حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ صَالِحٍ وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ الْمُرَادِيُّ قَالَا حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ وَهْبٍ عَنْ مُعَاوِيَةَ بْنِ صَالِحٍ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ أَبِي قَيْسٍ قَالَ قُلْتُ لِعَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا بِکَمْ کَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّی اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يُوتِرُ قَالَتْ کَانَ يُوتِرُ بِأَرْبَعٍ وَثَلَاثٍ وَسِتٍّ وَثَلَاثٍ وَثَمَانٍ وَثَلَاثٍ وَعَشْرٍ وَثَلَاثٍ وَلَمْ يَکُنْ يُوتِرُ بِأَنْقَصَ مِنْ سَبْعٍ وَلَا بِأَکْثَرَ مِنْ ثَلَاثَ عَشْرَةَ قَالَ أَبُو دَاوُد زَادَ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ صَالِحٍ وَلَمْ يَکُنْ يُوتِرُ بِرَکْعَتَيْنِ قَبْلَ الْفَجْرِ قُلْتُ مَا يُوتِرُ قَالَتْ لَمْ يَکُنْ يَدَعُ ذَلِکَ وَلَمْ يَذْکُرْ أَحْمَدُ وَسِتٍّ وَثَلَاثٍ
سنن ابودوٗد · Hadith 1362
Abdullah bin Abi Qais said that he asked Aishah: How many rak'ahs would the Messenger of Allah ﷺ pray observing the witr ? She said: He used to observe the witr with four and three, six and three, eight and three, and ten and three rak'ahs never observing less than seven or more than thirteen. The narrator Ahmad added in his version: He would not observe the witr with two rak'ahs before the dawn. I asked: With what would he observe the witr ? She said: He would never leave it. The version of Ahmad does not mention the words "six and three (rak'ahs)".
Translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan · Reviewed by Islamic University of Madinah · Published March 2020