Repeating a Surah in One Rakʿah and the Virtue of Reciting Ten Verses at Night

24-5-2026 | IslamWeb

Question:

‏السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاتهProphet Muhammad (?) stated that whoever recites ten verses in the night will not be recorded among the negligent (those who are heedless).I only pray witr I don’t pray sunnah of isha or any other prayer after isha, except the witr and in it I recited 3 time surah ikhlas, so I get reward for reciting more than 10 to become part of the narration and also the full Quran. Is this bidah? Can I just recite 10 ayat in witr and can I make it surah ikhlas 3 times?

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad (ﷺ) is His Slave and Messenger.

Some scholars considered it disliked to repeat Surah Al-Ikhlas or any other surah within a single rakʿah, whether in Witr prayer or otherwise. Al-Sawi said in his commentary on Ash-Sharh As-Saghir:

“It has been narrated from Malik that he disliked repeating a surah, such as Surah Al-Ikhlas, within the same rakʿah. The apparent meaning of what is reported from Malik is that this dislike applies even in voluntary prayers.” [End quote.]

In any case, it is better not to repeat the surah, because the guidance of the Prophet (ﷺ) was not to repeat surahs during the prayer.

Although Surah Al-Ikhlas is equal to one-third of the Qur’an in reward, a person who repeats it three times is not equal to one who recites the entire Qur’an from beginning to end. There is no doubt that the latter is greater in reward.

The virtue mentioned in the hadith, “Whoever recites ten verses...,” may be attained in Witr prayer or other prayers by reciting Al-Fatihah along with any surah, because Al-Fatihah consists of seven verses and the shortest surah contains three verses, making a total of ten verses.

In all cases, you should strive against yourself to remain consistent in praying the regular Sunnah prayer after ʿIsha’.

As for praying Witr with only one rakʿah, this is permissible and not disliked, although what is better, more virtuous, and the minimum level of completeness is to pray two rakʿahs before the final one-rakʿah Witr.

Allah Knows best.