).
The Malikis: if one remembers the witr after the Fajr prayer, he does not make it up (al-Istidhkar, 2/123; al-'Adawi's Sharh al-Risala, 1/261; al-Dasuqi, 1/317).
The Shafi'is and the Hanbalis, in the sound view of their school, recommend making up a missed witr, based on the previous hadith. The second view among them: it is not made up; this is the explicit text of al-Shafi'i in the Old (al-Qadim), and of Ahmad in the narration chosen by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya (al-Hawi al-Kabir, 2/287-288; Kashaf al-Qina', 1/416; Matalib Uli al-Nuha, 1/548; al-Insaf, 2/178; I'lam al-Muwaqqi'in, 2/374).
For the Hanafis, the witr is three rak'ahs with two tashahhuds and one salam, like the Maghrib prayer; the witr of a single rak'ah is not permitted among them. They rely on what Muhammad ibn Ka'b al-Qurazi narrated: the Prophet "forbade al-butayra'" (the witr of a single rak'ah); Ibn Abd al-Barr cites it in al-Tamhid (3/254), and al-Zayla'i transmits in Nasb al-Raya (2/120) that Ibn al-Qattan said: it is an anomalous (shadh) hadith whose chain cannot be raised. They also cite Abdallah ibn Mas'ud: "The witr is three, like the witr of the day: the Maghrib prayer," reported by al-Tahtawi in Sharh Ma'ani al-Athar (1/294) and al-Bayhaqi in al-Kubra (3/30), who judges it authentic as the statement of Ibn Mas'ud, not raised to the Prophet.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) did not say the salam in the two rak'ahs of the witr.Hadith judged anomalous (shadh), narrated by al-Nasa'i (1698) from Aisha
(See Ma'ani al-Athar, 2/227; al-'Inaya, 2/84; al-Mabsut, 1/164; Tabyin al-Haqa'iq, 1/170; al-Awsat, 5/186.)
For the Malikis, the witr is a single rak'ah, necessarily preceded by an even number (shaf'); al-Baji says: this is the well-known view. They debated: is the precedence of the shaf' a condition of validity or of perfection? The three rak'ahs may be called "witr," but that is figurative: the witr in reality is the single rak'ah. It is disliked to perform the witr with three rak'ahs and one final salam, and disliked to pray a single rak'ah alone; it should rather follow a supererogatory prayer whose minimum is two rak'ahs, with no limit to the maximum.
The basis of this is the hadith:
The night prayer is offered two by two; when one of you fears the coming of Fajr, let him pray one rak'ah, which will make witr what he has already prayed.Narrated by Bukhari (946) and Muslim (749)
Exempted from this dislike is the one with an excuse, such as the traveler or the sick person: some say it is not disliked for him, others that it still is. If he performs the witr without excuse with a single rak'ah and no shaf' before it, Ashhab says: he repeats his witr with a shaf' added, as long as he has not prayed Fajr; Sahnun says: if he was close to the time, he precedes it with a rak'ah and then performs the witr, and if he was distant, it suffices him. No specific intention is required for the shaf': any supererogatory prayer takes the place of the shaf'; this is the sound view (al-Muntaqa by al-Baji, 1/223; Kifayat al-Talib al-Rabbani, 1/368; al-Taj wa-l-Iklil, 3/72; al-Fawa'id al-Dawani, 1/200; al-Thamar al-Dani, 1/140).
The Shafi'is and the Hanbalis: the minimum of the witr is a single rak'ah, allowed without dislike, but limiting oneself to it is contrary to what is preferable, according to the hadith: "The night prayer is offered two by two; when you fear Fajr, perform the witr with one" (authentic hadith, cited earlier). The Hanbalis state that the witr of a single rak'ah is not disliked, even without excuse of illness or travel. Their maximum is eleven rak'ahs; in one Shafi'i view the maximum is thirteen rak'ahs.
Between the minimum and the maximum, one says the salam after every two rak'ahs, according to the hadith: "The night prayer is offered two by two...". The minimum of perfection, for the Shafi'is and the Hanbalis, is three rak'ahs: limiting oneself to one is contrary to what is preferable (al-Majmu', 5/20-21; al-Muhalli's Sharh al-Minhaj; Hashiyat Qalyubi, 1/212-213; al-Awsat of Ibn al-Mundhir, 5/185; al-Mughni, 2/363; Kashaf al-Qina', 1/416; al-Insaf, 168). The Prophet said:
The witr is a right upon every Muslim: whoever wishes to perform the witr with five, let him do so; whoever wishes with three, let him do so; whoever wishes with one, let him do so.Authentic hadith narrated by Abu Dawud (1422) and al-Bayhaqi in al-Kubra (3/23)
Perform the witr with five, or seven, or nine, or eleven.Narrated by Ibn Hibban in his Sahih (6/185); its chain was authenticated by al-Albani in Salat al-Tarawih (112); al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar said in Talkhis al-Habir (2/14): all its narrators are trustworthy
Connection and separation. The worshipper performs the witr with one rak'ah, with three, or more:
First form: separation (fasl). Separating the shaf' with a salam, then praying the third rak'ah with an independent takbir al-ihram. This form is the specified one for the Malikis and is the best for the Shafi'is and the Hanbalis: the authentic hadiths about it are many, and the acts of worship are multiplied in it (renewal of the intention, the prayer of turning to Allah, the final supplication and the salam). One Shafi'i opinion adds: as an imam, connection is preferable, so that his prayer is valid for all the followers; praying alone, separation is preferable.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) prayed, between finishing the Isha prayer, the one to which people were called for the late night (atama), and Fajr, eleven rak'ahs: he said the salam after every two rak'ahs and performed the witr with one.Narrated by Muslim (736) from Aisha
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) separated the shaf' and the witr with a salam that we could hear.Authentic hadith narrated by Imam Ahmad and Ibn Hibban in his Sahih (6/191) from Ibn Umar
Second form: continuous recitation (sard). Praying the three rak'ahs in a row, without separating them with a salam or a sitting. It is allowed among the Shafi'is and the Hanbalis and preferable to the third form, based on the fact that the Prophet "performed the witr with five rak'ahs and did not sit except at their end" (Muslim, 737). It is disliked among the Malikis; but if one prays behind someone who does so, one continues with him to the end.
Third form: connection with tashahhud. Joining the three rak'ahs by sitting after the second for the tashahhud without salam, then standing for the third and saying the salam after it. The prayer then resembles the Maghrib, except that a surah is recited after al-Fatiha in the third rak'ah, unlike the Maghrib. This form is the specified one for the Hanafis; it is also the view of Abu Zayd al-Marwazi among the Shafi'is, "to avoid disagreement, since Abu Hanifa does not validate the separated form." The sound Shafi'i view is that it is allowed with dislike, for resembling the witr with the Maghrib is disliked. The Hanbalis allow it: al-Qadi Abu Ya'la said: if he prays the three rak'ahs with one salam without sitting after the second, it is valid; if he sat, there are two views, the sounder being that it is not a witr. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya left the choice between separation and connection.
Praying more than three rak'ahs. The Shafi'is: if he performs the witr with eleven rak'ahs or less, it is preferable to say the salam after every two rak'ahs, according to Aisha's hadith cited earlier (eleven rak'ahs, salam after every two, witr with one). If he wants to join them with a single final tashahhud, it is allowed; and if he wants them with two tashahhuds and one salam, sitting in the last rak'ah and the one before it, it is allowed. Likewise if he wants to pray four rak'ahs with one salam, or six with one salam, then one rak'ah; connection is allowed with one tashahhud or two tashahhuds in the last three.
The Hanbalis: if he performs the witr with eleven, he says the salam after every two, according to Aisha's hadith; and if he prays all eleven with one salam, reciting ten in a row with the first tashahhud and then standing for the eleventh, it is valid; likewise reciting all of them without sitting except at the last, but the first description is preferable: it is the practice of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
If he performs the witr with five or seven, it is preferable to recite them in a row, not sitting except at their end, according to Aisha: "The Prophet prayed thirteen rak'ahs at night, performing the witr with five of them, sitting in none of them except their last" (Muslim, 737), and Umm Salama: "The Prophet performed the witr with seven or five, not separating them with a salam" (authentic hadith: al-Nasa'i, 1715; Ibn Majah, 1192). Ibn Qudama chose: if he prays seven rak'ahs, he sits after the sixth, does the tashahhud without salam, then sits after the seventh, does the tashahhud and the salam. If he performs the witr with nine: he recites eight in a row, sits for the tashahhud without salam, then prays the ninth with tashahhud and salam. It is also allowed, with five, seven and nine rak'ahs, to say the salam after every two (Bada'i' al-Sana'i', 1/271-272; Ma'ani al-Athar, 2/226; al-'Inaya, 2/184; Fath al-Qadir, 1/303; Ibn Abidin, 1/445; al-Hindiyya, 1/113; Hashiyat al-Dasuqi, 1/316; al-Majmu', 5/20, 21; Sharh al-Minhaj, 1/482; Asna al-Matalib, 1/201; Hashiyat al-Bajirmi, 1/364; Mukhtasar Ikhtilaf al-'Ulama by al-Bayhaqi, 2/272-273; al-Mughni, 2/354-355; Kashaf al-Qina', 1/416-417; al-Insaf, 2/170; Majmu' al-Fatawa, 23/91-92; al-Awsat, 5/176, 182; Zad al-Ma'ad, 1/329).
The jurists agree: in every rak'ah of the witr one recites al-Fatiha and a surah; the surah, for the majority, is a sunnah that is not made up if one bows and leaves it.
The Hanafis specified nothing for the recitation of the witr besides al-Fatiha: whatever is recited in it is good. What is transmitted from the Prophet (peace be upon him) is that he recited in the first rak'ah "Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High" (Surah al-A'la, 1), in the second "Say: O you who disbelieve" (Surah al-Kafirun, 1) and in the third "Say: He is Allah, the One" (Surah al-Ikhlas, 1). Whoever recites these surahs does well, following the Prophet, but without being constant in it, so that the ignorant do not take them as obligatory (Bada'i' al-Sana'i', 2/230; al-Mabsut of al-Shaybani, 1/163).
The Hanbalis recommend reciting in the three rak'ahs of the witr these three surahs, according to Ubayy ibn Ka'b: "The Messenger of Allah performed the witr with 'Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High', 'Say: O you who disbelieve' and 'Say: He is Allah, the One'" (authentic hadith: Abu Dawud, 1423; al-Nasa'i, 1729; Ibn Majah, 1171).
The Malikis and the Shafi'is likewise recommend reciting in the shaf' the first two surahs, and in the third Surah al-Ikhlas with the two surahs of refuge (al-mu'awwidhatayn), according to Aisha: "The Messenger of Allah recited in the first rak'ah 'Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High', in the second 'Say: O you who disbelieve', and in the third 'Say: He is Allah, the One' and the two surahs of refuge" (authentic hadith: Abu Dawud, 1424; al-Tirmidhi, 463; Ibn Majah, 1173) (al-Taj wa-l-Iklil, 2/71; al-Mudawwana, 1/126; al-Majmu', 5/19, 43; al-Mughni, 2/362; Kashaf al-Qina', 1/417).
The majority of the jurists, Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis, allow the witr prayer on the mount while traveling, like the other supererogatory prayers, whether one has an excuse or not:
He glorified Allah on the mount, in the direction he was facing, and performed the witr on it; but he did not pray the obligatory prayer on it.Narrated by Bukhari (1047) and Muslim (700) from Ibn Umar
I was traveling with Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) on the road to Mecca. When I feared the coming of Fajr, I dismounted, performed the witr, then caught up with him. He said to me: where were you? I said: I feared Fajr, so I dismounted and performed the witr. Abdallah said: do you not have in the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) a fine example? I said: yes, by Allah. He said: the Messenger of Allah used to perform the witr on his camel.Narrated by Muslim (700) from Sa'id ibn Yasar
The Hanafis: the witr prayer is valid only standing, except for the one incapable, and is not valid on the mount except with an excuse (al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, 1/111; al-Majmu' of al-Nawawi, 5/39-40; al-Awsat, 5/246; Kifayat al-Talib al-Rabbani, 1/442).
Whoever prayed the witr and then wishes to pray a supererogatory prayer: this is allowed without dislike. The evidence is Aisha's hadith (may Allah be pleased with her):
She was asked about the witr of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). She said: we used to prepare his siwak and his water of ablution; Allah would awaken him at night whenever He willed: he would rub his teeth with the siwak, perform ablution and pray nine rak'ahs, sitting in none of them except the eighth, in which he would remember Allah, praise Him and call upon Him; then he would rise without saying the salam and pray the ninth, then sit, remember Allah, praise Him and call upon Him, then say a salam that we could hear; then he would pray two rak'ahs after the salam while sitting.Narrated by Muslim (746); it is part of a long hadith
Al-Nawawi said: this hadith is understood as two rak'ahs prayed after the witr, showing that praying after it is allowed (al-Majmu', 5/27).
Whoever wants to pray after the witr has, with the jurists, two ways:
Ibn Qudama said: perhaps they held the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him): "Make the last of your night prayer a witr" (Bukhari, 953; Muslim, 751). Ibn al-Mundhir said: this concerns the man who intends to pray at night; when he does, the sunnah is to pray two by two and end with the witr, and this does not apply to whoever has already performed the witr once, for it is not of the sunnah to perform the witr twice in one night.
The evidence for the meaning of Ibn Umar's words, he who narrated that hadith, is his answer when asked about nullifying the witr: "It is only something I do by my own judgment; I do not transmit it from anyone." Ibn al-Mundhir adds: I know of no disagreement that after offering an obligatory prayer as it was made obligatory, whoever then wishes to nullify it has no way to do so; the ruling of the differing cases of the witr is that of the cases concerning which we mentioned no difference is known among them; the same applies to hajj, fasting, umrah and i'tikaf: there is no way to nullify any of these acts after completing them (al-Awsat, 5/199; Fath al-Qadir, 1/312; al-Zarqani, 1/368; al-Taj wa-l-Iklil, 2/72; al-Istidhkar, 2/117-118; al-Sharh al-Kabir of al-Rafi'i, 4/240; Rawdat al-Talibin, 1/329; al-Majmu', 5/45; al-Mughni, 2/361; Kashaf al-Qina', 1/427; Matalib Uli al-Nuha, 1/564; Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari of Ibn Batal, 2/581; Fath al-Bari, 7/452; Mughni al-Muhtaj, 1/222).
The jurists differ on the qunut in the witr prayer according to four views:
As for the measure of the qunut, al-Karkhi mentions that the standing in the qunut has the measure of a surah like "When the sky breaks apart" (Surah al-Infitar, 1); it is transmitted from the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he recited in the qunut "Allahumma, we seek Your help..." then "Allahumma, guide us among those You have guided...", both of the length of this surah.
Al-Kasani says: there is in the qunut no supplication fixed by a set wording, as al-Karkhi said in the book of prayer: varied supplications are transmitted from the Companions during the qunut; a fixed supplication passes on the tongue of the one who says it without his needing to bring his heart and a sincere longing toward Allah, and so it is far from being answered; and since no recitation of the prayers is fixed, it is more fitting to proceed likewise for the qunut supplication.
Muhammad said: "Fixity of wording in supplication removes the tenderness of the heart." Some of our shaykhs specify: his saying "there is no fixed supplication in the qunut" means except "Allahumma, we seek Your help...", on which the Companions agreed; it is therefore preferable to recite it, any other is valid, and adding one to it is good; what is most preferable is to recite after it what the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) taught al-Hasan ibn Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) for his qunut: "Allahumma, guide us among those You have guided..." to the end. Others say: what is most preferable in the witr is precisely a fixed supplication, for the imam may be ignorant and bring a supplication resembling the speech of people, thereby spoiling the prayer; and Muhammad's saying that fixity removes the heart's tenderness is understood of the supplications of the rituals, not of the prayer.
The qunut aloud or quietly: the qadi, in his Sharh Mukhtasar al-Tahawi, explains: praying alone, the choice is free: saying it aloud so others hear, or aloud so he hears himself, or silently, as with the Quranic recitation. The imam recites the qunut aloud, but less loudly than the recitation of the prayer, and the people follow him thus until his saying: "Your punishment will befall the disbelievers." When the imam then supplicates, do the people follow him? The fatwas record a difference between Abu Yusuf and Muhammad: in Abu Yusuf's view, they follow him and recite; in Muhammad's view, they do not recite but say amin; some say: if they wish, they stay silent.
The prayer upon the Prophet (peace be upon him) in the qunut: Abu al-Qasim al-Saffar says it is not done, for this is not its place; the jurist Abu al-Layth says it is done, for the qunut is a supplication and it is preferable to include the prayer upon the Prophet (mentioned in the fatwas). The shaykhs of Transoxiana chose concealment in the qunut supplication, for the imam and the people alike, based on the word of Allah:
"Call upon your Lord with humility and in secret"
Surah al-A'raf, 55
and on the saying of the Prophet: "The best supplication is the hidden one" (weak hadith, narrated by Imam Ahmad, 1/172, in the wording: "the best remembrance is the hidden one, and the best provision is what suffices").
The qunut missed at its place: if he forgets the qunut until he bows, then remembers after raising his head, he does not return to it and the qunut falls away; if he is still in the bowing, it is likewise according to the apparent narration. It is transmitted from Abu Yusuf, outside the works of usul, that he returns to the qunut: the qunut resembles the recitation; one returns to it as if one had left al-Fatiha or the surah and remembered it in the bowing or after raising the head from it: one returns and the bowing is broken (Ma'ani al-Athar, 2/232, 234; al-Bahr al-Ra'iq, 1/318).
Second view: the Malikis, in the well-known view: the qunut in the witr is disliked. In a narration from Malik, he performs the qunut in the second half of Ramadan (al-Istidhkar, 2/77; al-Kafi, 74; al-Awsat, 5/207; al-Qawanin al-Fiqhiyya, 66; Minh al-Jalil, 1/157; Sharh al-Zarqani, 1/343). Al-Zarqani reports that the Medinans and Ibn Wahb transmit from Malik that the imam performed the qunut in the second half of Ramadan, cursing the disbelievers, and those behind him said amin. Ibn Nafi' narrates from Malik that the qunut in the witr is an open matter: whoever wills does it, whoever wills leaves it. Ibn al-Qasim narrates from him: it is not to be acted upon, meaning, in my view: it is not a sunnah, but a permitted matter. Ibn Abd al-Barr mentions that the Egyptians transmit from Malik that he does not perform the qunut in the witr, neither in Ramadan nor otherwise, and this is the madhhab; and Ibn al-Qasim says that Malik afterwards rejected it emphatically and saw no grounds to act upon it (Sharh al-Zarqani on the Muwatta of Malik, 1/343).
Third view: the Shafi'is in the school: the qunut is recommended in the witr during the second half of Ramadan specifically: whoever performs the witr with one rak'ah performs the qunut in it, and whoever performs it with more performs it in the last one. In one view, the qunut is recommended throughout Ramadan; in a third, throughout the year. Al-Nawawi said: this third view is strong in evidence, based on the hadith of al-Hasan ibn Ali on the qunut, but what is well known in the school is what preceded, and this is what the majority of the companions said. Al-Rafi'i said: the apparent meaning of al-Shafi'i's words is the dislike of the qunut outside the second half of Ramadan (al-Majmu', 5/25). The place of the qunut in the witr for them: after raising the head from the bowing, in the sound well-known view; one view places it before the bowing, said by Ibn Surayj; a third leaves the choice between the two, related by al-Rafi'i.
The wording of the qunut in the witr: the choice is to say what is transmitted from al-Hasan ibn Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) taught me words that I say in the witr:
Allahumma, guide me among those You have guided, grant me health among those to whom You have granted it, take me into Your care among those You have taken into Your care, bless for me what You have given me, and protect me from the evil of what You have decreed; You decree and none decrees against You, and he is not humiliated whom You befriend. Blessed are You, our Lord, and Exalted.Authentic hadith narrated by Abu Dawud (1425), al-Tirmidhi (464), al-Nasa'i (1745), Ahmad in the Musnad (1/199-200) and Ibn Khuzayma in his Sahih (2/151-152)
The scholars added to it: "and no might belongs to the one You take as enemy" before "Blessed are You, our Lord, and Exalted", and after it: "To You be praise for what You have decreed; I seek Your forgiveness and turn to You in repentance." Al-Nawawi said: the companions of the school say there is no harm in this addition; Abu Hamid, al-Bandaniji and others judge it recommended (Rawdat al-Talibin, 1/253; al-Adhkar, 1/50; al-Majmu', 3/456).
It is sunnah to say after this supplication: "Allahumma, send prayers upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad," in the sound well-known view. Al-Nawawi said: know that in the chosen school no supplication is fixed for the qunut: whatever supplication one makes, the qunut is accomplished, even with a verse or verses of the noble Quran containing a supplication; but what is most preferable is what the sunnah came with (al-Adhkar, 1/51). The Shafi'is recommend adding to the qunut supplication the qunut of Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), who performed the qunut in Fajr after the bowing:
"Allahumma, forgive us and the believing men and women, the Muslim men and women; bring their hearts together and mend what is between them; grant them victory over Your enemy and theirs. Allahumma, curse the disbelievers of the People of the Book who bar from Your path, who deny Your messengers and fight Your allies; divide their word, shake their steps, and send down upon them Your severity that You do not turn away from the people of the criminals. In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy. Allahumma, we seek Your help and Your forgiveness, we praise You and do not disbelieve in You; we forsake and abandon whoever rebels against You. In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy. Allahumma, You alone we worship; for You we pray and prostrate; to You we strive; we fear Your punishment and hope for Your mercy: Your severe punishment will befall the disbelievers" (narrated by Abd al-Razzaq in al-Musannaf, 3/111, Ibn al-Mundhir in al-Awsat, 5/214, and al-Bayhaqi in al-Kubra, 2/210-211, with an authentic chain).
The qunut aloud or silently: one distinguishes the imam, the one praying alone and the follower. The imam recites the qunut aloud, in the sounder view; the one praying alone recites it silently, without disagreement. The follower performs the qunut silently if the imam does not recite it aloud; if the imam recites it aloud, the follower who hears him says amin upon his supplication and joins the praise at its end, and whoever does not hear him performs the qunut silently (Rawdat al-Talibin, 1/253, 255; al-Adhkar, 86; al-Majmu', 5/26).
Fourth view: that of the Hanbalis: the qunut is sunnah in the witr, in the final single rak'ah, all year long: this is the explicit text. Its prescription throughout the year is because it is a witr: the qunut is therefore prescribed in it as in the second half of Ramadan; and it is a remembrance prescribed in the witr, so it is prescribed throughout the year like the other remembrances. Another narration from Imam Ahmad: no qunut except in the second half of Ramadan.
The qunut is performed after the bowing, according to what Abu Hurayra and Anas narrated: the Prophet (peace be upon him) "performed the qunut after the bowing" (Bukhari, 957; Muslim, 677). If he says the takbir raising his hands after the recitation and then performs the qunut before the bowing, it is valid, according to Ubayy ibn Ka'b: "the Messenger of Allah performed the qunut in the witr before the bowing" (authentic hadith: Abu Dawud, 1427, in suspended form, and al-Nasa'i in al-Kubra, 1432).
The form of the qunut: raising the hands to the chest, the palms and their insides open toward the sky, even as a follower; and saying aloud, imam or praying alone, the following supplication: "Allahumma, we seek Your help, guidance and forgiveness, and we turn to You in repentance; we believe in You and rely upon You; we praise You with all good, we thank You and do not disbelieve in You. Allahumma, You alone we worship; for You we pray and prostrate; to You we hasten; we hope for Your mercy and fear Your punishment: Your severe punishment will befall the disbelievers. Allahumma, guide us among those You have guided, grant us health among those to whom You have granted it, take us into Your care among those You have taken into Your care, bless for us what You have given us, and protect us from the evil of what You have decreed; You decree and none decrees against You; he is not humiliated whom You befriend, and no might belongs to the one You take as enemy; Blessed are You, our Lord, and Exalted. Allahumma, we seek refuge in Your pleasure from Your wrath, and in Your pardon from Your punishment, and we seek refuge in You from You; we cannot enumerate Your praise: You are as You have praised Yourself." One may add to it whatever it is permissible to supplicate with in prayer. Al-Majd Ibn Taymiyya said: it is authenticated that Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) performed the qunut with the equivalent of about a hundred verses, then said the prayer upon the Prophet (peace be upon him); the one praying alone uses the singular pronoun: "Allahumma, guide me..." and so on.
Hadiths strongly encourage it:
A person has 360 joints, and for each joint he must give a charity. It was said: who can do that, O Prophet of Allah? He said: the spittle in the mosque that is buried in the ground, or the object removed from the road; if you cannot, two rak'ahs of the duha suffice you.Authentic hadith narrated by Abu Dawud (5242), Ahmad (5/254) and Ibn Khuzayma in his Sahih (2/229) from Burayda
My beloved recommended to me three things I will not abandon as long as I live: fasting three days of each month, the duha prayer, and not sleeping before performing the witr.Narrated by Muslim (722) from Abu al-Darda
My close friend (peace be upon him) recommended to me three things: fasting three days of each month, the two rak'ahs of the duha, and the witr before sleeping.Narrated by Bukhari (1178) and Muslim (721) from Abu Hurayra
Son of Adam, bow to Me at the beginning of the day four rak'ahs: I will suffice you for its end.Authentic hadith (the word of Allah), narrated by al-Tirmidhi (475) from Jubayr ibn Nufayr, from Abu al-Darda and Abu Dharr
The scholars debated: is regularity preferable, or doing it at times and leaving it at times? The majority of jurists, the Hanafis, the Malikis, the Shafi'is and some Hanbalis such as Ibn Aqil, al-Ajurri and Abu al-Khattab (al-Bahuti says: this is sounder), hold regularity recommended, based on the generality of the authentic hadiths: "The deed most beloved to Allah is the most constant, even if little" (Muslim, 1156), and similar texts.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "None preserves the duha prayer except one who often returns to Allah," and: "it is the prayer of those who often return" (good hadith, narrated by Ibn Khuzayma in his Sahih, 2/228, and al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak, 1/459). Mu'adha al-Adawiyya asked Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her): did the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) pray the duha? She said: "Yes, four rak'ahs, and more as Allah willed" (Muslim, 719); and based on the generality of the previous hadiths, such as those of Abu Hurayra and Abu Dharr.
Al-Hattab the Maliki adds this note: it has spread among the common people that whoever prays the duha must be regular in it, and that if he leaves it he goes blind or some harm befalls him: this is false; its ruling is that of the other supererogatory prayers: regularity is recommended, and whoever leaves it has no sin nor hardship (Mawahib al-Jalil, 2/67).
The Hanbalis in the school: regularity in the duha is not recommended, it is disliked; the prayer is done occasionally, according to what Muslim narrates from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him): "The Prophet (peace be upon him) prayed the duha until we said: he will not leave it; then he left it until we said: he will not pray it" (the notes point out a weak version: narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 477, and Ahmad in the Musnad, 3/21, 36).
Muslim also narrates from Abdallah ibn Shiqq: I asked Aisha: did the Prophet (peace be upon him) pray the duha? She said: "No, unless he returned from a journey" (Muslim, 717). And Aisha said: "I never saw the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) pray the duha, yet I perform it. The Messenger of Allah would leave a deed he loved to do, fearing that people would take it up and it would be made obligatory upon them" (Muslim, 718); and because regularity in this prayer resembles the obligations (Kashaf al-Qina', 1/442; al-Sharh al-Kabir with al-Mughni, 2/340; Sharh Muntaha al-Iradat, 1/249; Majmu' al-Fatawa, 22/284).
Imam al-Nawawi reconciles Aisha's two hadiths, the negation and the affirmation of the Prophet's duha prayer: he prayed it at times, for its virtue, and left it at times, fearing it would be made obligatory, as Aisha mentioned. Her saying "he only prayed it when he returned from travel" is understood as "I did not see him," as in the second narration "I never saw the Messenger of Allah pray the duha"; for the Prophet was rarely with Aisha at the time of the duha: at times he was traveling, at times present but in the mosque or elsewhere; and when he was with his wives, he had but one day in nine with each. Her saying ("I did not see him pray it") is therefore exact, while she may have known, from his report or another's, that he had prayed it. It may also be said that her "he did not pray it" means: he was not regular in it, a negation of regularity, not of its origin. And Allah knows best.
As for what is authenticated from Ibn Umar saying of the duha that it is an innovation, there are several readings: praying the duha in the mosque with display, as they used to do, is the innovation meant, not its origin in the houses, which would not be blameworthy; or "innovation" means regularity, for the Prophet was not regular in it, fearing it would be made obligatory, and this is a privilege his alone, while regularity is recommended for us according to the hadiths of Abu al-Darda and Abu Dharr; or Ibn Umar did not learn that the Prophet prayed the duha and commanded it. The majority of the scholars hold the duha recommended; the reservation is transmitted only from Ibn Mas'ud and Ibn Umar. And Allah knows best (Sharh Sahih Muslim, 5/230).
The jurists: the time of the duha begins when the forbidden time ends, that is, when the sun rises the length of a spear, by the word of Allah in the sacred hadith: "Son of Adam, bow to Me at the beginning of the day four rak'ahs: I will suffice you for its end" (authentic hadith, cited earlier); it extends until near the zenith, that is, until the entry of the forbidden time with the rising of the sun high.
There is no disagreement among the jurists: the best moment is when the sun is high and the heat intense, according to the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him): "The prayer of those who often return is when the hooves of the young camels burn on the hot sand" (Muslim, 748). Al-Nawawi explains: "al-ramda'" is the sand whose heat has intensified in the sun, when the hooves of the "fisal", the young of the camels, burn; "al-awwab" is the obedient one, or the one who returns to obedience. This moment holds the virtue of the prayer: our companions say it is the best time of the duha (Sharh Muslim, 6/27; Ghammaz 'Uyun al-Basa'ir, 1/123-124; al-Bahr al-Ra'iq, 2/55; Mawahib al-Jalil, 2/68; al-Sharh al-Kabir with al-Mughni, 2/338; Kashaf al-Qina', 1/442; Matalib Uli al-Nuha, 1/577; Sharh Muntaha al-Iradat, 1/249).
The number of rak'ahs of the duha. The jurists who recommend this prayer agree: its minimum is two rak'ahs, according to the saying of the Prophet:
In the morning, a charity is due upon every joint of one of you: every glorification is a charity, every praise a charity, every declaration of oneness a charity, every proclamation of greatness a charity; enjoining good is a charity, and forbidding wrong a charity; and two rak'ahs of the duha suffice for all of that.Narrated by Muslim (720)
And from Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him): "My close friend recommended to me three things: ... the two rak'ahs of the duha ..." (Bukhari, 1124; Muslim, 721).
The maximum is a matter of disagreement: