My mother wants to know if there is any mustahab recitation in witr.
Bismillahi Ta’ala
Walaikum Assalam Warahmatullah,
Yes, there are mustaḥabb (recommended) recitations for Witr salah.
ʿAllāmah al-Ḥaṣkafī ʳʰ mentions in ad-Durr al-Mukhtār (2/5): “He recites in every rakʿah of it Sūrat al-Fātiḥah and another sūrah (as precaution), and the Sunnah is the three specific sūrahs.”
ʿAllāmah Ibn ʿĀbidīn ʳʰ explains this in his ḥāshiyah, Radd al-Muḥtār:
“The three Sunnah sūrahs are al-Aʿlā, al-Kāfirūn, and al-Ikhlāṣ. However, in an-Nihāyah it is mentioned that fixing these three permanently could lead some people to think they are obligatory, and that is not permissible. So if one recites what is narrated in the ḥadīth sometimes without always doing so, it is good.”
Thus, it is mustaḥabb to recite:
- 1st rakʿah: Sūrat al-Aʿlā
- 2nd rakʿah: Sūrat al-Kāfirūn
- 3rd rakʿah: Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ
However, one should occasionally vary the recitations to avoid people assuming that this specific pattern is wājib.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Faisal al-Mahmudi