In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy,

From Abu Abdullah Mahir bin Thafir Al-Qahtani

To My Muslim brothers all across the globe, As-salaamu
aleykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, to proceed

All praise is due to Allah and Salutations and Peace be upon the
Messenger of Allah and his companions, to proceed

We praise Allah who there is no one worthy of worship except

Him for His great favors and signs, and from those favors is that
he has blessed us with reaching blessed occasions, such as the
blessed month of Ramadan, and what is in it from great acts of
obedience and gaining nearness to Allah. From those acts is the
Taraweeh Salah, that is established in Ramadan in
congregation. And in this salah qunnot is legislated both in
Ramadan and due to calamities. So, so long as it is worship
then it requires two condition in order to be valid, just like every
other form of worship. After tawheed, those two conditions are,
sincerity (ikhlaas) and following the messenger(mutaabaah).
So the one that does qunoot must offer it in the same way that
the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa salam) and his companions
(radhiallahu anhum) did. Their guidance is the best guidance.

Sufyan Ath-Thawree said (rahimahullah) said, Muhammad

(sallallahu alaihi wa salam) is the major benchmark, all actions
are measured against him, his guidance, his character, his
biography, what agrees with that is the truth and what differs
with it is falsehood. In that regard, many of the masjid imams
have brought something new in regard to the dua of qunoot, in
it is speaking to Allah with improper manners. Something that
they have been brought up upon from a young age, staying
with them until they are elderly. The general folk have taken
this from them to be a Sunnah without any evidence and if you
change it then sometimes they will say that you have changed
the Sunnah! This innovation is that if one of them makes dua in
the qunoot of witr in Ramadan or in the qunnot for calamities,
he recites it as if he were reciting the Quran. He recites it
melodiously in a way that if a non-Arab were to hear it, he
would think that he is reciting the Quran, whilst it is not from
the Quran. Rather this action is a reprehensible innovation
(derived from their minds) that has no evidence for it.

The proof of this is from many angles:

One:
The origin for all worship is that it is prohibited, due to the
statement of the Messenger (salallaahu Alaihi wa salam), as
occurs in Sahih Muslim, from the hadith of Aaishah (radiallahu
anhaa), Whoever innovated something in this affair of ours
what is not from it then it is rejected, and in one narration,
Whoever does an action that is not upon our affair then it is
rejected. That prohibition is not just in the actual worship
itself, but also in how its done, the reasons for doing it, the
time it is done, the quantity and its description, even if the
actual worship is established. So, the dua of qunoot in
Ramadan and in times of calamity is a prescribed worship, but
reciting it melodiously is prohibited until we see an evidence for
that. But there is no evidence for it, and if it was something
good, then they would have done it before us, and if they had
done it then it would have been well known due to the need to
narrate it. So, due to the recitation of it not being narrated in
those two situations, it is known that it is an innovation in the
religion and the Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa salam) said
The worst affairs are the newly invented ones and every newly
invented thing is an innovation and every innovation is a
misguidance.

Two:
The way of reciting melodiously is specifically for the Quran due
to what was narrated by Al-Bukhari in his Saheeh who said with
his chain to Abu Hurayra that the Messenger (sallallahu alaihi
wa salam) said He is not from us who does not recite
(melodiously) the Quran. The Messenger did not say with
dua so that one could do so with the seeking refuge with Allah
before reciting. There is no evidence for that, so it is an
innovation. If melodiously reciting dua was something
obligatory or recommended, then it would have been narrated,
but rather only reciting the Quran has been ordered, and every
good is in following those that have gone before us, and every
evil is in the innovations of those that came after.

Three:
Al-Alaamah Shaykh Muhammad bin Salih bin Uthaymeen
(rahimahullah) mentioned on nur ala ad-darb when he was
asked the following:

Is it permissible to use tajweed in other than the quran like

when reading the Hadith of the prophet (salalallahu alaihi wa
salam) or other than that?

He answered: Some of the scholars of tafsir mentioned about

the ayah And indeed, there is among them a party who alter
the Scripture with their tongues so you may think it is from the
Scripture, but it is not from the Scripture. And they say, "This is
from Allah," but it is not from Allah, some of the later scholars
of tafsir said that it means if people were to recite other than
the Quran in the same way they recite the Quran, like if we
were to recite the hadith of the messenger as we recite the
quran, or recite the speech of the scholars as we recite the
quran. So, it is not permissible for anyone to recite other than
the quran in the same way we recite the quran, especially as
the general people dont distinguish between the Quran and
other than the quran except by the way its recited.

I say that due to the way the Shaykh used this ayah as an
evidence to prohibit melodiously reciting the dua, it can be said
that when one recites the dua one could think that it is from the
Book even when its not and even if the reciter didnt intend
any deception. But resembling the kufars actions is prohibited
even if it isnt intended just as in the case of praying at the
time of sunset being prohibited even if it was voluntary prayer
because that is the prayer of the kufar. Doing it is prohibited for
us even if the intention is not to worship the sun because
resembling something outwardly could lead to resembling it
internally.

Four:
Elongating the dua is narrated by An-nisaaee with his chain to
Ubay bin Kab that the Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa salam)
would make witr with three rakah. He would recite Sabih ism
rabbik al-alaa in the first rakah, qul yaa ayuha al-kaafiroon in
the second rakah and qul huwa Allahu ahad in the third rakah.
Then he would make qunoot before ruku. Then after finishing
he would say subhaan al-malik al-qudoos three times and make
the last one longer.
So, saying make the last one longer shows that it is
elongated and if he elongated anything else then it would be
narrated as such. So, we elongate what he elongated and dont
elongate what he didnt. Like as in what As-Sakhaawee
narrated in Al-qawl al-badee that Al-Hasan bin Ali (radiyallahu
anhu) said, The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa salam)
taught me these words in witr and he did not order him to
make any elongation or recitation of the dua for qunoot, neither
did the Messenger do that. And if it was something good, he
would of ordered Al-Hasan to do it.

Shaykh-ul-Islaam said The Messenger (salalallahu alaihi wa

salam) leaving something is a Sunnah, just as him doing it is a
Sunnah. I say that leaving melodiously reciting the dua is a
sunnah (Sunnah tarkiyyah) and doing it is a bidah.

Five:
Shaykh-ul-Islam mentioned that melodiously reciting dua in the
prayer or generally is from the Christians way and whoever
resembles a people is from them. In his fatawa (28-603) he said
Placing melodies in the prayer was not ordered by the
messiah, nor his disciples. I say that it is understood from this
that Shaykh-ul-Islaam is forbidding what the Christians did by
innovating melodies in their prayer.

Six:
Some of the Ulama mentioned that melodiously reciting the
dua is from the way of the Shia and they are right. Look at
them in hajj and they are all reciting and singing the dua
together. Also, when they are next to what they believe to be
the graves of the Aal-al-bayt in the baqee. And whoever
resembles a people is from them.

Seven:
If you were to ask the one that melodiously recites the dua in
qunoot in congregation, if you make dua in the jumah khutbah,
or qunoot when you pray alone, or when calamity strikes you,
do you recite melodiously or politely without overburdening
yourself? So if he says to you I dont (recite it melodiously),
then say to him whats the difference? For the sharia, as
Shaykh-ul-Islam said, has come with similarities, so dont
distinguish between two similar things. Is it not said that that
thing done on the minbar is dua, and likewise what is done in
the qunoot of Ramadan or qunoot of calamity is dua? So why
do you melodiously recite that one and not the other?

And I mentioned this evidence to some of them along with

other evidences and they recanted, alhamdulillah, from that
overburdening.

So, if he says to you that it makes sense logically for the two to
be different, then say that the religion of Allah is not
established through logic or experimentation. The religion of
Allah is only established through the authentic texts. Imam
Malik said, Whoever innovates a good innovation in Islam
according to his opinion then he has claimed that the Prophet
betrayed the message. Read the statement of Allah Today I
have perfected for you your religion, completed my favor upon
you and am pleased for you Islam as your religion, so whatever
was not religion then is not religion now. Ash-Shaafiee said,
Whoever approves something then he has legislated. And
what is better than this is the statement of Allah, Do they have
partners legislating for them in the religion what Allah has not
permitted? And His statement, Say did Allah permit this for
you or do you utter a fabrication upon Allah?

So the intellect is not a proof in the legislation, neither Is

specifying worship and approving them with no textual
evidence. Ali (radiyallahu anhu) said, If this religion was
established by opinions then wiping the bottom of the foot
would be more appropriate than wiping the bottom.

Eight:
They say that the Arabs used to melodiously recite and the dua
is read in the Arabs language. So, we say, firstly prove that the
Arabs did that, and if this way of reciting was done specifically
in dua then it would have been narrated just as it is narrated
what the Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa salam) did when
completing witr. As was mentioned before, that he would say
subhaan al-malik al-qudoos three times, elongating the last
and not elongating what was before it. So, is it legislated for us
to elongate all of them due to the Arabs doing that generally?

Nine:
The Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa salam) informed us that a
people will transgress the bounds as regards to dua as Abu
Dawud narrates with his chain to Abu Naaama that Abdullah
bin Mughaffal heard his son say, Oh Allah, I ask you for the
white palace to the right as you enter Jannah. So, he said, Oh
my son, ask Allah for Jannah and seek refuge from the fire, for I
heard the Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa salam) say, There
will be in this nation a people will exceed the bounds in
purification and dua.

The Messenger didnt inform us how one could transgress the

bound in dua, so every way of making dua which isnt
according the Sunnah or as was done by the companions is a
transgression. That is because transgressing is overstepping
the legislated limits and this is an innovated way so the one
that does it has transgressed in dua, especially what we hear
from the inventive compositions, going up at times and going
down at other times. So how can this not be called
transgressing the bounds? For indeed when a text can carry
different meanings, then it carries all of the meanings except
when something indicates otherwise. So, if you ask about
transgressing, is it asking Allah for the impossible? Or giving
specific details when being general is possible? As occurs in the
sunan that a man said, Oh Allah I seek refuge in you from the
fire, its zaqoom (a tree in hell), and its chains, or another who
said, Oh Allah provide with the house or the palace to right of
the door of Jannah, so the Sahaba rebuked them and one of
them mentioned the hadith prohibiting transgression in dua. Or
is transgression innovating in the way it is done? The answer is
that it can take many meanings and is not specified to one
meaning at the expense of the others except with an evidence
and we have no evidence to specify the meaning. So, every
transgression is prohibited from because it is general,
encompassing the way it is done and everything else. And Allah
knows best.

Ten:
If they say we do it like that in order to soften the hearts and to
make the congregation have more khushoo, it is said to them
that the people who should be the first to get to this good that
you want is the Messenger and his companions. For the
Messenger (alaihi-ssalaam) said, There is no good that draws
you close to Allah or distances you from the fire except that I
have directed you to it. So where is his melodious reciting of
dua generally and specifically in the qunoot? Likewise, the
rightly guided caliphs after him? If he did do it then the ones
entrusted with his revelation (his truthful companions) would
not have hidden it. The innovation of reciting the talbiya in hajj
can be appended to this issue.
Eleven:
Not everyone that does an innovation is an innovator, as
mentioned by Shaikh-ul-Islam, on account of some
interpretation by the person or relying on a weak hadith that he
thinks is authentic or any other excuse if the scholar is known
for defending the Sunnah. Refer to his treatise on that (called
al-maaarij) as it is very beneficial.

Twelve:
Ruling an action that has no basis to be an innovation does not
require that an imam preceded with that ruling. This is because
innovation, as Al-Alaamah Al-Muhaddith Al-Faqeeh Al-albaani
said, is continuously revived. An-Nawawi (rahimahullah) said
that wiping over the neck is an innovation and did not mention
that anyone preceded him in that.
And it is narrated in the Musnad of Ar-Rawyaanee, Wiping on
the neck is a protection from rancor on the day of judgement.
(narrated with a weak chain), and Shaykh-ul-Islam ibn Taymiya
(rahimahullah) said, Islamic rulings are not built upon weak
hadith. But some people acted upon it wiping over their necks
during wudhu but it has not basis.

Thirteen:
So long as it is known that dua is a request directed to Allah,
then is it appropriate to melodiously recite that request or is it
bad manners with Allah? Would they accept that someone
melodiously recite when requesting something from a king of
one of the kings of the dunya? So how can they accept that a
request is melodiously recited to the King of kings? Indeed, we
fear for this person who mimics the Quran in its melodious
recitation that his dua is not accepted.

Fourteen:
If the Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa salam) or his companions
did not do an action then in order to judge it to be an
innovation it is not a condition that all the scholars agreed upon
that. Nor should someone use their differing as a proof to take
the action lightly. Rather if they differ in warning against an
innovation then the truth is with those that say it is an
innovation until the other party provide an evidence for doing
it. This is due to the principle that worship is prohibited (without
an evidence). Shaykh-ul-Islam ibn Taymiya said, If the scholars
differ then the statement of one scholar is not proof against the
other except with legislative evidence. And ibn Abdil-Barr said,
No one uses differing as a proof except the ignoramus. And
better than that is the statement of Our Lord, Most High, And if
you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger,
if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is the best
[way] and best in result. Shafiee said, The ummah since the
time of the Messenger of Allah have agreed that whoever has
the Sunnah made clear to him then it is not for him to reject it
in favor of the statement of anyone, no matter who that is.
And the consensus that he narrated does not differentiate
between those Sunnah tarkiya (things that the Messenger left)
or amaliya (that which he did). So, the Sunnah tarkiya takes
precedence over whoever opposed that from the ulama and
ruled (by some interpretation) it to be permissible. For the
speech of the scholars needs to be supported by evidence, it is
not an evidence in itself.

I heard some of those that ascribe to knowledge allowing an

innovation due to the differing of the scholars about it and thus
allowed so-called Islamic shows. This statement necessitates
also permitting the innovation of the mawlid because some
scholars like Al-Sakhaawee permitted it, and a true follower of
the salaf would not say that.

Fifteen:
The fact that an innovation is widespread amongst the people
does not mean that it has a foundation in the sharia. Allah says,
And if you obey most of those upon the earth, they will
mislead you from the way of Allah. The people are not
legislators, only Allah is the Legislator and the time when tacit
approval was proof was the time of the Messenger of Allah
(sallahu alaihi wa salam) and his companions.

And Allah is Most High and knows best. May the Salutations,
Sanctity and Blessings of Allah be upon his Messenger
Muhammad and Also upon his family and companions.

Written by Shaykh Mahir bin Thafir Al-Qahtani

Translated by Abu Hafsa Khalid Coutet