Tahajud Prayers After Witir Prayers, Can I?

Tahajud prayer is one of the sunnah prayers that istiqamah performed by the Prophet sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam, so carrying out the midnight prayer is highly recommended,

even regarding the virtues of carrying out this midnight prayer, Allah says in the Qur'an:

وَمِنَ اللَّيْلِ فَتَهَجَّدْ بِهِ نَافِلَةً لَكَ عَسَى أَنْ يَبْعَثَكَ رَبُّكَ مَقَاماً مَحْمُوداً

"And on some evenings, do the midnight prayer (as a form of worship) for you, hopefully your Lord will lift you to a place of praise," (Surat al-Isra't: 79).

In addition, the midnight prayer is a prayer that has special provisions, which must be done at night (after performing the Isha prayer) and carried out after sleeping, even though sleeping in a short span of time. However, it should be understood that the midnight prayer even though it is performed at night but not as a closing night prayer. Because prayers that are recommended to be a night cover are witir prayers, this is as explained in the hadith:

اجْعَلُوا آخِرَ صَلَاتِكُمْ بِاللَّيْلِ وِتْرًا

"Make your last prayer at night in the form of witir prayer," (Bukhari Muslim HR). While the tradition that developed in Indonesia during the month of Ramadhan, witir prayers are often carried out immediately after performing tarawih prayers, so that this raises a problem, namely when someone wants to perform the midnight prayer after that. Can the midnight prayer be done after the prayer is done?

If allowed, is it after he recites the midnight prayer to repeat his witr prayer again, so that the witir prayer remains the closing of his evening prayer? The Shafi'ite school of scholars explained that the midnight prayer after witir prayer was permissible, because the command to make witir prayer as a night cover was only a directive, not an obligation.

However, a good thing for people who have the intention to recite the midnight prayer at night is to end the witir prayer to be carried out after the midnight prayer and to cover the night prayer. If it turns out he has performed the witir prayer first (as is usually done in the month of Ramadan) then there is no need for him to repeat the witir prayer, even according to some opinions, repeating the witir prayer is punished illegally. This is as conveyed by Sheikh Ibrahim al-Baijuri:

ويسن جعله آخر صلاة الليل لخبر الصحيحين: اجعلوا آخر صلاتكم من الليل وترا. فإن كان له تهجد أخر الوتر إلى أن يتهجد ، فإن أوتر ثم تهجد لم يندب له إعادته ، بل لا يصح ،لن تله

"It was made to make the witir prayer as the end of the evening prayer, based on the Hadith history of Imam Bukhari and Muslim Imam:" Make your last prayer at night in the form of witir prayer "If he wants to perform the midnight prayer, then his witir prayer will be ended after the midnight prayer.

But if he does the witir prayer first and then recites the midnight prayer, then he is not obliged to repeat the witir prayer, even if (according to some opinions) is invalid if it is repeated, based on the hadith: "there is no implementation of witir prayer twice in one night" (Shaykh Ibrahim al-Bejuri, Hasyiyah al-Baijuri, juz 1, p. 132) The same thing is also conveyed in the book of Rahmah al-Ummah:

وإذا أوتر ثمّ تهجّد لم يعده على الأصح من مذهب الشافعى ومذهب أبي حنيفة

"If someone has performed the witir prayer then he intends to perform the pilgrimage, then the witir prayer does not need to be repeated according to qaul ashah from the Shafi'i school and the Abi Hanifah school" (Shaykh Muhammad bin Abdurrahman, Rahmah al-Ummah, p. 55)

It can be concluded that carrying out the midnight prayer after the witr prayer is not a problem and there is no need to repeat the witir prayer again according to qaul ashah (strongest opinion) in the Shafi'i school. If someone has a strong intention to perform the midnight prayer or other sunnah prayers in the middle of the night, one should not rush to perform witir prayers right after the implementation of Isha 'or tarawih; postponed to finish carrying out the midnight prayer or other sunnah prayers. Thus he will achieve the virtues of making witir prayer as a closing prayer. Allah knows best.

Ustadz M. Ali Zainal Abidin, lecturer at Annuriyah Kaliwining Islamic Boarding School Rambipuji Jember

Source: https://islam.nu.or.id