Full Lecture Transcript (Cleaned)
0:00
Sister Atifa from Pakistan emails asking whether she has to make up Witr if she did not pray it. She mentions she has heard different opinions on the matter.
Yasir Qadhi responds that she is correct to have heard two opinions — because there are in fact two opinions.
The Hanafi Position — 0:30
Since she is writing from Pakistan, the predominant school there is the Hanafi madhab, and the Hanafi school is the only madhab that says Witr is wajib (obligatory). Because it is obligatory in that school, the Hanafi madhab says it is obligatory to make it up if missed for any reason. So she has heard correctly from the Hanafi school: she should make up Witr if she has not prayed it.
The Other Three Schools — 1:10
The other three schools — Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali — state that Witr is not obligatory. It is strongly encouraged (the strongest sunnah), but it is not wajib. So if you do not pray it, you are not sinful, and you do not need to make it up.
However, these three schools say: if you had the regular habit of praying Witr and for whatever reason you missed it on a particular night, you have the option of praying a salah the next day — 12 raka'ah — as a compensatory prayer. This is based on a reported practice of the Prophet ﷺ: when something prevented him from praying Witr at night (such as illness or distraction), he would pray 12 raka'ah the following day.
Summary — 2:00
- Following the Hanafi madhab: Yes, make up the Witr.
- Following any other madhab: No makeup is obligatory. You may optionally pray extra raka'ah, but there is no sin if you do not.