Linguistically, the word qunut in the Quran refers to supplicating, being silent, and standing. The qunut of salat refers to a silent du‘a in the final rak‘a of Subh (Fajr) prayer. In the Maliki school it is lightly recommended (mandub) and its description is as follows:
Description
1 It is said in Fajr prayer only
2 In the second rak‘a
3 Before the ruku‘
4 Recited silently
5 Any supplication is allowed
6 It is recommended to recite the du‘a of Hafd & Khal’ below.
The Favored Du‘a for Qunut
Allahumma inna nasta‘inuka
Wa nastaghfiruka
Wa nu‘minu bika
Wa natawakkalu ‘alayka
Wa nakhsha‘u laka
Wa nakhla‘u wa natruku man yakfuruk.
Allahumma iyyaka na‘bud
Wa laka nusalli wa nasjud
Wa ilayka nas‘a wa nahfid.
Narju rahmatak wa nakhafu ‘adhabak al-jid.
Inn ‘adhabaka lil kafirina mulhiq.
English
O Allah we seek Your help alone.
We seek Your forgiveness.
We believe in You.
We rely on You
We humble ourselves before You.
We and forsake [evil] for Your sake, and abandon whoever rejects You.
O Allah, we worship You alone.
We pray and prostrate to You alone.
Unto You alone we strive and hurry.
We seek Your mercy and fear your painful punishment.
For your punishment of non-believers is immanent.
Arabic
اللَّهُمَّ إنَّا نَسْتَعِينُكَ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُك وَنُؤْمِنُ بِك وَنَتَوَكَّلُ عَلَيْك
.وَنَخْشَعُ لَك وَنَخْلَعُ وَنَتْرُكُ مَنْ يَكْفُرُكَ
اللَّهُمَّ إيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَلَك نُصَلِّي وَنَسْجُدُ
وَإِلَيْك نَسْعَى وَنَحْفِدُ
نَرْجُو رَحْمَتَكَ وَنَخَافُ عَذَابَكَ الْجِدَّ
إنَّ عَذَابَك بِالْكَافِرِينَ مُلْحِقٌ
Why is it silent?
Dusuqi says the default of du‘a is that it be silent out of fear of riya‘, and hence qunut is said silently.
Do we do two sujud sahw if we do not do it intentionally or forgetfully?
It is a light recommendation (mandub) not a sunna mu‘akkada, and therefore, there is no sahw if one does not do it, even intentionally.
Why is it before ruku‘?
Nafrawi cites the Bukhari hadith: Anas was asked about the Prophet’s qunut. He said, he ﷺ did it before ruku‘. The questioner said, someone said you said he ﷺ did it after ruku‘. Anas said, he is mistaken, the only time he ﷺ did it after ruku‘ was for one month when his emissaries were betrayed and killed, so he ﷺ made du‘a against that tribe for one month, then he stopped.
What if one forgets to say it before ruku‘?
If one forgets to do it before ruku‘, they may do it after ruku‘. A benefit of doing it before ruku‘ is better is that it allows the late-comer trying to catch the rak‘a to make it in time. If a person made ruku‘ then remembered qunut and stood back up to say the qunut, then entered ruku‘ again, his prayer would be nullified because he would have left a fard for a mandub and also would have ended up doing two ruku‘ in one rak‘a.
Can we do qunut in other prayers?
It is a light recommendation (mandub) in Subh (Fajr prayer) only and is discouraged in any other prayer, including Ramadan. There is a solitary narration that the Prophet ﷺ made qunut in Maghrib once, but the Companions never acted upon it, so it is deemed an exception or abrogated and hence not acted upon, as per Nafrawi. However, if it is said in any other prayer, it does not invalidate it.
Where did the preferred du‘a come from?
Nafrawi cites Abu Dawud’s narration that when the Prophet ﷺ was doing qunut against the tribes that killed the seventy Quran teachers, the Angel Jibril descended and informed the Prophet ﷺ that he was sent as a mercy, and not to supplicate against anyone, and then taught him the du‘a we have mentioned above. Hence, the Prophet ﷺ loved it and continued doing it until he returned to his Lord. Ibn Wahab, Suyuti and many others mention that this dua was actually two suras of Quran known as Surat al-Hafd and Surat al-Khal‘, but they were then abrogated. Ibn Mas‘ud had them written in his mushaf. The Musannaf of Ibn Abi Shayba says that ‘Umar and ‘Ali used to recite them in qunut.
What about the famous payer: Allahumma ihdina fi man hadayt?
The Mudawwana states that the above supplication is what the Prophet ﷺ preferred. In the Talqin, Qadi ‘Abd al-Wahhab cites this same du‘a but with the following additional lines:
اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِنَا فِيمَنْ هَدَيْت، وَعَافِنَا فِيمَنْ عَافَيْت
وَقِنَا شَرَّ مَا قَضَيْت، إنَّك تَقْضِي بِالْحَقِّ وَلَا يُقْضَى عَلَيْك
وَإِنَّهُ لَا يَذِلُّ مَنْ وَالَيْت وَلَا يَعِزُّ مَنْ عَادَيْت
تَبَارَكْت رَبَّنَا وَتَعَالَيْت
Allahumma ihdine fi man hadayt, wa ‘afina fi man ‘afayt
Wa qina sharra ma qadayt, innaka taqdi wa la yuqda ‘alayk.
Wa innahu la yadhillu man walayt, wa la ya‘izzu man ‘adayt
Tabarakta rabbana wa ta‘alayt
O Allah, guide us among those You guided and protect us among those You protected.
And guard us from the pains of what You decreed, for You decree truth,
And none decrees anything upon You.
Truly, none whom You protect is ever debased, and none whom You oppose is honored.
Blessed are You our Lord Most High.
How can we seek refuge from destiny if it is destined?
This prayer seeks refuge from destiny, which leads us to ask how we can ask for something inconceivable such as avoiding our destiny. Qarafi answers this by noting some destinies are conditional (qadar mu‘allaq). For example, a bad thing would happen on the condition that one does not pray. If he prays, it does not happen. Or vice-versa. Another understanding is that it specifies the harm within the decree. So the decree will come down but it will not harm us, just as rain falls but if we are indoors we do not get harmed by it.
Do we raise our hands?
Nafrawi says the hands should not be raised when doing qunut, just as they are not raised when saying ameen after Fatiha or making du‘a after tashahhud.
Is it recommended to say the qunut in make-up prayers?
If a person missed the first rak‘a with the imam and owes a rak‘a after the group salams out, then the relied upon position states that it is still mandub for him to do qunut in his make-up rak‘a. Likewise, if someone missed Subh and prays it later as qada, it is still mandub to qunut in his make-up prayer.
What if the imam does it out loud or does not say it at all?
If the imam is Shafi‘i and makes du‘a out loud then we should say ameen and not do our own qunut while he does his. If the imam is Hanafi and does not do qunut, then you can say a quick du‘a after he completes his recitation before entering ruku‘.
Written by: Shadee Elmasry
Source: Nafrawi on Risala and Dusuqi on Al-Sharh al-Kabir
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