Qunut
Encyclopedia
Al Qunut literally means "being obedient" or "the act of standing" in Arabic. The word is usually used in reference to special supplication
s made in certain prayers while in the standing posture. For example, it is sunnah
to supplicate with qunut in the witr prayer during the entire year. Ahmad, at-Tirmidhi, and Abu Dawud record that Hasan ibn Ali
said: "The Messenger of Allah taught me the [following] words to say during the witr prayer:
"O Allah! Guide me with those whom You have Guided, and strengthen me with those whom You have given strength, take me to Your care with those whom You have taken to Your care, Bless me in what You have given me, Protect me from the evil You have Ordained. Surely You Command and are not commanded, and none whom You have committed to Your care shall be humiliated [and none whom You have Taken as an enemy shall taste glory]. You are Blessed, our Lord, and Exalted."
was related by Ibn Majah and Muhammad ibn Nasr. In Fath al-Bari, Ibn Hajar comments that its chain is faultless.
But widely, the scholars of Islam and the regular practice at Masjid al-Haram
, Mecca
, is to recite the Qunut Prayer after getting up from Ruku, in the last Rakah of Witr i.e., the 3rd Rakah of Witr at Isha (The late night prayer)
According to the Hanafi opinion, one is supposed to give Takbeer (Say Allahu Akbar and raise his palms till ear lobes and hold them back below or above navel with right hand over left) before going into Ruku in 3rd Rakah and recite the Following Qunut Prayer also called as Dua-e-Qunoot (Prayer of Qunoot)
Qunoot Prayer:
O' Allah ! I seek help from you, ask forgiveness from You, and believe in You and praise You for all the good things and are grateful to You and we part and break off with all those who disobedient to You. O Allah, You alone do we worship and pray exclusively to You and bow before You alone and we hasten eagerly towards You and fear Your severe punishment and hope for Your mercy, for Your severe punishment is surely to be meted out to the disbelievers:
After reciting the Dua, Bend in Ruku and perform the rest of the Namaaz/Salath.
Al-Qunoot has many linguistic meaning
s, such as humility, obedience and devotion. However, it is more understood to be a special du'a which is recited during the prayer.
It has been narrated in Abu Dawud that the Messenger of Allah used to recite al-Qunoot whenever a major difficulty or disaster befell the Muslims.
He would perform the Qunoot in the last Rak'ah of the Salah after performing Ruku and saying 'Sami'Allahu liman hamidah' (Allah listens to those who praise him); then put hands across navel/chest or raise hands (whilst still focusing on the place of Sujud) and supplicate the Qunoot, after which He would make Sujud and conclude the prayer.
Du'a qunoot is recommended to be recited in the Witr prayer. The Witr prayer, according to Imam Abu Hanifah is wajib (obligation). The other Imams consider the Witr prayer as Sunnah Mu'akkadah. It can be offered after the Isha prayer right up to the break of dawn.
Below is a collection of the various du'a qunut that may be recited:
O Allah! We seek Your assistance and ask for Your guidance, and we beseech Your forgiveness and return to You in repentance. We cherish faith in You and place our trust in You. We attribute all goodness to You. We are grateful to You and refuse to be ungrateful to You. We abandon and forsake all those who reject You. O Allah, You alone we worship, unto You alone we pray; unto You alone we prostrate, and for You alone we strive. Unto You alone we flee for refuge. We cherish hope in Your mercy and we fear Your retribution. Verily, Your punishment is bound to catch up with those who reject the truth.
O Allah! Guide me with those whom You have Guided, and strengthen me with those whom You have given strength, take me to Your care with those whom You have taken to Your care, Bless me in what You have given me, Protect me from the evil You have Ordained. Surely You Command and are not commanded, and non whom You have committed to Your care shall be humiliated [and non whom You have Taken as an enemy shall taste glory]. You are Blessed, our Lord, and Exalted.
O Allah! I seek Refuge with Your Pleasure from Your Anger. I seek refuge in Your Forgiveness from Your Punishment. I seek refuge in You from You. I cannot count Your Praises, You are as You have Praised Yourself.
form of Islam rejects the practice of qunūt. However, it is normative in all daily prayers among the Twelver Shia.
Dr. Mohd. Asri Zainul Abidin, the ousted mufti
of Perlis
who was recently pronounced a heretic
for his Wahhabi inclinations, has pointed out that some Muslim communities in Malaysia do not always perform qunut, e.g. Indian Muslims. Therefore the practice may vary between different mosques and communities.
...
Supplication
Supplication is the most common form of prayer, wherein a person asks God to provide something, either for the person or who is doing the praying or for someone else on whose behalf a prayer. This because of a supplication is being made, also known as intercession.The concept of supplication is...
s made in certain prayers while in the standing posture. For example, it is sunnah
Sunnah
The word literally means a clear, well trodden, busy and plain surfaced road. In the discussion of the sources of religion, Sunnah denotes the practice of Prophet Muhammad that he taught and practically instituted as a teacher of the sharī‘ah and the best exemplar...
to supplicate with qunut in the witr prayer during the entire year. Ahmad, at-Tirmidhi, and Abu Dawud record that Hasan ibn Ali
Hasan ibn Ali
Al-Hasan ibn ‘Alī ibn Abī Tālib is an important figure in Islam, the son of Fatimah the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and of the fourth Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib. Hasan is a member of the Ahl al-Bayt and Ahl al-Kisa...
said: "The Messenger of Allah taught me the [following] words to say during the witr prayer:
"O Allah! Guide me with those whom You have Guided, and strengthen me with those whom You have given strength, take me to Your care with those whom You have taken to Your care, Bless me in what You have given me, Protect me from the evil You have Ordained. Surely You Command and are not commanded, and none whom You have committed to Your care shall be humiliated [and none whom You have Taken as an enemy shall taste glory]. You are Blessed, our Lord, and Exalted."
How to perform the qunut
It is permissible to make the qunut before going into ruku (bowing), or it may be recited when one stands up straight after the ruku. Humaid says: "I asked Anas: 'Is the qunut before or after the ruku?' he said: 'We would do it before or after." This hadithHadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
was related by Ibn Majah and Muhammad ibn Nasr. In Fath al-Bari, Ibn Hajar comments that its chain is faultless.
But widely, the scholars of Islam and the regular practice at Masjid al-Haram
Masjid al-Haram
Al-Masjid al-Ḥarām is the largest mosque in the world. Located in the city of Mecca, it surrounds the Kaaba, the place which Muslims worldwide turn towards while performing daily prayers and is Islam's holiest place...
, Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
, is to recite the Qunut Prayer after getting up from Ruku, in the last Rakah of Witr i.e., the 3rd Rakah of Witr at Isha (The late night prayer)
According to the Hanafi opinion, one is supposed to give Takbeer (Say Allahu Akbar and raise his palms till ear lobes and hold them back below or above navel with right hand over left) before going into Ruku in 3rd Rakah and recite the Following Qunut Prayer also called as Dua-e-Qunoot (Prayer of Qunoot)
Qunoot Prayer:
O' Allah ! I seek help from you, ask forgiveness from You, and believe in You and praise You for all the good things and are grateful to You and we part and break off with all those who disobedient to You. O Allah, You alone do we worship and pray exclusively to You and bow before You alone and we hasten eagerly towards You and fear Your severe punishment and hope for Your mercy, for Your severe punishment is surely to be meted out to the disbelievers:
After reciting the Dua, Bend in Ruku and perform the rest of the Namaaz/Salath.
Types of Dua Qunut
The Messenger of Allah used to recite Du'a al-Qunoot during Salat al-Fajr, Witr and sometimes during other prayers throughout the year. It is one of those Sunnahs (Prophetic traditions) which many Muslims do not practice today.Al-Qunoot has many linguistic meaning
Linguistic meaning
The nature of meaning, its definition, elements, and types, was discussed by philosophers Aristotle, Augustine, and Aquinas. According to them 'meaning is a relationship between two sorts of things: signs and the kinds of things they mean '. One term in the relationship of meaning necessarily...
s, such as humility, obedience and devotion. However, it is more understood to be a special du'a which is recited during the prayer.
It has been narrated in Abu Dawud that the Messenger of Allah used to recite al-Qunoot whenever a major difficulty or disaster befell the Muslims.
He would perform the Qunoot in the last Rak'ah of the Salah after performing Ruku and saying 'Sami'Allahu liman hamidah' (Allah listens to those who praise him); then put hands across navel/chest or raise hands (whilst still focusing on the place of Sujud) and supplicate the Qunoot, after which He would make Sujud and conclude the prayer.
Du'a qunoot is recommended to be recited in the Witr prayer. The Witr prayer, according to Imam Abu Hanifah is wajib (obligation). The other Imams consider the Witr prayer as Sunnah Mu'akkadah. It can be offered after the Isha prayer right up to the break of dawn.
Below is a collection of the various du'a qunut that may be recited:
O Allah! We seek Your assistance and ask for Your guidance, and we beseech Your forgiveness and return to You in repentance. We cherish faith in You and place our trust in You. We attribute all goodness to You. We are grateful to You and refuse to be ungrateful to You. We abandon and forsake all those who reject You. O Allah, You alone we worship, unto You alone we pray; unto You alone we prostrate, and for You alone we strive. Unto You alone we flee for refuge. We cherish hope in Your mercy and we fear Your retribution. Verily, Your punishment is bound to catch up with those who reject the truth.
O Allah! Guide me with those whom You have Guided, and strengthen me with those whom You have given strength, take me to Your care with those whom You have taken to Your care, Bless me in what You have given me, Protect me from the evil You have Ordained. Surely You Command and are not commanded, and non whom You have committed to Your care shall be humiliated [and non whom You have Taken as an enemy shall taste glory]. You are Blessed, our Lord, and Exalted.
O Allah! I seek Refuge with Your Pleasure from Your Anger. I seek refuge in Your Forgiveness from Your Punishment. I seek refuge in You from You. I cannot count Your Praises, You are as You have Praised Yourself.
Attitudes toward the qunut
The minority IbadiIbadi
The Ibāḍī movement, Ibadism or Ibāḍiyya is a form of Islam distinct from the Sunni and Shia denominations. It is the dominant form of Islam in Oman and Zanzibar...
form of Islam rejects the practice of qunūt. However, it is normative in all daily prayers among the Twelver Shia.
Dr. Mohd. Asri Zainul Abidin, the ousted mufti
Mufti
A mufti is a Sunni Islamic scholar who is an interpreter or expounder of Islamic law . In religious administrative terms, a mufti is roughly equivalent to a deacon to a Sunni population...
of Perlis
Perlis
Perlis is the smallest state in Malaysia. It lies at the northern part of the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and has Satun and Songkhla Provinces of Thailand on its northern border. It is bordered by the state of Kedah to the south...
who was recently pronounced a heretic
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
for his Wahhabi inclinations, has pointed out that some Muslim communities in Malaysia do not always perform qunut, e.g. Indian Muslims. Therefore the practice may vary between different mosques and communities.
...
External links
- How to Perform Qunut at IslamOnline.net
- qurango.com