Reciting More than One Surah in Witr
Fatwa No: 84999

Question

Is it allowed according to the Sharee’ah to recite more than one Surah after al-Fatiha in Witr prayers?

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

There is no objection to recite more than one Surah of the Quran while performing Witr or any other prayer for the Hadeeth narrated by Hudhayfah who said: “I prayed with the Prophet one night and he started reciting al-Baqarah. I thought that he would perform Rukoo’ (bow down) at the end of one hundred verses, but he proceeded on; I then thought that he would perhaps recite the whole (Surah) in one Rak'ah, but he proceeded, and I thought he would perhaps perform Rukoo’ on completing (this Surah) but he then started al-Nisa' [Quran 4], and recited it (to the end); he then started Al-‘Imran [Quran 3], and recited leisurely. When he recited the verses which referred to the Glory of Allah, he glorified Him (by saying Subhaana Allah -Glory be to my Lord the Great), and when he recited the verses which tell (how the Lord) is to be begged, he (i.e. the Prophet) would then beg (from Him), and when he recited the verses dealing with seeking protection or refuge from the Lord, he sought (His) protection and would then perform Rukoo’ and say: Glory be to my Mighty Lord; his Rukoo’ lasted about the same length of time as his standing (and then on returning to the standing position after Rukoo') he would say: Allah listened to him who praised Him, and he would then stand about the same length of time as he had spent in Rukoo’ (bowing). He would then prostrate himself and say: Glory be to my Lord most High, and his prostration lasted nearly the same length of time as his standing." [Muslim, At-Tirmithi and others] This is the narration by Muslim.

This is the opinion of the Shaafi'i, Hanbali and Maaliki Schools of jurisprudence, while performing the Witr prayer. The Maaliki School disliked reciting more than one Surah in any other prayers except the Witr and they recommend reciting Surahs 112, 113, and 114 in the Witr Rak’ah.

For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 83303, 84482, 39577, 92197, 92752, 98754, and 351082.        

Allah knows best.

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