How Many Rakats Is Isha? Sunnah, Fard and Witr

Isha is the longest of the daily prayers: 4 rakats of sunnah, 4 rakats of fard, 2 rakats of sunnah and 3 rakats of Witr, 13 rakats in all. Only the 4 rakats of fard are obligatory. Witr is wajib in the Hanafi school, and the sunnahs are voluntary prayers.

Is Witr part of Isha?

Witr is a prayer of its own, but its time depends on Isha and it is prayed after it every night. The TDV Encyclopedia of Islam reports that the preferred Hanafi view makes Witr wajib, while the majority of jurists call it an emphasized sunnah. Witr is 3 rakats: as in Maghrib, you sit after the second rakat and stand for the third, and give one salam at the end. It cannot be prayed before Isha. Someone who is confident of waking up at night does better to pray Witr at the end of the night, which all schools regard as more virtuous. The method and the Qunut supplication are in how to pray Witr.

How are the sunnahs of Isha prayed?

The 4 rakats before the fard are non-emphasized, like the sunnah of Asr: after the first sitting's Tashahhud the Salawat is also recited, the third rakat begins with Subhanaka, and the four can be prayed in one go or two at a time. The details are in how many rakats is Asr. The 2 rakats after the fard are an emphasized sunnah, prayed like any two-rakat prayer.

According to the Shafi'is and Hanbalis, there is no non-emphasized sunnah before Isha, so in those schools the Isha sunnah comes only after the fard.

The Isha time

Isha begins when the red glow on the horizon fades, which is when the Maghrib time ends, and lasts until the second dawn. The High Council of Religious Affairs says it may be prayed at any point within that period. The Hanafis recommend delaying Isha up to the first third of the night. The Namaz İlmihali states this for winter and says that hurrying in summer is better. Delaying to midnight is allowed; beyond midnight, up to dawn, it is makruh without an excuse. In the Shafi'i school the first third of the night is the preferred time.

According to Jabir ibn ‘Abdullah, the Prophet would hurry Isha when many people had gathered and delay it when few had (al-Bukhari and Muslim).

The order in Ramadan: Isha, Tarawih, Witr

During Ramadan the order is: the Isha fard and its sunnahs, then Tarawih, and Witr last. The Namaz İlmihali explains that Tarawih is prayed with its own intention, after Isha and its sunnahs and before Witr, and that if Tarawih is prayed in congregation, Witr is prayed in congregation as well. Outside Ramadan Witr is not prayed in congregation. If you reach the mosque late, pray Isha first and then join Tarawih where the congregation is. See how to pray Tarawih.

The Fajr and Isha congregation

The most burdensome prayers for the hypocrites are the ‘Ishā’ and Fajr prayers. If they were to know the virtue of them, they would come to them, even if they had to crawl.

Making up a missed Isha

The Isha fard is made up as 4 rakats. According to the High Council, Witr is made up along with the fard prayers, since it is wajib, but sunnahs are not made up once their time has passed. See how to make up missed prayers. The five prayers side by side are in how many rakats in each prayer.

Sources

1. Diyanet Presidency of Religious Affairs, Namaz İlmihali (Karagöz, Altuntaş), Ankara 2011 (Turkish): PDF
2. High Council of Religious Affairs, the time of Isha (Turkish): kurul.diyanet.gov.tr
3. High Council of Religious Affairs, which prayers are made up (Turkish): kurul.diyanet.gov.tr
4. TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, "Vitir Namazı" (Turkish): islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/vitir-namazi; "Rek'at": islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/rekat; "Vakit": islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/vakit