How do you pray witr?

Q: How do you pray witr?

Witr is a three-rak'ah prayer prayed after the fard of Isha until dawn, and in the Hanafi school it is necessary (wajib). You sit after the second rak'ah and recite only the Tashahhud; in the third rak'ah, after Al-Fatihah and a surah, you raise your hands to your ears and say the takbir, fold your hands again and recite the Qunut supplications, then complete the prayer with bowing and prostrations and finish with a single salam.

Short answer

Witr is a three-rak'ah prayer prayed after the fard of Isha until dawn, and in the Hanafi school it is necessary (wajib). You sit after the second rak'ah and recite only the Tashahhud; in the third rak'ah, after Al-Fatihah and a surah, you raise your hands to your ears and say the takbir, fold your hands again and recite the Qunut supplications, then complete the prayer with bowing and prostrations and finish with a single salam.

Its ruling and time

According to the Hanafis it is wajib; according to the other schools it is sunnah. Everyone prays it: men and women, travellers and residents.
Its time begins after the fard of Isha and lasts until the time of Fajr begins. Witr prayed before the fard of Isha must be prayed again.
For someone sure they can get up at night, it is more virtuous to leave witr until the end of the night, shortly before imsak. Someone who fears they will not wake up prays it before sleeping.

How to pray it, step by step

Make the intention and begin the prayer with the takbir. In the first and second rak'ahs, recite Al-Fatihah and a surah (or a few verses).
At the end of the second rak'ah, sit, recite only the Tashahhud and stand up for the third rak'ah.
In the third rak'ah, also recite Al-Fatihah and a surah. This is what distinguishes witr from Maghrib.
When the recitation is finished, raise your hands to the level of your ears and say the takbir, fold your hands again and recite the Qunut supplications.
Then perform the bowing and prostrations; in the final sitting recite the Tashahhud, the salawat (Allahumma salli and Allahumma barik) and the supplications, and finish the prayer with a single salam.

It is good to recite Al-A'la in the first rak'ah, Al-Kafirun in the second and Al-Ikhlas in the third; however, this should not become a fixed pattern, and other surahs should sometimes be recited too.

The Qunut supplications (transliteration)

Saying the Qunut takbir and reciting a supplication is wajib; reciting the two well-known Qunut supplications is sunnah. The Qunut is recited silently. The transliteration below follows Hadislerle İslâm (Islam through Hadith), published by Türkiye's Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet):

First supplication: Allahumma inna nasta'inuka wa nastaghfiruka wa nu'minu bika wa nuthni 'alaykal-khayra wa la nakfuruka wa nakhla'u wa natruku man yafjuruk.

Second supplication: Allahumma iyyaka na'budu wa laka nusalli wa nasjudu wa ilayka nas'a wa nahfidu narju rahmataka wa nakhsha 'adhabaka inna 'adhabakal-jidda bil-kuffari mulhiq.

Someone who does not know the Qunut recites, after the takbir and until they have memorised it, the supplication "Rabbana atina fid-dunya hasanatan wa fil-akhirati hasanatan wa qina 'adhaban-nar", or says "Allahummaghfir li" three times.

If you forget or miss it

Someone who forgets the Qunut and goes into bowing does not go back; they continue the prayer and make sajdah sahw at the end. If they recite the Qunut after rising from bowing, they do not bow again; they go into prostration and again make sajdah sahw.
Someone who forgets the sitting after the second rak'ah and stands up for the third does not go back; they make sajdah sahw at the end.
Making up a witr that was not prayed on time is wajib, and according to the Hanafis it is made up together with its Qunut.

Differences between schools

For the Shafi'is and Hanbalis, witr is sunnah; it is at least one rak'ah and at most eleven, and three rak'ahs may be prayed with two salams. According to the Shafi'is, the Qunut in witr is recited only in the second half of Ramadan, after bowing. For the Malikis, witr is a single rak'ah and no Qunut is recited. Praying witr in congregation in Ramadan is recommended (mandub); according to the Hanafis, praying it in congregation outside Ramadan is disliked (makruh).

Related verses

Al-Fajr 89:3 — And [by] the even [number] and the odd
Al-Baqarah 2:238 — Maintain with care the [obligatory] prayers…
Al-Baqarah 2:201 — Our Lord, give us in this world [that which is] good…

Quotations are from the Saheeh International translation; links open the full verse on Quran.com.

Frequently asked

Is witr obligatory (fard)?

No. In the Hanafi school it is wajib; in the other schools it is sunnah. It should not be abandoned; if it is missed, it is made up.

I don't know the Qunut supplication. What should I recite?

After the takbir you can recite the supplication "Rabbana atina…" or say "Allahummaghfir li" three times. Meanwhile, try to memorise the Qunut supplications.

I forgot the Qunut. Is my prayer invalid?

No. You complete the prayer and make sajdah sahw at the end.

Can I pray witr before going to sleep?

Yes. Someone who is worried they will not get up at night prays it before sleeping. Someone who prays witr and then gets up at night to pray voluntary prayers does not pray witr again.

In Elif

Elif's Prayer Guide explains how to pray each prayer step by step, and the Isha time is calculated for where you are. You can ask Ask Elif about any detail you are unsure of; it also shows the source behind the answer.

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Sources

This page is compiled from the rulings of Türkiye's Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) and the sources listed. Rulings follow the Hanafi school; where other schools differ, this is noted. For your personal situation, please ask a scholar at your local mosque. Last updated: 5 October 2026.