What is witr prayer?

What "witr" means

Witr is Arabic for "odd". The Prophet ﷺ said: "The night prayer is two by two, and when you fear the dawn is coming, pray one rakah to make it odd" (Sahih al-Bukhari 990). He also said: "Make witr the last of your prayers at night" (Sahih al-Bukhari 998). So it is the final piece of your evening worship, the full stop at the end of the night.

The Prophet ﷺ almost never left it, even when traveling. Abu Hurairah said his beloved friend advised him to pray witr before sleeping, along with two rakat of Duha and fasting three days each month (Sahih al-Bukhari 1981).

When to pray it

• Start: after you have prayed Isha.
• End: when Fajr begins.
• Best time: the last part of the night, if you trust yourself to wake up. If not, pray it before bed, which is what most busy people do.
• If you pray witr before sleeping and later wake up for night prayer, pray in twos and don't repeat witr.

It fits naturally after taraweeh in Ramadan too. See What is taraweeh and do I have to pray it?

How to pray it

• One rakah: the simplest form, valid in the Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools. Pray it like the last rakah of any prayer and finish with salam.
• Three rakat: either two rakat with salam, then one more; or three together with one tashahhud at the end. The Hanafi way is three together with a sitting after the second rakah, like Maghrib.
• More: 5, 7, 9 or 11 rakat are all from the sunnah, prayed mostly in pairs.

Qunut in witr

Many people add a dua called qunut in the last rakah, either before or after bowing. A common one begins "Allahumma-hdini fiman hadayt" (O Allah, guide me among those You have guided). If you don't know it yet, your own short dua in any language outside the prayer, or simply skipping qunut, is fine while you learn. See What are the best times to make dua?

The schools differ on qunut: the Hanafis and Hanbalis say it in witr all year, the Shafi'is mainly in the second half of Ramadan, and the Malikis don't stress it in witr.