Caution: Translations of Quran and Ḥadīth may lead to possible misapplications and misinterpretations. This site is intended for students of sacred knowledge that are proficient in comprehending classical Arabic and have a strong foundation in Islamic sciences. Also note that religious injunctions rely on several aspects beyond what one may glean through reading individual aḥādīth.
Qurʾān Bukhārī Muslim Nasāʾī Abū Dāwūd Tirmidhī Ibn Mājah Mālik Aḥmad Dārimī Ḥākim Ibn Ḥibbān Ṭabarānī Nasāʾī's Kubrá Bayhaqī al-Luʾluʾ wa-al-Marjān Ibn Rajab's Fifty Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn Aḥmad's Zuhd Suyūṭī

ذِكْرُ الْإِبَاحَةِ لِلْمَرْءِ تَأْخِيرَ الْوِتْرِ إِلَى آخِرِ اللَّيْلِ إِذَا طَمَعَ فِي التَّهَجُّدِ، وَتَعْجِيلَهُ قَبْلَ النَّوْمِ إِذَا كَانَ آيِسًا مِنْهُ

ibnhibban:2446 – al-Ḥasan b. Sufyān And ʾAbū Yaʿlá > Muḥammad b. ʿAbbād al-Makkī > Yaḥyá b. Sulaym > ʿUbaydullāh b. ʿUmar > Nāfiʿ > Ibn ʿUmar

[Machine] The Prophet ﷺ said to Abu Bakr, "When do you pray the Witr prayer?" He said, "I pray Witr and then sleep." The Prophet said, "You have preferred determination." Then he asked Umar, "When do you pray the Witr prayer?" He said, "I sleep and then get up at night to pray Witr." The Prophet said, "You have chosen the action of the strong."  

ابن حبّان:٢٤٤٦ – أَخْبَرَنَا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ سُفْيَانَ وَأَبُو يَعْلَى قَالَا حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبَّادٍ الْمَكِّيُّ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ سُلَيْمٍ عَنْ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ عَنْ نَافِعٍ عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ

أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ قَالَ لِأَبِي بَكْرٍ «مَتَى تُوتِرُ؟ » قَالَ أُوتِرُ ثُمَّ أَنَامُ قَالَ «بِالْحَزْمِ أَخَذْتَ» وَسَأَلَ عُمَرَ «مَتَى تُوتِرُ؟ » قَالَ أَنَامُ ثُمَّ أَقُومُ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ فَأَوْتِرُ قَالَ «فِعْلَ الْقَوِيِّ أَخَذْتَ»  

See similar narrations below:

Collected by Abū Dāwūd, Ḥākim, Bayhaqī
abudawud:1434 – Muḥammad b. Aḥmad b. Abū Khalaf > Abū Zakariyyā Yaḥyá b. Isḥāq al-Saylaḥīnī > Ḥammād b. Salamah > Thābit > ʿAbdullāh b. Rabāḥ > Abū Qatādah

The Prophet ﷺ asked AbuBakr: When do you observe the witr? He replied: I observe the witr prayer in the early hours of the night. The Prophet ﷺ asked Umar: When do you observe the witr? He replied: At the end of the night. He then said to AbuBakr: This has followed it with care; and he said to Umar: He has followed it with strength.  

أبو داود:١٤٣٤ – حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ أَبِي خَلَفٍ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو زَكَرِيَّا يَحْيَى بْنُ إِسْحَاقَ السَّيْلَحِينِيُّ حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ عَنْ ثَابِتٍ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ رَبَاحٍ عَنْ أَبِي قَتَادَةَ

أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ قَالَ لأَبِي بَكْرٍ مَتَى تُوتِرُ قَالَ أُوتِرُ مِنْ أَوَّلِ اللَّيْلِ وَقَالَ لِعُمَرَ مَتَى تُوتِرُ قَالَ آخِرَ اللَّيْلِ فَقَالَ لأَبِي بَكْرٍ أَخَذَ هَذَا بِالْحَزْمِ وَقَالَ لِعُمَرَ أَخَذَ هَذَا بِالْقُوَّةِ  

hakim:1120 – Abū Bakr b. Isḥāq al-Faqīh > Bishr b. Mūsá > Yaḥyá b. Isḥāq al-Saylaḥīnī > Ḥammād b. Salamah > Thābit > ʿAbdullāh b. Rabāḥ > Abū Qatādah

[Machine] The Prophet ﷺ said to Abu Bakr, "When do you perform the Witr prayer?" He said, "I perform it before I sleep." And he said to Umar, "When do you perform the Witr prayer?" He said, "I sleep first and then perform it." The Prophet ﷺ said to Abu Bakr, "You have chosen certainty" or "the definite way." And he said to Umar, "You have chosen strength."  

الحاكم:١١٢٠ – حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ إِسْحَاقَ الْفَقِيهُ أَنْبَأَ بِشْرُ بْنُ مُوسَى ثنا يَحْيَى بْنُ إِسْحَاقَ السَّيْلَحِينِيُّ ثنا حَمَّادُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ عَنْ ثَابِتٍ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ رَبَاحٍ عَنْ أَبِي قَتَادَةَ

أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ قَالَ لِأَبِي بَكْرٍ «مَتَى تُوتِرُ؟» قَالَ أُوتِرُ قَبْلَ أَنْ أَنَامَ وَقَالَ لِعُمَرَ «مَتَى تُوتِرُ؟» قَالَ أَنَامُ ثُمَّ أُوتِرُ فَقَالَ لِأَبِي بَكْرٍ «أَخَذْتَ بِالْجَزْمِ» أَوْ بِالْوَثِيقَةِ وَقَالَ لِعُمَرَ «أَخَذْتَ بِالْقُوَّةِ»  

هَذَا حَدِيثٌ صَحِيحٌ عَلَى شَرْطِ مُسْلِمٍ وَلَمْ يُخَرِّجَاهُ وَلَهُ شَاهِدٌ بِإِسْنَادٍ صَحِيحٍ على شرط مسلم
hakim:1121 – Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad b. Ṣāliḥ b. Hāniʾ > al-Ḥusayn b. Muḥammad b. Ziyād > ʿAlī b. ʿĪsá > al-Ḥusayn b. Idrīs al-Anṣārī > Muḥammad b. ʿAbbād al-Makkī > Thnā Yaḥyá b. Sulaym > ʿUbaydullāh > Nāfiʿ > Ibn ʿUmar

[Machine] The Prophet ﷺ said to Abu Bakr, "When do you pray the Witr?" He said, "I pray Witr and then sleep." The Prophet ﷺ said, "You have taken the decisive action." He asked Umar and he said, "When do you pray the Witr?" He said, "I sleep and then I wake up during the night to pray Witr." The Prophet ﷺ said, "Doing what the strong one does, you have done." Sahih.  

الحاكم:١١٢١ – حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو جَعْفَرٍ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ صَالِحِ بْنِ هَانِئٍ ثنا الْحُسَيْنُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ زِيَادٍ وَحَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ عِيسَى ثنا الْحُسَيْنُ بْنُ إِدْرِيسَ الْأَنْصَارِيُّ قَالَا ثنا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبَّادٍ الْمَكِّيُّ ثنا ثنا يَحْيَى بْنُ سُلَيْمٍ عَنْ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ عَنْ نَافِعٍ عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ

أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ قَالَ لِأَبِي بَكْرٍ «مَتَى تُوتِرُ؟» قَالَ أُوتِرُ ثُمَّ أَنَامُ قَالَ «بِالْجَزْمِ أَخَذْتَ» وَسَأَلَ عُمَرَ فَقَالَ «مَتَى تُوتِرُ؟» قَالَ أَنَامُ ثُمَّ أَقُومُ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ فَأُوتِرُ قَالَ «فِعْلَ الْقَوِيِّ فَعَلْتَ» صحيح  

bayhaqi:4841 – Muḥammad b. ʿAbdullāh al-Ḥāfiẓ > Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad b. Ṣāliḥ b. Hāniʾ > al-Ḥusayn b. Muḥammad b. Ziyād > Muḥammad b. ʿAbbād al-Makkī > Yaḥyá b. Sulaym > ʿUbaydullāh > Nāfiʿ > Ibn ʿUmar

[Machine] That the Prophet ﷺ said to Abu Bakr, "When do you pray the Witr (night prayer)?" He said, "I pray the Witr and then sleep." He said, "With determination, I also asked Umar, and he said, 'When do you pray the Witr?' I said, 'I sleep and then wake up during the night and pray the Witr.'" He said, "The action of a strong person, you have done."  

البيهقي:٤٨٤١ – أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللهِ الْحَافِظُ ثنا أَبُو جَعْفَرٍ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ صَالِحِ بْنِ هَانِئٍ ثنا الْحُسَيْنُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ زِيَادٍ ثنا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبَّادٍ الْمَكِّيُّ ثنا يَحْيَى بْنُ سُلَيْمٍ عَنْ عُبَيْدِ اللهِ عَنْ نَافِعٍ عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ

أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ قَالَ لِأَبِي بَكْرٍ ؓ مَتَى تُوتِرُ؟ قَالَ أُوتِرُ ثُمَّ أَنَامُ قَالَ بِالْحَزْمِ أَخَذْتَ وَسَأَلَ عُمَرَ فَقَالَ مَتَى تُوتِرُ؟ قَالَ أَنَامُ ثُمَّ أَقُومُ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ فَأُوتِرُ قَالَ فِعْلُ الْقَوِيِّ فَعَلْتَ