the rising of the Fajr. Malik, al-Thawri, al-Awza'i, and al-Shafi'i held this view. It was narrated from Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, that he went out after the rising of the Fajr and said: "What an excellent hour of Witr this is!" (19). It was narrated from Asim (20) that he said: "Some people came to Abu Musa and asked him about a man who had not performed Witr until the caller to prayer called? He said: He has no Witr. So they went to Ali and asked him, and he said: He has plunged into the act (21), Witr is between that and the prayer (22)." Ata, al-Nakha'i, and Sa'id ibn Jubayr disapproved of this, and it is the opinion of Abu Musa as we have recounted, and they argued based on the generality of the prohibition. Our evidence is what Abu Basrah al-Ghifari narrated, saying: I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say: "Indeed, Allah has increased you with a prayer, so perform it between the Isha and the morning prayer: the Witr, the Witr." This was recorded by al-Athram, and Ahmad used it as proof (23). Furthermore, it is the opinion of those we named from the Companions, and the authentic hadiths of prohibition are not explicit regarding the prohibition before the Fajr prayer, as we have already presented; the only thing in this regard is the hadith of Ibn Umar, which is gharib (uncommon). Abu Hurayrah (24) narrated that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: "Whoever
(19) Recorded by Abd al-Razzaq in: "Chapter on which hour it is recommended to perform Witr," from the Book of Prayer. al-Musannaf 3/18. And al-Bayhaqi in: "Chapter on one who reaches the morning without performing Witr, let him perform it between that and praying the morning prayer," from the Book of Prayer. al-Sunan al-Kubra 2/479. And al-Haythami in: "Chapter on Witr in the early part of the night, its last part, and before sleep," from the Book of Prayer. He said: Recorded by al-Tabarani in al-Awsat, and it contains al-Hasan ibn Abi Ja'far al-Hadri, who is matruk (abandoned/unreliable). Majma' al-Zawa'id 2/246. (20) Meaning Ibn Damra. (21) This is not in al-Sunan al-Kubra. (22) Recorded by al-Bayhaqi in: "Chapter on one who reaches the morning without performing Witr, let him perform it between that and praying the morning prayer," from the Book of Prayer. al-Sunan al-Kubra 2/479, 480. (23) Recorded in: al-Musnad 6/7, 397. Similar to it is the hadith of Kharijah ibn Hudhafah, which was recorded by Abu Dawud in: "Chapter on the recommendation of Witr," from the Book of Witr. Sunan Abi Dawud 1/327. And al-Tirmidhi in: "Chapter on what has been reported regarding the excellence of Witr," from the Chapters on Witr. 'Aridat al-Ahwadhi 2/241. And Ibn Majah in: "Chapter on what has been reported regarding Witr," from the Book of Establishing Prayer. Sunan Ibn Majah 1/369, 370. (24) This is how it appeared, and it is from the hadith of Abu Sa'id. See the following record.
