Musnad Ahmad 36779

Arabic

حَدَّثَنَا وَكِيعٌ، حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ، عَنْ أَبِي إِسْحَاقَ، عَنْ عَاصِمِ بْنِ ضَمْرَةَ، عَنْ عَلِيٍّ، رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ الْوَتْرُ لَيْسَ بِحَتْمٍ مِثْلَ الصَّلَاةِ وَلَكِنَّهُ سُنَّةٌ سَنَّهَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ‏.‏

Translation

Narrated by It was narrated that ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) said:

Witr is not an essential like regular prayer, but it is a Sunnah that was established by the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).

Reference