two by two, and he does not break his Witr. This has been narrated from Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, Ammar, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, 'A'idh ibn 'Amr, Ibn Abbas, Abu Hurayrah, and Aishah. Alqamah did not hold the view of breaking the Witr. This was also the opinion of Tawus and Abu Mijlaz. It is also the view of al-Nakha'i, Malik, al-Awza'i, and Abu Thawr. It was said to Ahmad: "Do you not hold the view of breaking the Witr?" He replied: "No." Then he said: "However, if a person chooses to do so, I hope it is permissible, because a group [of the Companions] has done it." It is narrated (60) from Ali, Usamah, Abu Hurayrah, Umar, Uthman, Sa'd, Ibn Umar, Ibn Abbas, and Ibn Mas'ud, and it is the opinion of Ishaq. Its meaning is that when he gets up for Tahajjud, he prays one rak'ah to make the first Witr even (shaf'), then he prays two by two, and then he performs Witr at the end of the Tahajjud. Perhaps they based this on the saying of the Prophet -peace and blessings of Allah be upon him-: "Make the last of your prayer at night Witr" (61). Our evidence is what Qays ibn Talq narrated, saying: Talq ibn Ali visited us on a day in Ramadan; he stayed with us until evening and broke his fast, then he led us in prayer that night, [and he performed Witr with us] (62), then he went down to his mosque (63) and prayed with his companions. When only the Witr remained, he brought a man forward and said: "Perform Witr with your companions, for I heard the Messenger of Allah -peace and blessings of Allah be upon him- say: 'There are no two Witrs in one night.'" Recorded by Abu Dawud and al-Tirmidhi (64), who said: A hasan (good) hadith. It is narrated from Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said: "As for me, I sleep on my bed; if I wake up, I pray an even number (shaf') until the morning." Recorded by al-Athram. Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab used to do this.

Section: If one prays with the Imam and wishes to follow him in the Witr, but also wishes to perform Witr at the end of the night, then when the Imam performs the Taslim, he should not perform it with him; instead, he should rise and pray another rak'ah to make his prayer with the Imam even. Ahmad has explicitly stated this (65). He said: If he wishes, he may remain on his Witr (66) and make it even when he stands. If he wishes, he may pray two by two (67). He said: "Making it even with the Imam by one rak'ah is more beloved to me." Ahmad was asked about someone who has performed Witr: "Does he pray after it two by two?" He said: "Yes, but it should be [after a rest following the Witr] (68)."