Are Witr Prayers in Which Only One Verse Was Recited Valid?

Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi

Question

Is my witr prayer valid in which I only recited one verse in each rak‘a and did not read Surat al-Fatiha and Dua al-Qunut? Do I have to offer that witr prayer as qada again?

Answer

In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,

Yes, the Witr prayers in which you have only recited one verse of the Quran in each cycle (rak‘a) were valid. [Shurunbulali, Nur al-Idah]

This ruling is because you have not missed any of the prayer’s obligatory (fard) components. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]

Nonetheless, what you have done is extremely improper and sinful if you don’t have an excuse. [Ibid.]

This is because you have deliberately missed several necessary (wajib) elements of the Witr prayer. Amongst them, the recitation of the Fatiha, and the supplication of the Witr prayer during the third cycle.

The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon Him) said, “There is no prayer for the one who does not recite the Fatiha and a chapter with it, in an obligatory prayer or other than it.” [Tirmidhi]

Thus those Witr prayers are stained by several disliked elements.

The fatwa position of most of the later scholars is that if a prayer was performed with something prohibitively disliked, it is:

• Necessary (wajib) to repeat within the time; and
• Recommended (mustahab) to repeat after the time. [Haskafi, al-Durr al-Mukhtar; Tahtawi/Shurunbulali, Hashiyat Maraqi al-Falah]

Thus, you will be rewarded if you decide to repeat this prayer now. If you don’t, you will miss this reward.

It is also obligatory for you to repent from what you have done if you don’t have any valid excuses.

And Allah knows best.

Wassalam
[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching far and wide for answers to the fundamental questions of life and was disappointed at the answers he found. Then he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor Shaykh Faraz Rabbani. He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha‘ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others. He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.