WHAT IS THE DUA E QUNOOT FOR ISHA WITR PRAYER?

June 3, 2012 at 11:55pm

DUA E QUNOOT FOR ISHA WITR PRAYER & ITS METHOD

DEFINATION OF QUNOOT :

According to the definition of the fuqaha,Qunoot is the name of a duaa (supplication) offered during
prayer at a specific point while standing. It is prescribed in Witr prayer (before or after ruku depending
upon the type of Qunoot prayer)

DESCRIBING DUA E QUNOOT, ITS TYPES, RULINGS AND METHOD

Which raka'at is the Dua Qunoot recited in?

1. The dua qunoot is to be recited in the last raka'at of our prayer


TYPES OF DUA QUNOOT AND THEIR DESCRIPTION


(i) Qunoot e Nazilah (Dua of the calamity - fardh salah)
(ii) Qunoot e witr (or the general Qunoot - isha'a witr )


Qunoot e Nazilah (Dua of the calamity - fardh salah) :


The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allaah be upon him) offered supplication (dua) at times of calamity
on a number of occasions (in fardh salah only) , and his supplication was appropriate (or related ) to the
calamity for which he was praying the Qunoot. For Qunoot e nazilah the proven sunnah from rasool
(s.a.w) and his sahabas (r.a.a) is that one has to make his qunoot (dua/supplication) specific to the
calamity befallen upon the Muslims or the situation and this qunoot (dua) is recited after getting up
from the rukoo in the last raka of any or all fardh salah.



Narrated by Abi Huraira : The Prophet used to invoke Allah in his prayer, "O Allah! Save 'Aiyash bin Abi
Rabi'a and Salama bin Hisham and Al-Walid bin Al-Walid; O Allah! Save the weak among the believers; O
Allah! Be hard upon the tribe of Mudar and inflict years (of famine) upon them like the (famine) years of
Joseph."
[Ref: Sahih Bukhari, Vol. 9, Book no. 85, hadith no. 73]


When he (s.a.w) prayed against some of the Arab tribes because of the severity of their enmity towards
Allaah and His Messenger, he said: O Allaah, punish Mudar severely and send upon them a famine like
that of Yoosuf.
[Ref: Narrated by Muslim (675)]


It was narrated that Ibn Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah
(blessings and peace of Allaah be upon him) prayed Qunoot for a month in Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib, Isha
and Fajr prayer, when he said: Samia Allaahu liman hamidah in the last rakah (i.e after getting up from
rukoo in the last rakah), praying against some tribes of Banu Sulaym, and against Ril, Dhakwaan and
Usayyah, and those who were behind him said Ameen.
[Ref: Narrated by Abu Dawood (1443). Ibn al-Qayyim said: A saheeh hadeeth. Zaad al-Maaad, 1/280;
classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood


He(s.a.w) said: O Allaah, curse Banu Lihyaan, Ril, Dhakwaan and Usayyah, for they have disobeyed
Allaah and His Messenger.
[Ref: Sahih Muslim 679]


Ibn Umar heard the Messenger of Allaah (blessings and peace of Allaah be upon him) say, when he
lifted his head from bowing in the second rakah of Fajr: O Allaah, curse So and so, and So and so, and
So and so, after he said Samia Allaahu liman hamidah, Rabbana wa lakal-hamd
[Ref: Sahih Bukhari 4070]



Raising the hands (to make dua) during the Qunoot e Nazilah

The Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) used to raise his hands in his qunoot an-naazilah,
supplicating against people.


[Ref: Saheeh: Ahmad 3/137, al-Mu'jam as-Sagheer, and al-Bayhaqee in Dalaa'il an-Nubuwwah and as-
Sunan al-Kubraa. See also: Irwaa' al-Ghaleel (2/181)].

Hence Qunoot e Nazilah is the Qunoot (supplication) made during the times of calamity or distress or
need. This type of qunoot (i.e Qunoot e nazilah) is made during fardh salah and the Qunoot has to be
said after getting up from the rukoo in the last rakat of any fardh prayer. One should raise his hands
during supplication (qunoot e nazilah)


Dua e Qunoot for Nazilah :

As stated above the prophet (s.a.w) used to keep the qunoot e nazilah specific to the situation and so
did the sahabas. The prophet (s.a.w) used different dua's and wordings at different situations. Also, dua
is something which is not restricted (except when ordered specifically by the prophet) and one can make
any dua (qunoot) during the qunoot e nazilah. However, from a narration we learn tht the second rightly
guided khalifa - Umar Ibn Al Khattab (R.a) recited the below dua when he supplicated against the
kuffars :

, , , , , ,
, , ,


Transliteration : 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 al-jadd bil kuffaari mulhaq.
Allaahumma adhdhib il-kafarata ahl al-kitaab alladheena yasuddoona an sabeelika



Translation : 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




[Ref: Narrated by al-Bayhaqi, 2/210; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Irwa, 2/170. 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]



Qunoot e witr (or the general Qunoot - isha'a witr )

Qunoot e witr is the dua which is said during the regular Isha'a witr prayer. it is also a supplication which
one makes during the last rakat of the witr prayer. the Dua to be said in Qunoot e witr is not the same as
Qunoot e nazilah because this is a general dua and not a dua made specifically for a calamity and its likes.



The version (of the qunoot witr) which the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) taught to al-Hasan ibn Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him), which is:




Transliteration : Allaahumma ihdini feeman hadayta wa aafini feeman aafayta wa tawallani feeman
tawallayta wa baarik li feema atayta, wa qini sharra ma qadayta , fa innaka taqdi wa la yuqda alayk, wa
innahu laa yadhillu man waalayta wa laa yaizzu man aadayta, tabaarakta Rabbana wa taaalayta la
munji minka illa ilayk


Translation : "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.
[Ref : Narrated by Abu Dawood, 1213; al-Nasaai, 1725; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Irwa, 429+


We can add any dua to the above dua e qunoot taught by rasool (s.a.w) because dua is something which
is not restricted and a slave can make as much dua as he likes. you may recite any duas from the
glorious Quran or from the hadith or you may visit the below link to learn some more duas which you
could add to your qunoot during your witr :



Link : Some more duas which could be added to the dua e qunoot e witr

There is another famous dua which the hanafi's recite in their isha'a witr. this dua is not proven as a
sunnah from rasool (s.a.w) but the meaning is beautiful. However, one may or can recite this dua after
reciting the qunoot taught by rasool (s.a.w) to hassan (r.a) because it is better to first recite what the
prophet (s.a.w) taught and then what we wish to. this dua can be viewed from the link below :



Link : Allahumma inni nas taenuka wa nastaghfiruka...cont

Should we directly start reciting the dua e Qunoot ?
Some scholars like Imaam al-Nawawi (r.h) and others said in al-Adhkaar, p 176 that it is Mustahab
(Highly Recommended) whereas some other scholars consider it to be compulsory to Praise Allah first
and then send Blessings (Durood Ibrhaim or the likes of it) upon the Prophet (s.a.w) and then ask or
supplicate whatever one wants because of the Following Hadiths :



1) It is narrated from Faddaalah ibn Ubayd (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said: The Messenger
of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) heard a man making duaa in his prayer without
glorifying Allaah or sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, This man is in a hurry. He called
him and said to him or to someone else, When anyone of you makes duaa, let him start by glorifying
his Lord and praising Him, then let him send blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him), then let him pray for whatever he wants.
[Ref: Abu Dawood (1481) and al-Tirmidhi (3477) ]



2) Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: Duaa is detained (stopped) between the heavens and
the earth and no part of it is taken up until you send blessings upon your Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him).
[Ref: Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 486]



End the dua qunoot by sending blessings on the prophet (s.a.w)
Because it was narrated that some of the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) including
Ubayy ibn Kab and Muaadh al-Ansaary (may Allaah be pleased with them) did that at the end of
Qunoot al-Witr.

[Ref: See Tasheeh al-Duaa by Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd, p. 460+



The Dua Qunoot should be said before rukoo or after?

There is a valid difference of opinion amongst scholars regarding this topic. However to summarize,
most of the scholars say one can make the dua either before the rukoo or after the rukoo and both are
permissible.



The reasons scholars give regarding the permissibility of saying the qunoot after rukoo in Isha'a witr is
the general evidence that rasool (s.a.w) used to say the qunoot e nazilah in fardh prayer after rukoo and
also because there are certain ahadith and athar from the sahabas (but they are weak according to
muhadiths ). Another principle based on which they grant it permissible is that


"Whatever is established for the naazilah qunoot (performed in the obligatory prayers) is also
acceptable for the qunoot of witr prayer. This is supported by the principle that whatever is allowed in
an obligatory act is also allowed in an optional act, unless there exists specific evidence to prohibit it. "


The second option and the better or safer option is that Qunoot e witr should be recited before the
rukoo only. This is because there is no specific sahih/hasan hadith which indicates that rasool (s.a.w) or
the sahabas (r.a.a) (during their normal Isha'a witr prayer) recited the qunoot after rukoo. Rather what
is proven from the sahabas (r.a.a) is that thr isha'a witr qunoot is recited before the rukoo itself.


Narrated by 'Asim : I asked Anas bin Malik about the qunut. Anas replied, "Definitely it was (recited)". I
asked, "Before bowing or after it?" Anas replied, "Before bowing." I added, "So and so has told me that
you had informed him that it had been after bowing." Anas said, "He told an untruth (i.e. "was
mistaken," according to the Hijazi dialect). Allah's Apostle recited qunut after bowing (i.e qunoot e
nazilah) for a period of one month." Anas added, "The Prophet sent about seventy men (who knew the
Quran by heart) towards the pagans (of Najd) who were less than they in number and there was a peace
treaty between them and Allah's Apostles (but the Pagans broke the treaty and killed the seventy men).
So Allah's Apostle recited qunut for a period of one month asking Allah to punish them."
[Ref: Sahih Bukhari, Volume 2, Book 16, Number 116 ]



In Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah it is mentioned that for this very reason the Sahaaba-e-Kiraam (radhiallahu
anhum) used to recite the qunoot before ruku.


Allaama Ibn Hajar (R.A.) writes in his commentary on Bukhari, Fath al-Bari that after analysing all these
narrations we learn that it was the normal practice to recite the qunoot before ruku. However on
certain occasions (such as the befalling of a calamity, etc.) the qunoot would be recited after ruku.
[Ref: Fath ul Bahri vol. 1, pg. 291]


Hence in order to follow what is safe or what is better as proven by the sahabas (r.a.a), one should
recite his qunoot e witr before the rukoo



Should hands be raised during dua (qunoot e witr) ?

Raising the hands here implies that the palm is pointed or kept towards the sky for making dua. This is
again a topic upon which scholars have differed. some say it is mustahab (recommended), some say it is
allowed and some say it is better not to do so.




Those who support raising the hands for dua being permissible bring forward the evidence that :

1. From Ibn Masood that he used to raise his hands in the Witr then after that hewould lower them.
[Ref: chain Hasan Collected by Abdur Razzaq (4/325)]


2. Narrations from prophet (s.a.w) and sahabas like Umar (r.a), Ibn abbas (r.a) and etc which state that
they raised their hands during Qunoot e Nazilah. The scholars (to support raising the hands in Isha'a witr)
imply the principle that "whatever is allowed in an obligatory act , it is also allowed in an optional
(sunnah or nafil) act unless there is evidence prohibiting it"

[Ref : Collected by Ibn Abee Shaybah (3/316), Bayhaqi (2/212) & Ibn al-Mundhir (5/213)][Ref: Saheeh
Collected by Ibn Abee Shaybah (2/316)]


3. Another general evidence is - Narrated that Salmaan (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: Your Lord, may He be blessed
and exalted, is Kind and Most Generous, and He is too kind to let His slave, if he raises his hands (palms
facing the sky) to Him, bring them back empty. (i.e Allah very kind and doesn't like to reject the dua of
his slave who makes dua like a beggar)

[Ref: Abu Dawood (1488) Classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood, 1320]


However, there is no sahih hadith which informs us specifically that rasool (s.a.w) or the majority of the
sahabas (r.a.a) raised their hands for making dua during qunoot e witr. Hence keeping the below hadith
in mind :
It is narrated by al-Numaan ibn Basheer (r.a) that Rasool (s.a.w) said " That which is lawful is Clear and
that which is unlawful is clear, and between the two of them there are doubtful matters about which
not many people know. Thus he who avoids doubtful matters clears himself (i.e. saves himself) in regard
to his religion and his honour, but he who falls into doubtful matters falls into that which is unlawful (i.e
sins himself)

[Ref: Sahih Muslim 1599 & Bukhari 3.267]


Al-Hasan bin Ali (r.a) who said: I committed to memory from the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi
wasallam, (the following words): "Leave that about which you are in doubt for that about which you are
in no doubt."

[Ref: Al-Tirmidhi and al-Nasaii related it, and al-Tirmidhi said: It is a good and genuine Hadith]


Therefore the safer option is to not raise our hands during qunoot e witr, rather supplicate with our
hands placed normally as we place them during salah (on our chest)



Saying Aameen During Qunoot (in Jama'at - Congregation)

It is permissible to say Aameen during Qunoot in jama'at if the Imam makes it loudly (like in ramadan)
because of the evidences :


In the Hadeeth from Ibn Abbas (r.a) who said that the Messenger of Allaah (s.a.w) made Qunoot for a
month continuously in the Dhuhr,Asr, Maghrib, Isha and morning prayer and at the end of every prayer
after he said Sami Allaahu liman hamida in the last Rakat of that prayer, he would make Dua against
the tribes of Bani Sulaym and those tribes of Dhakwaan and Usayatah who lived with Bani Sulaym, and
those behind the Messenger would say Ameen.
*Collected by Abu Daawood in his Sunnan no. 1443 in the chapter of al-Qunoot in the Prayer and
Shaykh Albani declared the hadeeth to be Hasan and he brings a research for the hadeeth in Irwaa al-
Ghaleel (2/163)+


Should we say the Dua e Qunoot e Witr always in every witr?

There is nothing wrong with that. The duaa of Qunoot is Sunnah and the Prophet (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) used to recite Qunoot. He taught Qunoot and the words of Qunoot in Witr to al-
Hasan, so it is Sunnah. If you recite it every night, there is nothing wrong with that, and if you omit it on
some occasions so that the people will know that it is not obligatory, there is nothing wrong with that
either. If the imam omits Qunoot on some occasions so that the people will know that is not obligatory,
there is nothing wrong with that. When the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) taught
al-Hasan Qunoot, he did not tell him to omit it on some days. This indicates that if he does it persistently,
there is nothing wrong with that.



Shaykh Abd al-Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) - Fataawa Noor ala al-Darb, 2/1062


All good is from Allah and all the mistakes are mine. May Allah have mercy on the one who corrects me.