Is it permissible to pray the Witr prayer twice in one night during Ramadan?

darulmaarif.net – Indramayu, 02 March 2026 | 04.00 WIB

In the midst of the lively month of Ramadan, it is not uncommon for light but serious questions to arise: “Is it permissible to pray witr twice in one night? Especially if you move from mosque to mosque and participate in congregational tarawih in several places?”

This question often arises, especially when hearing stories of habaib or clerics who move from one mosque to another, leading tarawih and witir.

In terms of jurisprudence, this issue does have a detailed discussion in the Shafi’i school of thought. There is a general argument about the recommendation to repeat congregational prayers, but there is also a special hadith that prohibits two witrs in one night. So, how does the matter sit?

Witr and its advantages

Witr prayer is a sunnah prayer which is highly recommended after Isha until dawn. Even in the Shafi’i school of thought, witr is more important than all sunnah prayers of careib.

In the book Fathul Mu’in mentioned:

It is sunnah to pray the Witr prayer, namely the prayer after the Maghrib prayer, because the message: Witr is obligatory for every Muslim, and it is better than all the daily prayers.

Meaning: “It is sunnah to pray the witr prayer after Isha, based on the hadith: Witr is a right for every Muslimand that is more important than all the prayers.” (Fathul Mu’in, Volume II, pp. 5-7)

The time starts after Isha until dawn, and is sunnah to conclude the evening prayer:

The last prayer on Witr night.

Meaning: “Make the end of your prayers at night a witr.” (HR. Imam al-Bukhori and Muslim)

Can Witr be repeated in the month of Ramadan?

In the Shafi’i madhhab, prayers prescribed in congregation may be repeated (i’adah), both fardhu and sunnah. Including witr, because in the month of Ramadan it is sunnah in congregation after tarawih prayers.

Imam Syarifuddin Yahya an-Nawawi in his book Al-Majmu’ explain:

If we recommend congregational prayer during the Tarawih prayer, then we also recommend congregational prayer during the Witr prayer afterwards, with the agreement of the companions.

Meaning: “If it is sunnah for us to gather at tarawih, then it is also sunnah for us to gather at witr afterwards, based on the consensus of the Shafi’iyyah scholars.”

In the book Busyrol Karim mentioned:

It is only carried out under certain conditions, both obligatory and voluntary, and is carried out in congregation, even if the witr prayer is performed during the Hajj.

Meaning: “It is sunnah to perform i’adah (repeating prayer) provided that the prayer is in the form of fardhu or sunnah which is prescribed in congregation, even if it is witr according to Ibn Hajar.” (Busyrol Karim, Juz I, p. 121)

From this, some scholars understand that because it is sunnah for Ramadhan witir in congregation, it is permissible to repeat it in the context of joining other congregations.

Hadith Prohibition of Two Witir

However, there is a firm hadith:

Don’t see each other overnight

Meaning: “There are no two witrs in one night.” (HR. Imam Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi)

In the I’m Anatuth Tholibin confirmed:

He is not advised to repeat it. If he repeats it with the intention of witr intentionally and consciously, then it is haram for him to do it, and it is not done according to the news: It is not permissible to pray twice the witr prayer at night.

Meaning: “It is not sunnah to repeat the witr. If one repeats it with the intention of witr intentionally and knows the law, then it is haram and invalid, based on the hadith: there are no two witrs in one night.” (Hamisy I’anatuth Tholibin, pp. 248-252)

Likewise in Hasyiyah al-Bajuri:

If he performs the witr prayer and then performs the Hajj, then it is not advisable to do it again. In fact, it is not legal, based on the news: There is no need to perform the witr prayer twice in one night.

Meaning: “If someone has done witr and then tahajjud, then it is not sunnah to repeat witr, in fact it is not valid, because of the hadith: there are no two witr in one night.” (Hasyiyah Al-Bajury, Juz I, p. 132)

Meeting Point of Opinion of Ulama

Shafi’iyyah scholars explain that there is a special conflict between the general proposition of recommending i’adah and the hadith prohibiting two witrs.

In the book Tuhfatul Muhtaj mentioned:

Between the news of “there are no two strings in one night” and the news of string repetition, there is a similarity of one point of view and a contradiction in the string repetition.

Meaning: “Between the hadith ‘there are no two witrs in one night’ and the hadith about i’adah there is a general relationship from one side and a contradiction in the issue of repeating the witr.” (Tuhfatul Muhyaj, Volume VII, page 441)

Some scholars mentarjih (strengthen) the prohibition on repeating witr. This means that it is not recommended or even legal if you intend to do witr twice in one night.

So how does it work in practice?

If someone has done witir at the first mosque, then moves to another mosque and wants to join the congregation again, then the solution is:

1. No more intelligent intentionsbut the intention to pray is absolute sunnah.
2. Or when the imam witrs one rak’ah, he adds one more rak’ah to make it even (don’t make it a second witr).

In this way, he still gets the priority of the congregation without violating the hadith.

1. Witr is a sunnah of sukakadah, highly recommended.
2. In the month of Ramadan, it is sunnah to perform witr in congregation after tarawih.
3. Repeating witr with the intention of witr in one night is a strong opinion among the Shafi’i school of thought invalidbased on hadith “La witrani fi laylah.”
4. If you want to join the congregation again, intend it to be a regular sunnah prayer, not witr.

Ramadan is not just the number of rak’ahs, but submission to the guidelines of the Shari’a. The spirit of worship should be framed with knowledge, so that it is not just a movement, but also valid and useful.

Hope it is useful. Wallohu a’lam.