Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: A man submitted: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! How many prayers has Allah made obligatory upon His servants? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Five prayers. He asked: Is there anything before or after them as well? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Allah has made five prayers obligatory upon His servants. The narrator says: That man swore by the name of Allah that he would neither add to them nor decrease from them. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: If he has spoken the truth, he will enter Paradise.

Mukhadji narrates: A man asked Sayyiduna Abu Muhammad (may Allah be pleased with him), who was a Companion from among the Ansar, about Witr. He replied: Witr is obligatory just like the obligatory prayers. That man then went to Sayyiduna Ubadah bin Samit (may Allah be pleased with him). When this was mentioned before him, he said: Sayyiduna Abu Muhammad (may Allah be pleased with him) has said incorrectly. I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: "There are five prayers which Allah Almighty has made obligatory upon His servants. Whoever does not neglect any of them, considering their right insignificant, Allah will make a covenant with him to admit him to Paradise on the Day of Resurrection. And whoever performs them but neglects any of their rights, considering them insignificant, then such a person has no covenant with Allah. If He wills, He will punish him, and if He wills, He will forgive him."

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates this statement of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "The five prayers, and one Friday to the next Friday, become expiation for the sins committed in between them, as long as major sins are not committed."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: When the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) sent Sayyiduna Mu’adh (may Allah be pleased with him) to Yemen, he said:“You are going to a people from among the People of the Book. The first thing you should call them to is that they worship Allah. When they come to know Allah, then inform them that Allah has made five prayers obligatory upon them during the day and night. When they do that, then inform them that Allah has made zakat obligatory upon them, which will be taken from their wealth and returned to their poor. If they obey you in this, then take zakat from them, but avoid taking the best of their wealth.”

(Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:) From narrations of this type, it can be deduced that witr is not obligatory, and in what we have mentioned earlier, there is abundant explanation of this matter, which will suffice the one whom Allah grants the ability to follow the straight path and guides to the way of guidance, that witr is not obligatory. Because the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) sent Sayyiduna Mu’adh (may Allah be pleased with him) to Yemen, and he sent him a few days before departing from this world. The Prophet (peace be upon him) instructed him to inform those people that Allah has made five prayers obligatory upon them during the day and night. If witr had also been obligatory, or if Allah had added anything else to the people’s prayers, as is claimed by the one who is unfamiliar with the science of hadith and cannot distinguish between authentic and unauthentic narrations, then the Prophet (peace be upon him) would have instructed Sayyiduna Mu’adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) that Allah has made six prayers obligatory upon them, not five. So, in what we have mentioned, there is a clear statement that witr is not obligatory. The rest is achieved by the help of Allah.

Lady Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: When the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) became ill, he did not perform the night nawafil (voluntary prayers). The next day, during the daytime, he performed twelve rak'ahs.

Salim bin Abdullah narrates from his father (Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) used to offer voluntary prayers on his mount, regardless of which direction it was facing, and he would also offer Witr on it, but he would not offer obligatory prayers on it. The narrator named Salim states: Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) would also offer voluntary prayers at night while on his mount, even while it was moving, and Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) did not care which direction he was facing.

Sayyida Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) used to perform one rak'ah of Witr.

Sayyida Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) used to perform one rak'ah of Witr.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) narrates: The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) used to perform one rak'ah of Witr.

Tha’laba Zahdam narrates: We were with Sa’eed bin ‘Aas in Tabaristan. He inquired: Has any of you performed the prayer of fear (Salat al-Khawf) behind the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)? Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) replied: The narrator states: Then Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up. He formed two rows of people behind him. One row stood behind him and the other row stood facing the enemy. He led those behind him in one rak’ah, then these people turned and went to the place of the others, and those people came to their place. He then led them in one rak’ah as well, and these individuals did not complete their prayer (i.e., they only performed one rak’ah and did not perform the second rak’ah).