Witr with the Imam or at Home

A: Should I pray witr with the Imam after tarawih or wait until I get home?

Q: After completing Tarawih, it is recommended to pray Witr in congregation, consisting of three rakaʿāt, as indicated by the narration of Yazīd ibn Rumān from Imam Mālik.

However, if a person intends to engage in Tahajjud later in the night, it is preferable to delay Witr, in accordance with the statement of the Prophet (peace be upon him), “Make the last of your night prayers Witr.” (Muttafaq ʿalayh)

If one does not plan to pray Tahajjud, they should complete Witr with the Imam to attain the virtue of praying in congregation.

However, for those who wish to join the Imam in Witr but still pray Tahajjud later, they can adhere to the following method:

1. They are to follow along with the Imam until he concludes the witr prayer and then stand before making taslim to preform anotherher rakaʿah to make it even.

2. So that they do not contradict the Imams intention for witr with another intention-specific-prayer, the initial intention they can make is to pray a basic nafilah/voluntery prayer as a congregant instead of intending to pray witr. Because witr prayer falls within the general nafilah category of prayers, such an intention is not contradictory.

3. They then pray Tahajjud later and perform their final Witr prayer at the end of the night.

This way, they attain both the reward of completing the prayer with the Imam and ending their night with Witr.

For those who have already performed Witr, they can still pray voluntary prayers later at night without nullifying their previous Witr. Aʿishah (may Allah be pleased with her) was asked about those who repeat Witr, to which she replied: “That is someone who plays with his Witr.” (Narrated by Saʿīd and others.)

Instead, they may continue praying in sets of 2 rak’ahs until Fajr, as it is authentically reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Would pray two rakaʿāt after Witr.”

However, he did not perform Witr again, since he already completed it earlier. This follows his instruction, “There should not be two Witr prayers in one night.”

(Narrated by Ahmad and Abu Dawud, from Qays ibn Ṭalq from his father.)

Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) once gathered his family and companions and said, “Whoever prays with the Imam until he finishes, it will be recorded for him as if he prayed the entire night.”

(Narrated by Ahmad and authenticated by Tirmidhi.)

Thus, it is highly encouraged to complete the prayer with the Imam, even if one intends to pray more later.

The standard practice is twenty rakaʿāt, as established in the reports mentioned earlier. However, there is no harm in adding more, as explicitly stated.

ʿAbdullāh ibn Ahmad reported, “I saw my father (Imam Ahmad) praying so much in Ramadan that I could not count.”

Similarly, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Aswad would pray forty rakaʿāt of Taraweeh followed by Witr of seven.

In all cases, the prayer is performed in sets of two rakaʿāt each, following the hadith, “The night prayer is two by two.”

Source: Kashshaf al-Qina & Sharh al-Muntaha