Wutayrah prayer or Nafl of Isha is a two-unit voluntary prayer that is performed sitting after the Isha prayer. Stay with SaedNews for more on this topic.
What is the Wutayrah Prayer?
Nafl prayers, or voluntary prayers, total thirty-four rak‘ahs, which together with the two rak‘ahs of the Ghufaylah prayer make thirty-six rak‘ahs; on Fridays, this total reaches forty rak‘ahs. The Wutayrah prayer is one of the voluntary prayers of Isha. It is said about this prayer that whoever performs it completely will not be counted among the heedless. Continue reading with us to become more familiar with how to perform the Wutayrah prayer and the reward for performing it.
In jurisprudence, Wutayrah means “small Witr.” Witr is the final rak‘ah of the night prayer (Tahajjud). Imam Sadiq (AS) considers the Wutayrah prayer as a rak‘ah of the Witr prayer during night prayer; if a worshiper dies after performing it, the reward of Witr prayer is granted to him. Imam Sadiq (AS) further said that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) did not perform this prayer because by revelation he knew whether he would die that night or not, but he recommended others to perform it.
The Wutayrah prayer consists of two rak‘ahs of the voluntary Isha prayer performed sitting. It is better to recite one hundred verses of the Quran in these two rak‘ahs, and it is recommended to recite Surah Waqi‘ah in one rak‘ah and Surah Tawhid in the other instead of one hundred verses. In another narration, Imam Baqir (AS) said: “Whoever recites Surah Al-Mulk at night performs a pure and abundant recitation and will not be among the heedless, and I also recite those two [Surahs] after the Isha prayer in a sitting position [in the Nafl of Isha].”
Sheikh Har’ami in Wasail al-Shi‘ah says standing to perform Wutayrah is better than sitting. He even dedicates a chapter to the preference of standing in Wutayrah and that it is not dropped during travel, but Sheikh Tusi considers Wutayrah dropped for travelers. In a narration from Imam Sadiq (AS), it is said: “My father used to perform this prayer sitting, and I perform those two rak‘ahs standing.” Majlisi adds that since Imam Baqir (AS) had a heavy body and standing was difficult for him, he performed Wutayrah sitting. Sayyid Murtadha says the worshiper may sit cross-legged or kneel while performing Wutayrah.
The time for Wutayrah prayer is after Isha prayer until midnight by Islamic law, but it is said that performing it immediately after Isha prayer is better.
Sheikh Tusi, after explaining Wutayrah prayer and how to perform it, mentions a relatively long supplication recommended to be recited afterward.
Wutayrah prayer was set to compensate for the Witr prayer in the night prayer, so if someone, due to reasons like sleep or death, could not perform the Witr prayer, they receive its reward.
Imam Sadiq (AS):
“Whoever performs these two rak‘ahs and recites one hundred verses in them will not be counted among the heedless.”
Imam Baqir (AS):
“Whoever recites Surah Al-Mulk at night performs a pure and abundant recitation and will not be among the heedless, and I too recite those two after Isha prayer in a sitting position.”
Imam Baqir said: “Because God Almighty ordained seventeen obligatory rak‘ahs, then the Messenger of God (PBUH) added twice that number in voluntary prayers, making a total of fifty-one rak‘ahs. He then commanded these two rak‘ahs to be performed sitting so they would be counted as one rak‘ah, thus making every obligatory rak‘ah accompanied by two voluntary rak‘ahs.”
