The witr prayer is an odd numbered prayer which is generally (although not always) the last prayer of the day. The word witr in Arabic means odd numbered.
The witr prayer is one of the greatest acts of worship that can draw you closer to Allah. The prayer itself is not compulsory, however it is one of the most emphasised of all of the voluntary deeds which the Muslim should observe regularly and not neglect. This is because the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) never neglected praying it, even when he was sick or travelling.
The seriousness of performing this prayer can be seen in the statement of Imām Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) who said: "Whoever neglects witr is a bad man whose testimony should not be accepted."
The time for witr starts when a person has prayed the 'Ishā' prayer, even if they joined Ishā' with Maghrib because of travelling. This is because the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
"Allah has prescribed for you a prayer...which is Witr; Allah has enjoined it for you during the time between 'Ishā' prayer, until dawn begins." [at-Tirmidhī: 452]
If a person thinks he will be able to get up at the end of the night, it is better to delay it, because prayer at the end of the night is better, and is witnessed by the angels. If, however, a person fears that he will not get up at the end of the night should pray witr before he goes to sleep, because of the narration of Jābir ibn 'Abdullāh (may Allah be pleased with him) who said that the Messenger of Allah (May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“Whoever fears that he will not get up at the end of the night, let him pray witr at the beginning of the night, but whoever thinks that he will be able to get up at the end of the night, let him pray witr at the end of the night, for prayer at the end of the night is witnessed (by the angels) and that is better.” [Muslim: 755]
The minimum number of rak'ah for witr is one rak'ah, because the Prophet (May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
"Witr is one rak'ah at the end of the night." [Muslim: 752]
And the Prophet Muhammad (May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
"The night prayers are [performed] two by two, but if one of you fears that dawn is about to break, let him pray one rak’ah to make what he has prayed odd-numbered." [Muslim: 749]
If you limit yourself to praying one rak'ah, then you have performed the Sunnah, however witr can also be three or five or seven or nine rak'ah.
If a person prays three rak'as of Witr this may be done in two ways, both of which are narrated from the Prophet (May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him)
1 – To pray them one after another, with only a final tashahhud, and without any middle tashahhud, because of the hadeeth of 'Abdullāh ibn 'Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) who said:
"The Prophet (May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) prayed witr with three rak'ah [only] sitting in the last of them." [Muslim: ???]
2 – Saying the tasleem after two rak'ah, then praying one rak'ah on its own, because of the report narrated from 'Aa'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her):
"...The Prophet (May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) used pray two rak'ah, say the tasleem and then stand to pray one rak'ah [of witr]." [an-Nasā'ī: 1601]
If you pray witr with five or seven rak'ah, then they should be continuous, and you should only recite one final tashahhud in the last of them and say the tasleem, because of the report narrated by 'Aa'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) who said:
"The Messenger of Allah (May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) used to pray thirteen rak'ah at night, praying five rak'ahs of witr, in which he would not sit except in the last rak’ah." [Muslim: 737]
And it was narrated that Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) said:
"The Prophet (May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) used to pray witr with five or seven (rak’ah) and he did not separate between them with any salaam or words." [Ahmad: 26725]
If you pray witr with nine rak'ah, then they should be continuous and you should sit to recite the middle tashahhud in the eighth rak'ah, then stand up and not say the tasleem, then you should recite the final tashahhud in the ninth rak'ah, and then say the tasleem. 'Aa'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that:
"The Prophet (May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) used to pray nine rak'ahs in which he did not sit except in the eighth, when he would remember Allah, praise Him and call upon Him, then he would get up and not say the tasleem, and he would stand up and pray the ninth (rak'ah), then he would sit and remember Allah and praise Him and call upon Him, then he would say a tasleem that we could hear." [Muslim: ???]
If you pray witr with eleven rak'ah, you should say the tasleem after each two rak'ah, then pray one rak'ah at the end.
The Prophet (May the Peace and Nlessings of Allah be upon him) has given us the choice to do any of the different number of rak'ah for witr, as in the following narration by Abu Ayyoob Al-Anṣaarī (may Allah be pleased with him):
"Witr is the right upon every Muslim, so whoever likes to pray witr with five let him do so, and whoever likes to pray witr with three let him do so, and whoever likes to pray witr with one let him do so." [Abū Dāwood: 1422]
All of these ways of offering witr prayer have been authentically narrated from the Prophet (May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him), so the best way is not to stick to one particular method; rather you should do it one way one time and another way another time, so that you will have done all of the methods that were narrated from him.
In the first rak'ah, it is recommended to recite Sabbiḥ-isma rabbika al-‘a’la ("Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High" – Sūrah al-A’la 87). In the second rak'ah, it is recommended to recite Sūrah al-Kāfiroon (109), and in the third rak'ah Sūrah al-Ikhlāṣ (112).
Ubayy ibn Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
The Messenger of Allah (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to recite in Witr sabbiḥ-isma rabbika al-‘a’la ("Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High" – Sūrah al-A’la 87), Sūrah al-Kāfiroon (109), and Sūrah al-Ikhlāṣ (112), and after he would say salaam, he would say: 'subḥānal-malik al-quddoos', three times. [an-Nasā'ī: 1729]
As mentioned in the narration above, there is a supplication immediately after completing the witr prayer. This is to say:
Transliteration:
subḥaan-al-malik-il-quddoos
subḥaan-al-malik-il-quddoos
subḥaan-al-malik-il-quddoos, rabbil-malaa’ikati war-rooḥ
Translation:
How far from imperfections The King, The Holy One is.
How far from imperfections The King, The Holy One is.
How far from imperfections The King, The Holy One is. Lord of the angels and the Rooh (i.e., Jibreel).
Note that the narrations mention that he would raise his voice and elongate his words on the third line.