encyclopedia entry

Witr in the Four Sunni Schools: An Overview

Sample entry — demonstration data

Islamic Academy (sample data)2026en

Position by topic

NeutralRuling on Witr
Measured against: Witr is obligatory (wajib).
The entry describes each school's classification and its evidence without adopting one.

Summary

A descriptive sample overview of how the four Sunni schools classify Witr, without arguing for any view. It records the Hanafi classification as wajib, reported in al-Hidayah, the classification of the other three schools as an emphasised sunnah, the statement of 'Ali reported by al-Tirmidhi, and the Qur'anic description of night prayer as additional worship.

Content

Malik ibn Anas, al-Shafi'i and Ahmad ibn Hanbal are reported to have regarded Witr as an emphasised sunnah. Abu Hanifa regarded it as wajib, a view recorded in the Hanafi manual al-Hidayah. This overview records the positions without weighing them.

Scholarly quotations

الوتر واجب عند أبي حنيفة رحمه الله، وقالا: سنةWitr is obligatory (wajib) according to Abu Hanifa, while the two [Abu Yusuf and Muhammad] said: it is a sunnah.

Burhan al-Din al-Marghinani, al-Hidayah fi Sharh Bidayat al-Mubtadi (al-Hidayah, Bab Salat al-Witr)

This source uses it as Neutral on Ruling on Witr. Own position: Supporting. Quoted only to document the Hanafi position; the overview does not endorse it.

Hadith references

Jami' al-Tirmidhi 453hasan — Muhammad ibn 'Isa al-Tirmidhi

Narrated by 'Ali ibn Abi Talib

الوتر ليس بحتم كصلاتكم المكتوبة، ولكن سن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم

Witr is not compulsory like your prescribed prayers, but the Messenger of Allah ﷺ established it as a sunnah.

How it is used: Cited as the main report used by the majority.

Qur'an references

Qur'an 17:79 (Al-Isra)

And from [part of] the night, pray with it as additional [worship] for you; it is expected that your Lord will resurrect you to a praised station. — tr. Saheeh International

How it is used: Background: night prayer is described as nafilah (additional) for the Prophet ﷺ.

Everything this source mentions (7), and how it was recorded

Mention	Kind	Recorded as
Malik ibn Anas	scholar	person
al-Shafi'i	scholar	person
Ahmad ibn Hanbal	scholar	person
Abu Hanifa regarded it as wajib	scholar	person
the Hanafi manual al-Hidayah	book	work, citation, quote, person
Tirmidhi 453	hadith	hadith, citation
Qur'an 17:79	quran verse	quran

Works cited

al-Hidayah, Bab Salat al-Witr
Work: al-Hidayah fi Sharh Bidayat al-Mubtadi. Traditional form: Burhan al-Din al-Marghinani (d. 593 AH), al-Hidayah, Bab Salat al-Witr. Reference partial; unverified.
Tirmidhi 453
Work: Jami' al-Tirmidhi. Traditional form: Muhammad ibn 'Isa al-Tirmidhi (d. 279 AH), Sunan al-Tirmidhi, no. 453. Reference complete; unverified.

Connections

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Source

Witr in the Four Sunni Schools: An Overview

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Text version of this graph (11 relationships)

Witr in the Four Sunni Schools: An Overview — neutral — Ruling on Witr
Witr in the Four Sunni Schools: An Overview — cites — al-Hidayah fi Sharh Bidayat al-Mubtadi
Witr in the Four Sunni Schools: An Overview — cites — Jami' al-Tirmidhi
Witr in the Four Sunni Schools: An Overview — cites — Jami' al-Tirmidhi 453
Witr in the Four Sunni Schools: An Overview — cites — Qur'an 17:79
Witr in the Four Sunni Schools: An Overview — quotes — Burhan al-Din al-Marghinani
Witr in the Four Sunni Schools: An Overview — keyword — witr
Witr in the Four Sunni Schools: An Overview — keyword — madhhab
Witr in the Four Sunni Schools: An Overview — keyword — comparative fiqh
Witr in the Four Sunni Schools: An Overview — keyword — tahajjud
Witr in the Four Sunni Schools: An Overview — keyword — night prayer