Wake up ‘Āʾishah and pray Witr

Islam > Hadiths > Jurisprudence and juristic principles > Jurisprudence and Juristic Principles

Hadith narrated by Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim

Authenticity grade : Authentic hadith

Updated on 24 September 2026 at 12:34 AM

📖 2 min read

Hadith text: Wake up ‘Āʾishah and pray Witr

عن عائشة رضي الله عنها : أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم كان يصلي صلاته بالليل، وهي مُعْتَرِضَةٌ بين يديه، فإذا بقي الوتر، أيقظها فأوترت. وفي رواية له: فإذا بقي الوتر، قال: «قومي فأوْتِري يا عائشة».

‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray at night while she would be asleep in front of him. When only the Witr was left, he would wake her and she would perform it. According to another narration, he would say: "Wake up ‘Ā'ishah and pray Witr."

Explanation of the hadith: Wake up ‘Āʾishah and pray Witr

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) used to perform the night prayer, while ‘A'ishah would be asleep in front of him. According to another narration by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim, she said: “The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to perform the night prayer while I would be lying between him and the Qiblah, just as a coffin would be placed.” When the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) finished his night prayer, and just before starting the Witr prayer, he would wake her up to pray Witr. A narration by Muslim reads: “When it was time for the Witr prayer, he would say: ‘Wake up, ‘A'ishah and pray Witr.'" A narration of Abu Dawūd reads: “When he wanted to perform the Witr prayer, he would wake her up, and she would perform it." So, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) would let ‘A'ishah asleep at the beginning of the night. He would not wake her until he was done with his night prayer and only had the Witr to pray.

He would wake her so that she would pray immediately and not oversleep and miss the Witr.

Categories : Voluntary Night Prayer (Qiyaam)

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