Short answer
Not in the Hanafi school. Witr is three rakats prayed together with one salam, sitting for the tashahhud after the second rakah. A single rakah on its own is not a valid witr for Hanafis. The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools allow one rakah as the minimum witr.
Witr is wajib and is exactly three rakats with one salam, like Maghrib in form, except that a surah is recited in all three rakats and the qunoot is made in the third before ruku. Praying one rakah alone does not fulfil it.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- The minimum witr is one rakah and the most is eleven. Three may be prayed as two plus one with a salam between, which is preferred, or joined.
- Maliki
- Witr is one rakah prayed after at least two separate rakats (the shaf'); joining three with one salam is disliked.
- Hanbali
- The minimum witr is one rakah, and three is the lowest complete form.
Explanation
Hanafi scholars base the three-rakah witr on the reports of how the Prophet ﷺ actually prayed it. Aisha described his night prayer as four rakats, then four, and then three. Ubayy ibn Ka'b reported that he prayed witr as three rakats, reciting al-A'la, al-Kafirun and al-Ikhlas. Companions such as Ibn Mas'ud and Umar are reported to have said that witr is three, like the witr of the day, meaning Maghrib.
The other schools rely on hadith such as "the night prayer is in twos, and if one of you fears dawn, let him pray one rakah, making odd what he has prayed". The Hanafi school reads this as the final rakah joined to the two before it. Both sides follow sound evidence; the difference is in how the reports are combined.
How Hanafis pray witr:
- Two rakats with al-Fatiha and a surah in each, then sit for the tashahhud only.
- Stand for the third rakah: al-Fatiha and a surah, then "Allahu akbar" with raised hands, the qunoot, ruku, sajdahs, the final sitting and salam.
Common questions:
- Short of time before Fajr? Pray the three rakats briefly with short surahs rather than one rakah.
- Behind an imam who prays two and then one: see praying behind an imam of another madhhab.
- Missed witr: it is made up, because it is wajib; see is witr wajib.
The full method is in how to pray witr.
The evidence
Sahih al-Bukhari 1147
Sahih... يصلي أربعا فلا تسل عن حسنهن وطولهن ثم يصلي ثلاثا ...
"He would pray four, and do not ask how beautiful and long they were, then four, then he would pray three."
The witr of the Prophet ﷺ was three rakats.
Sahih al-Bukhari 990
Sahih... صلاة الليل مثنى مثنى فإذا خشي أحدكم الصبح صلى ركعة واحدة ...
"The night prayer is in twos; if one of you fears dawn, let him pray one rakah, making odd what he has prayed."
The evidence the other schools use for a one-rakah witr.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Salah, chapter on witr. Witr is three rakats, not separated by a salam.
- al-Majmu' (Nawawi), Kitab al-Salah, chapter on voluntary prayer. The Shafi'i minimum of one rakah for witr.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.