Salah

Question

Asalamu Alaikum

I live in Ashburn Virgnina. There is a big Islamic center called ADAMS Center in Sterling VA. They recently started a remote Taraweeh service here Ashburn. The Hafiz who does the Taraweeh did the Witr prayers as a combo of Hanafi and Shafi style. He performed it like maghrib prayers (3 Rakaat) but in the 3rd rakat, he read Surah Fatiha and a short Surah. After that he went to Rukooh. When he got up from Rukooh, he did the Dua like the Shafi Madhab style. I asked him after the prayers that this was not Hanafi or Shafi style but a combo of the both. He told me that the Students of Imam Abu Hanifa performed Witr prayer this way and he thinks that their opinion is stronger so he follows them. Please advice what to make of this? I have never heard anything about students of Imam Abu Hanifa from my teachers. Is this Bidah? A new method of performing salaat offered by this Hafiz? I need your opinion as soon as possible so that I can address this during Ramadan.

Thanks,

Kamran

Accepted Answer

Assalamu Alaykum Warahmatullah

Brother/Sister in Islam

We do not know whether the Hafiz is an Alim or not. It appears that he is not an Alim. If he was, he would not have conducted a such a fundamentally flawed practice of the so called combo Hanafi Shafi Witr Salah. The students of Imaam Abu Hanifa (RA) are generally referred to as Imam Abu Yusuf (RA), Imam Muhammed (RA) Imam Zufar (RA) and Imam Hasan ibn Ziyad (RA). No one performed witr as described by the Hafiz. The witr Salah accordingly to the Hanafi Madhab is Wajib and are three rakaats with one salaam. In the third rakaat, the imam should recite Sura fatiha and a Sura. Therafter recite the takbeer and recite Dua-e-Qunoot and then go into ruku. If the imam is a Hanafi, he should follow the above mentioned procedure. If he is a Shafi then witr should be performed according to the Shafi procedure. The procedure of combinig the hanafi and Shafi way in witr is baseless and not acceptable by any Faqih

And Allah Knows Best

Mufti Ebrahim Desai

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