Witr: Waajib or Sunnat Muakkadah
Salat is one of the pillar of Islam. Without offering salat one cannot be a Muslim. There are five obligatory prayers daily. Except those mandatory salat, there are more salat as sunnat. The witr prayer is one of the important salat to be observed by Muslims.
Scholars of madhabs differed in regards to the ruling on praying the witr prayer. The Hanafi school ruled that this prayer is waajib. Waajib means obligatory however it is not fard. The other schools of thought such as Maliki, Hanbali and Shafii ruled that offering this prayer is sunnah muakkadah and beside those five obligatory salat there is no waajib salat.
Sabab for the difference
This difference mainly occurred because how Hukm al Takhlifi categorized by the madhabs. According to Hanbali, Shafii and Maliki madhab this is categorized as (Nyazee)
But Hanafi madhab categorized as (Nyazee)
Among the three madhabs there is no difference between waajib and fard. They define that the binding law from lawgiver which has promised reward for doing it and threat of punishment for not doing it.
While Hanafi madhab defines that fard is the act which is an obligation and there is absolutely no doubt about it being obligatory by Qat'ee evidence (Quran).
And waajib is the act which is an obligation that’s been established by Zanni evidence. If someone denies fard, he is out of Islam, but if someone denies waajib, he is not out of Islam. And punishment of omitting Waajib is less than Fard. Also, he cannot be called apostate for denying Waajib.
Scholars of the past and present of the Hanafi school consider the witr prayer to be waajib (necessary; next to fard) based on several statements of the Prophet (pbuh) which used the imperative command (amr) in the hadiths. For Example,
Abdullah ibn Umar (ra) narrates from the prophet Muhammed (pbuh) who said, “Make your last prayer of the night, the prayer of witr” (Bukhari :: 2/16/112)
Abdullah ibn Umar (ra) says the Prophet (pbuh) said, “Hasten to perform witr at dawn (before early dawn)” (Muslim :: 4/1637)
Abu Saeed Khudri (ra) narrates that the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) instructed, “Perform witr before you begin early dawn” (Muslim :: 4/1647)
But another hadith says that obligatory prayers are five.
A man came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said: “O Messenger of Allah, what prayers has Allah enjoined on me?” He said: “'Allah has enjoined upon His salves (five) prayers.” (Sunan an-Nasa'i :: 5/460)
As there is no ayat from Quran to establish witr and sahih hadith clears that daily obligatory prayers are five, according to Hanafi madhab witr cannot be fard. But, messenger of Allah ordered to perform witr and he did not leave this Salat even during a journey or when mounted on camel back. So it should be waajib.
Using same hadiths, other three madhabs ruled witr as sunnat muakkadah. (Jaziri) Because in their usul, fard and waajib are synonymous. As the hadith of Bukhari restricted the obligatory prayers in five, so according to their usul no other prayer can be called fard/waajib. But messenger of Allah pbuh ordered to pray witr, it means it is highly emphasized. So, they ruled it as sunnat muakkadah.
Also, Imam Malik also stated if someone misses Witr salah his testimony cannot be accepted in an Islamic court. Ahmad Ibn Hanbal said "Whoever neglects Witr is a bad man whose testimony should not be accepted" (Jaziri)
A hadith used to emphasize the importance of this prayer is:
Narrated by Kharijah ibn Hudhafah al-Adawi: The Apostle of Allah came out to us and said: Allah the Exalted has given you an extra prayer which is better for you then the red camels. This is the witr which Allah has appointed for you between the night prayer and the daybreak. (Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 8, Hadith 1413.)
Difference type
It is clear that madhabs, in their opinion, they hold different opinions in the issue of the ruling of witr salat, backed by their own usul. Now, regarding the relationship between the different positions, there are two types of disagreement (al-Ḥaj):
In case of witr, it is a variational difference which caused by the difference of usul and definition of hukum in the madhabs. From their particular frame of reference, their opinion is acceptable. And accepting anyone do not affect the importance of witr. It remains a heavily emphasized prayer after the five prayers.
Regardless of which madhab one decides to follow it is evident that the witr prayer is a distinguished prayer to be performed. The four madhabs in Islam did have different rulings on the witr prayer. Abu Hanifa ruled that it is a waajib prayer. While the others ruled that is sunnah muakkadah saying only five prayers are wajib. These rulings were based on the evidence they found to be strong, in their usul in regards to fiqh. And scholars of these madhabs were respectful to others opinion.
Scholars of madhabs differed in regards to the ruling on praying the witr prayer. The Hanafi school ruled that this prayer is waajib. Waajib means obligatory however it is not fard. The other schools of thought such as Maliki, Hanbali and Shafii ruled that offering this prayer is sunnah muakkadah and beside those five obligatory salat there is no waajib salat.
Sabab for the difference
This difference mainly occurred because how Hukm al Takhlifi categorized by the madhabs. According to Hanbali, Shafii and Maliki madhab this is categorized as (Nyazee)
- Waajib/Fard
- Mandood
- Mubaah
- Makrooh
- Haram
But Hanafi madhab categorized as (Nyazee)
- Fard
- Waajib
- Mandood
- Mubaah
- Makrooh Tanzihi
- Makrooh Tahrimi
- Haram
Among the three madhabs there is no difference between waajib and fard. They define that the binding law from lawgiver which has promised reward for doing it and threat of punishment for not doing it.
While Hanafi madhab defines that fard is the act which is an obligation and there is absolutely no doubt about it being obligatory by Qat'ee evidence (Quran).
And waajib is the act which is an obligation that’s been established by Zanni evidence. If someone denies fard, he is out of Islam, but if someone denies waajib, he is not out of Islam. And punishment of omitting Waajib is less than Fard. Also, he cannot be called apostate for denying Waajib.
Scholars of the past and present of the Hanafi school consider the witr prayer to be waajib (necessary; next to fard) based on several statements of the Prophet (pbuh) which used the imperative command (amr) in the hadiths. For Example,
Abdullah ibn Umar (ra) narrates from the prophet Muhammed (pbuh) who said, “Make your last prayer of the night, the prayer of witr” (Bukhari :: 2/16/112)
Abdullah ibn Umar (ra) says the Prophet (pbuh) said, “Hasten to perform witr at dawn (before early dawn)” (Muslim :: 4/1637)
Abu Saeed Khudri (ra) narrates that the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) instructed, “Perform witr before you begin early dawn” (Muslim :: 4/1647)
But another hadith says that obligatory prayers are five.
A man came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said: “O Messenger of Allah, what prayers has Allah enjoined on me?” He said: “'Allah has enjoined upon His salves (five) prayers.” (Sunan an-Nasa'i :: 5/460)
As there is no ayat from Quran to establish witr and sahih hadith clears that daily obligatory prayers are five, according to Hanafi madhab witr cannot be fard. But, messenger of Allah ordered to perform witr and he did not leave this Salat even during a journey or when mounted on camel back. So it should be waajib.
Using same hadiths, other three madhabs ruled witr as sunnat muakkadah. (Jaziri) Because in their usul, fard and waajib are synonymous. As the hadith of Bukhari restricted the obligatory prayers in five, so according to their usul no other prayer can be called fard/waajib. But messenger of Allah pbuh ordered to pray witr, it means it is highly emphasized. So, they ruled it as sunnat muakkadah.
Also, Imam Malik also stated if someone misses Witr salah his testimony cannot be accepted in an Islamic court. Ahmad Ibn Hanbal said "Whoever neglects Witr is a bad man whose testimony should not be accepted" (Jaziri)
A hadith used to emphasize the importance of this prayer is:
Narrated by Kharijah ibn Hudhafah al-Adawi: The Apostle of Allah came out to us and said: Allah the Exalted has given you an extra prayer which is better for you then the red camels. This is the witr which Allah has appointed for you between the night prayer and the daybreak. (Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 8, Hadith 1413.)
Difference type
It is clear that madhabs, in their opinion, they hold different opinions in the issue of the ruling of witr salat, backed by their own usul. Now, regarding the relationship between the different positions, there are two types of disagreement (al-Ḥaj):
- Ikhtilaf taḍad: Contradictory differences or differences of opposition. Differences where the variant views contradict one another and one of the positions has to be incorrect.
- Ikhtilaf tanawwu’: Variational differences or differences of variety. Differences where the variant views do not contradict one another and are not mutually exclusive.
In case of witr, it is a variational difference which caused by the difference of usul and definition of hukum in the madhabs. From their particular frame of reference, their opinion is acceptable. And accepting anyone do not affect the importance of witr. It remains a heavily emphasized prayer after the five prayers.
Regardless of which madhab one decides to follow it is evident that the witr prayer is a distinguished prayer to be performed. The four madhabs in Islam did have different rulings on the witr prayer. Abu Hanifa ruled that it is a waajib prayer. While the others ruled that is sunnah muakkadah saying only five prayers are wajib. These rulings were based on the evidence they found to be strong, in their usul in regards to fiqh. And scholars of these madhabs were respectful to others opinion.
Bibliography
al-Ḥaj, Ḥatem. "A Concise Study of Differences of Opinions in Islam." Journal of Islamic Sciences (n.d.).
Bukhari :: 2/16/112. n.d.
Jaziri, Abd al-Rahman al. Islamic jurisprudence according to the four Sunni schools. 2009.
Muslim :: 4/1637. n.d.
Muslim :: 4/1647. n.d.
Nyazee, Imran Ahsan Khan. Outlines of Islamic Jurisprudence. 2000.
Sunan an-Nasa'i :: 5/460. n.d.
Bukhari :: 2/16/112. n.d.
Jaziri, Abd al-Rahman al. Islamic jurisprudence according to the four Sunni schools. 2009.
Muslim :: 4/1637. n.d.
Muslim :: 4/1647. n.d.
Nyazee, Imran Ahsan Khan. Outlines of Islamic Jurisprudence. 2000.
Sunan an-Nasa'i :: 5/460. n.d.
© 2016 by Tauhid Ahmed.