Was observing qunoot during salaah (raising hand after rukoo) the common practice of the Prophet (sallaallahu alayhi wa sallam) or was it exceptional as the situation arose? Answer: Praise be to Allaah. Qunoot, according to the definition of the fuqaha, "is the name of a duaa(supplication) offered during prayer at a specific point while standing," It is prescribed in Witr prayer after the rukoo(bowing), according to the more correct of the two scholarly opinions. Similarly, if a calamity (naazilah) befalls the Muslims, it is prescribed to say Duaaal- Qunoot after standing up from rukooin the last rakah of each of the five daily obligatory prayers, until Allaah relieves the Muslims of that calamity, (See Tasheeh al-Duaaby Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd, p. 460).
Qunoot at Salaatul Fajr All the Time? With regard to saying Duaaal-Qunoot in Fajr prayer all the time, in all circumstances, there is no saheeh [authentic] report that the Prophet (sallaallahu alayhi wa sallam) singled out Fajr for Qunoot, or that he always recited it in Fajr prayer. Rather what is proven is that he said Duaaal-Qunoot at times of calamity with words that were appropriate to the situation. He said Duaaal-Qunoot in Fajr and in other prayers, praying against Ral, Dhakwaan and Usayyah for killing the Quraan readers whom the Prophet (sallaallahu alayhi wa sallam) had sent to them in order/ to teach them their religion.
And it was proven that he prayed inFajr prayer and other prayers for the weak and oppressed believers, that A1laahwould save them from their enemies. But he did not do that all the time. The Rightly-Guided Caliphs after him followed the same practice. It is better for the imam to limit Qunoot to times of calamity, following the example of the Messenger of Allaah (sallaallahu alayhi wa sallam), as it was proven that Abu Maalik al-Ashari said: "I said to my father, O my father, you prayed behind the Messenger of Allaah (sallaallahu alayhi wa sallam) and behind Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthmaan and Ali(RAA).
Did they use to say Duaaal-Qunoot in Fajr?He said, O my son, this is a newly invented matter." (Saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Irwa, 435). The best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (sallaallahu alayhi wa sallam). [AI-Lajnahal-Oaaimah lil-Buhooth al-lImiyyah waI-lftaa, 7/47]
Is there a specific wording for Qunoot during Witr prayer or at times of calamity? The answer is: for Duaaal-Qunoot in Witr prayer a number of wordings have been narrated, including the following:
1 - The version which the Messenger of Allaah (sallaallahu alayhi wa sallam) taught to al-Hasan ibn Ali (RA), which is: "Allaahumma ihdini feeman hadayta wa aafini feeman aafayta wa tawallani feeman tawallayta wa baarik Ii feema atayta, wa qini sharro ma qadayta , fa innaka taqdi wa la yuqda alayk. wa innahu laa yadhillu man waalayta wa laa yaizzu man aadayta, tabaarakta Rabbana we taaalayta la munji minka illa ilayk (O Allaah, guide me among those whom You have guided, pardon me among those whom You have pardoned, turn to me in friendship among those on whom You have turned in friendship, and bless me in what You have bestowed, and save me from the evil of what You have decreed.
For verily You decree and none can influence You; and he is not humiliated whom You have befriended, nor is he honoured who is Your enemy. Blessed are You, O Lord, and Exalted. There is no place of safety from You except with You)." (Abu Dawood; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Irwa).
It was narrated from Ali ibn Abi Taalib (RA) that the Prophet (sallaallahu alayhi wa sallam) used to say at the end of Witr: "Allaahumma inni aoodhu bi ridaaka min sakhatika wa bi muaafaatika min uqoobatika wa aoodhu bika minka, la uhsi thanaan alayka anta kama athnayta ala nafsika (O A1laah, I seek refuge in Your pleasure from Your wrath and in Your forgiveness from Your punishment. I cannot praise You enough; You are as You have praised Yourself." (Saheeh Abi Dawood).
Then he should send blessings upon the Prophet (sallaallahu alayhi wa sallam) as it was narrated that some of the Sahaabah (RAA) - including Ubayy ibn Kab and Muaadh al-Ansaary (RA) - did that at the end of Qunoot al-Witr. (See Tasheeh al-Duaaby Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd). Qunoot at times of calamity (Qunoot al-Naazilah) When praying Qunoot at the time of calamity, one should make supplication as is appropriate to the situation, as it was narrated that the Prophet (sallaallahu alayhi wa sallam) cursed some Arab tribes who had betrayed his companions and killed them, and he prayed for the weak and oppressed believers in Makkah, that Allaah would save them.
It was narrated that Umar prayed Qunoot with the following words: "Allaahumma inna nastaeenuka wa numinu bika, wa natawakkalu alayka wa nuthni alayka al-khayr, wa laa nakfuruka. Allaahumma iyyaaka nabudu wa laka nusalli wa nasjudu, wa ilayka nasaa wa nahfid. Narju rahmataka wa nakhsha adhaabaka, inna adhaabaka aljadd bit kuffaari mulhaq. Allaahumma adhdhib iI-kafarata ahl al-kitaab alladheena yasuddoona ansabeelika (O Allaah, verily we seek Your help, we believe in You, we put our trust in You and we praise You and we are not ungrateful to You. O Allaah, You alone we worship and to You we pray and prostrate, for Your sake we strive. We hope for Your mercy and fear Your punishment, for Your punishment will certainly reach the disbelievers. O Allaah, punish the infidels of the People of the Book who are preventing others from following Your way)." (Al-Bayhaqi,; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani)
Al-Albaani. said: This was reported from Umar concerning Qunoot in Fajr, and it seems that this Qunoot is Qunoot al-Naazilah (Qunoot at times of calamity) as is indicated by his praying against the kuffaar). Can we make duaausing words other than those mentioned here? The answer is: Yes, that is permissible. Al-Nawawi said in al-Majmoo(3/497): "The correct view which was stated definitively by the majority of scholars is that there are no specific words, rather any duaamay be said." The version narrated from Umar is not something that we have to follow, and the Prophet (sallaallahu alayhi wa sallam) did not pray using these words, so there is nothing wrong with adding more to them.
Shaykh al-Albaani (RAH) said: "There is nothing wrong with adding more to this, cursing the infidels and sending blessings upon the Prophet (sallaallahu alayhi wa sallam), and praying for the Muslims." (Qiyaam Ramadaan by al-Albaani). Should Duaaal-Qunoot be said before rukoo(bowing) or after? The answer is: Most of the ahaadeeth and the opinion of most of the scholars state that Qunoot comes after rukoo, but if you say Qunoot before rukoothat is acceptable. So you have the choice of doing rukoowhen you have finished reciting Quraan, then standing up and saying "Rabbana wa laka al-hamd" then saying Qunoot ... or saying Qunoot when you have finished reciting Quraan, then saying "Allaahu akbar" and bowing. Both of these were narrated in the Sunnah. (Shaykh Muhammad ibn Uthaymeen (RAH), al-Sharh al- Mumti, 4/64)
Note: The questioner says that the best of prayer is that which has longer Qunoot. Perhaps he is referring to the hadeeth narrated by Muslim (RAH) from Jaabir (RA), which says that the Prophet (sallaallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: "The best of prayer is tool alqunoot (the longest in standing)." Al-Nawawi said: "What is meant by qunoot here is the standing, according to the consensus of the scholars, as far as I know." So the hadeeth is not referring to Qunoot in the sense of the duaasaid after standing up from rukoo, rather it is referring to standing for a long time. And Allaah knows best.
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited