It is narrated from Sayyiduna Bara’ bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to perform Qunoot in the Maghrib and Fajr prayers. Imam Shu’bah narrates from ‘Amr bin Murrah that he says, I heard Ibn Laila narrating from Sayyiduna Bara’ bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to supplicate Qunoot in the morning and evening (Fajr and Maghrib). Therefore, these words of the narration from Sayyiduna Bara’ bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) are authentic. The wording of the narration of ‘Ala bin Salih is not correct, and the highest and most established narration regarding the Qunoot of Witr is the one narrated as mawquf from Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka’b (may Allah be pleased with him) during the era of Sayyiduna ‘Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), that they (the Companions) used to perform Qunoot in Witr after the middle of Ramadan.

Sayyiduna Urwah bin Zubair narrates that during the caliphate of Sayyiduna Umar bin Khattab, Abdur Rahman bin Qari was the governor of the treasury along with Abdullah bin Arqam. (He narrates that) Sayyiduna Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) came out of his house one night in the blessed month of Ramadan, and Abdur Rahman bin Abdul Qari also walked with him. He made a round of the mosque, and the people of the mosque were praying in different groups; some people were praying alone, and some people were praying together with others. So Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "By Allah, I think that if we gather all of them behind one reciter, it would be very good." Then Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) firmly resolved to do this. And he ordered Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) to lead them in the voluntary prayers during the blessed month of Ramadan. Then one day Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came to them while they were praying (nafl) with their reciter, so Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "How excellent is this new thing!" The part of the night in which you sleep is better than the part in which you are praying." He meant the last part of the night. So people used to stand in prayer in the early part of the night, and after the middle of Ramadan, they would curse the disbelievers (with these words) in the supplication of Qunoot: «‏‏‏‏اللّٰهُمَّ قَاتِلِ الْكَفَرَةَ الَّذِينَ يَصُدُّونَ عَنْ سَبِيلِكَ وَيُكَذِّبُونَ رُسُلَكَ، وَلَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِوَعْدِكَ، وَخَالِفْ بَيْنَ كَلِمَتِهِمْ، وَأَلْقِ فِي قُلُوبِهِمُ الرُّعْبَ، وَأَلْقِ عَلَيْهِمْ رِجْزَكَ وَعَذَابَكَ، إِلٰهَ الْحَقِّ» ‏‏‏‏ "O Allah, destroy and ruin those disbelievers who prevent others from Your path, who deny Your messengers, and do not believe in Your promise. Scatter their unity, cast terror into their hearts. O True Deity, impose Your punishment upon them." Then (the reciter and imam) would send blessings upon the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and supplicate for goodness and well-being for the Muslims as much as possible, then pray for forgiveness for the believers. The narrator states that when the imam finished cursing the disbelievers, sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and praying for forgiveness for the believing men and women, he would also supplicate: «‏‏‏‏اللّٰهُمَّ إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ، وَلَكَ نُصَلِّي وَنَسْجُدُ وَإِلَيْكَ نَسْعٰى وَنَحْفِدُ، وَنَرْجُو رَحْمَتَكَ رَبَّنَا، وَنَخَافُ عَذَابَكَ الْجِدّ، إِنَّ عَذَابَكَ لِمَنْ عَادَيْتَ مُلْحِقٌ» ‏‏‏‏ "O Allah, we worship You alone, we pray and prostrate for You alone, and we strive and struggle towards You alone. O our Lord, we hope for Your mercy and fear Your severe punishment. Indeed, Your punishment will certainly befall Your enemies." Then the imam would say "Allahu Akbar" and bow down for prostration.

Hazrat Qais bin Talq narrates that during the blessed month of Ramadan, one day my respected father came to visit us. He spent the evening with us and broke his fast. That night, he led us in prayer and also led us in Witr. Then he went to his mosque and led his companions in prayer, until only Witr remained. Then he appointed one of his companions to lead and said, "You lead your companions in Witr, because I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'It is not permissible to perform Witr twice in one night.'"

Sayyiduna Abu Salamah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that I asked Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) about the manner of the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), so she said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray thirteen rak‘ahs. He (peace and blessings be upon him) would pray eight rak‘ahs of voluntary prayer, then perform witr, then he (peace and blessings be upon him) would pray two rak‘ahs while sitting, and when he intended to bow (ruku‘), he would stand up and then bow, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) would pray two rak‘ahs (of the morning prayer) between the adhan and the iqamah. These are the words of the hadith of Abu Musa. Janab al-Dawraqi narrated in his hadith these words: And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would pray one rak‘ah of witr, then when he (peace and blessings be upon him) finished with salam, he would say Allahu Akbar and pray two rak‘ahs while sitting, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) would pray two rak‘ahs between the adhan and the iqamah of the Fajr prayer.

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that I went to visit my maternal aunt, Sayyidah Maymunah (may Allah be pleased with her), so I coincided with the night of the Prophet (peace be upon him) — (that night, the Prophet (peace be upon him) was also staying at the house of Sayyidah Maymunah (may Allah be pleased with her)). So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) woke up well before the time of suhoor, performed ablution thoroughly, and then began to pray standing. I also got up, performed ablution, and then came and stood at his side. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) realized that I wanted to pray with him, he took me by my hand and made me stand on his right side. Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) performed nine or seven rak‘ahs of witr, then he performed two rak‘ahs and lay down and slept until I heard his snoring. Then the iqamah for prayer was given, so the Prophet (peace be upon him) went out and led the prayer. Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that these two rak‘ahs which Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) mentioned in this hadith, it is possible that he means those two rak‘ahs which the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to pray after witr, as Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) has reported. And it is also possible that he means those two rak‘ahs which the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to pray before the obligatory morning prayer.

It is narrated from Sa’d bin Hisham Ansari that he asked Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) about the night prayer of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). She replied that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would perform the ‘Isha prayer, he would offer two light rak‘ahs, then he would sleep, and at his head would be placed the water for his ablution and his miswak. When he (peace and blessings be upon him) would wake up, he would use the miswak and perform ablution and pray, offering two brief rak‘ahs, then he (peace and blessings be upon him) would stand for eight rak‘ahs, reciting equally in them, and on the ninth rak‘ah he would perform witr, and then offer two rak‘ahs while sitting. Then, when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) became old and gained weight, he reduced the eight rak‘ahs to six and performed witr on the seventh rak‘ah. And he (peace and blessings be upon him) would offer two rak‘ahs while sitting, in which he would recite «‏‏‏‏قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا الْكَافِرُونَ» ‏‏‏‏ and «‏‏‏‏إِذَا زُلْزِلَتِ الْأَرْضُ زِلْزَالَهَا» ‏‏‏‏.

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to perform nine rak‘ahs of Witr. Then, when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) became older, he started performing seven rak‘ahs of Witr, and he (peace and blessings 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) narrates that we would recite short surahs, such as «‏‏‏‏قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا الْكَافِرُونَ» ‏‏‏‏ and similar surahs.

And that the two rak‘ahs which the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, used to pray after Witr were not specific to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, alone to the exclusion of his ummah, since the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, has commanded us to perform the two rak‘ahs after Witr as a recommended and virtuous act, not as an obligatory or compulsory act.

The freed slave of the Messenger of Allah ( صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ), Sayyiduna Thawban (may Allah be pleased with him), narrates that we were on a journey with the Messenger of Allah ( صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ). He ( صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ) said: "Indeed, this journey is a cause of hardship and fatigue, so when any one of you has prayed Witr, let him (also) pray two (additional) rak‘ahs. Then if he wakes up (for Tahajjud, it is better), otherwise those two rak‘ahs will suffice for him."