Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he made his mount sit down, then dismounted, and performed ten rak‘ahs and one witr. He (peace be upon him) performed two rak‘ahs at a time, then performed one rak‘ah of witr. Then he (peace be upon him) performed two rak‘ahs of Fajr (Sunnah), then led us in the morning prayer. I have mentioned this complete chapter in Kitab al-Kabir.

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray thirteen rak‘ahs at night. He (peace be upon him) would perform five rak‘ahs of Witr, and he would not say salam between them; in the last rak‘ah, he would sit for (tashahhud), then say salam. This is the hadith of Abu Usamah. The wording of the narration from Janab Bundar is: And he (peace be upon him) would perform five rak‘ahs of Witr from among them, and in the last rak‘ah he would say salam.

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) used to pray thirteen rak'ahs at night, out of which he would pray five rak'ahs as Witr, and in these five rak'ahs, he would sit for (Tashahhud) only in the fifth rak'ah.

It is narrated from Hazrat Sa’d bin Hisham that he divorced his wife, then came to Madinah Munawwarah in order to sell his land and garden there, so that he could buy weapons and horses (war equipment) and participate in jihad against the Romans until he would be martyred. He met a group from his people, and they informed him that a group from his people had also wished the same during the blessed era of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), so the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“Is there not an example for you in my blessed self?”Thus, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade them from this intention. Consequently, Hazrat Sa’d made people witnesses when he took his wife back. Then he came to us and informed us that he had met Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) and asked him about Witr. He said:“Shall I not tell you about the one among the people of the earth who knows the most about the Witr of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)?”He said:“Yes, please tell me.”He said:“She is Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). Go to her and ask her. Then come back and tell me her answer.”So I went to Hazrat Hakim bin Aflah and asked him to come with me to the service of Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), but he said,“I will not go to her. I had forbidden her from saying anything about those two groups (the group of Sayyiduna Ali and the group of Sayyiduna Muawiyah), but she refused and went (for reconciliation).”So I made him agree to come with me by making him swear an oath. So he went with me. When we reached the service of Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), she asked,“Is Hakim (here)?”and she recognized him. Hazrat Hakim said,“Yes,”or said,“Why not (it is Hakim who has come).”She asked,“Who is with you?”He said,“This is Sa’d bin Hisham.”She asked,“Hisham who?”He replied,“Hisham bin Amir.”So Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) prayed for mercy for Amir and said,“Amir was a very good man.”I said,“O Mother of the Believers, tell me about the Witr of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).”She said:“We used to prepare the miswak and water for ablution for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). At night, Allah Almighty would awaken him whenever He wished. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would use the miswak, perform ablution, then he would pray eight rak’ahs, sitting only in the eighth rak’ah. Thus, he would sit, remember Allah Almighty, and supplicate. At this point, Harun has added in his narration that then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would stand up and would not say salam. Then he would pray the ninth rak’ah, then sit for tashahhud, praise his Lord, send blessings upon the Prophet, then he (peace and blessings be upon him) would say salam, and we would hear it. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) would sit and perform two rak’ahs. O my dear son, thus these became eleven rak’ahs. Both Bundar and Harun have narrated these words: Then when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) became old and his blessed body became heavy, he (peace and blessings be upon him) performed seven rak’ahs of Witr, and after saying salam, he would sit and perform two rak’ahs. My dear son, thus these became nine rak’ahs. Bundar has narrated from his chain from Sayyiduna Qatadah these words: And he would say one salam which we would hear. Bundar says: I said to Yahya that other narrators narrate“tasleematahu”(one salam). He said: I have memorized it from Hazrat Sa’id in this way. Harun has also narrated from his chain from Hazrat Sa’id these words: Then he would say salam and we would hear it, as is in the narration of Yahya. And Abdul Samad has narrated from his chain from Hazrat Qatadah in this narration these words: Then he would say one salam and we would hear it.

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) used to perform nine rak‘ahs of Witr. Then, when the Prophet (peace be upon him) became older and his blessed body became heavier, he started performing seven rak‘ahs of Witr. And the Prophet (peace be upon him) would perform two rak‘ahs sitting, in which he would recite Surah ar-Rahman and Surah al-Waqi‘ah. Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) says: And we would recite short surahs such as «‏‏‏‏إِذَا زُلْزِلَتِ الْأَرْضُ زِلْزَالَهَا» ‏‏‏‏ and «‏‏‏‏قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا الْكَافِرُونَ» ‏‏‏‏ and surahs like them.

Sayyiduna Ali narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has performed Witr in every part of the night: in the early part of the night, in the middle of the night, and also in the last part of the night.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Qais narrates that he asked the noble wife of the Prophet, Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), how the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to perform Witr—did he offer it at the end of the night or at the beginning of the night? She replied that he (peace and blessings be upon him) used to offer it in every part. Sometimes he would offer it at the beginning of the night, and sometimes he would perform it in the last part of the night. So I said, all praise is due to Allah who has placed ease and flexibility in this matter.

Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) narrates from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he (peace be upon him) said: "Make your last prayer at night the Witr."

It may occur to the mind of one who does not distinguish between the concise report and the detailed report, and does not use the explained reports as evidence for the general ones among them, that the command of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, to make the last prayer of the night witr contradicts his command and advice to perform witr before sleeping.

Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that my beloved Prophet (peace be upon him) advised me regarding three things, which I will never leave, insha’Allah. The Prophet (peace be upon him) advised me to perform the Duha (forenoon) prayer, to offer Witr before sleeping, and to fast three days every month. Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that the hadith of Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) advised him regarding three things, I have mentioned it in another place.