Qunoot Supplication Made in the Witr Prayer

[Abunaaila]

Title of the study: The Narrations About the Qunoot Supplication Made
in the Witr Prayer, From a Hadeeth Perspective, and From a Fiqh
Perspective

Name of the author: Muhammad ibn ،¥Umar ibn Saalim Baazmool

The study consists of two main parts:

Part One: The Narrations Along With a Discussion of Their Authenticity

Part Two: The Issues Related to the Qunoot Supplication Made in the
Witr Prayer

The author gathered all of the authentic narrations from the Prophet
(sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) and the statements of his companions
related to the qunoot of witr prayer. He then classified them into
categories of authenticity, so as to distinguish between the
acceptable and unacceptable ones, which allowed the founding
principles of the study to be based solely on the issues related to
the qunoot of witr prayer. He gathered what has been mentioned about
the subject in the well-known schools of fiqh, along with the
Thaahiriyyah School. The author then went back and researched the
issues one by one, according to the authentic narrations, using the
methodology of the people of knowledge and their way of research,
argumentation, and deduction.

Some of the conclusions reached in the study are as follows:

„h The qunoot of witr may be performed all year round.

„h The way of the Prophet (sallallaaghu 'alayhe wa sallam) was to
perform it sometimes and leave it sometimes.

„h Continuation with it every night is confirmed for the nights of the
last half of Ramadhaan, beginning with the sixteenth night.

„h The qunoot is to be left off in the first half of Ramadhaan if the
prayer is made in congregation with the people. This is indeed an
abandoned Sunnah, and unknown to many.

„h It is permissible to make the qunoot in the first and second half
of Ramadhaan.

„h The qunoot of witr may be made before or after the rukoo،¦, while it
is best done before it.

„h From the abandoned Sunnahs is to pronouce takbeer (،§Allaahu
akbar،¨) before and after the qunoot when making the qunoot before the
rukoo،¦.

„h From the Sunnah is that the imaam of the prayer raises his voice
with the supplications of qunoot, and the followers say ،§aameen.،¨

„h According to the Sunnah, the qunoot supplication is not to be
long, and restricting one،¦s self to what has been reported on the
Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) is best, as it would also be
permissible to prolong it with other established phrases.

„h There is nothing obliging the people to make the qunoot a certain
way, rather any way is permissible, and the best way is that which
has been reported.

„h It is from the sunnah for the imaam of the people to not make
qunoot in the first half of Ramadhaan, to make it in the last half,
and to supplicate against the disbelievers in the qunoot.

„h It is permissible to raise the hands with the qunoot supplication,
to leave them down at the sides, or to raise them for the first part
and leave them down for the last part. All of this is permissible.

„h It is not permissible to wipe the face with the hands after the
qunoot.

„h It is permissible to send prayers on the Prophet
(sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) in the qunoot supplication.

„h ،¥Abdullaah ibn Mas،¦ood and Ubayy ibn Ka،¦b (may Allaah be pleased
with them both) conveyed the most narrations about the qunoot
supplication in the witr prayer.

„h The prayer that resembles the witr prayer most is Maghrib, as
Maghrib prayer is the witr of the daytime.

„h 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 author hopes that he has done justice to the subject, and that he
has helped to revive the methodology of the people of the knowledge
in research, gathering the evidences, accepting and rejecting them
due to their authenticity, and then making conclusions based on them.

May Allaah grant the author success, guidance, and firmness.

[from the abstract of a study submitted to Umm al-Quraa University by
Shaykh Muhammad Baazmool]

Moosaa ibn John Richardson



The fourth issue: Are the hands to be raised for the qunoot
supplication?

The following is legislated for the qunoot supplication:

1) To raise one's hands;

2) To leave them down at one's sides;

3) To raise them for the first part of the qunoot and leave them down
at one's sides for the latter part.

Evidence (corresponding to the numbers above):

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

And 'Abdullaah ibn Mas'ood used to raise his hands with the qunoot.

2) az-Zuhree narrates, referring to the actions of the
Companions: "They did not used to raise their hands in Witr in
Ramadhaan."

3) az-Zuhree narrates that Ibn Mas'ood used to raise his hands in
Witr, and the afterwards leave them at his sides.

[Moosaa: The action of Ibn Mas'ood is relevant here since he was a
Companion and this issue is tawqeefee, restricted to evidence, so he
would not have done things in the salaah from his own opinion, rather
he learned it from the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam). And
Allaah knows best.]

Moosaa ibn John Richardson


The sixth issue: Is the qunoot and the saying of "Aameen" by the
followers to be done aloud?

[Summary]

Since there are no reports mentioning that they used to say "Aameen"
behind their imaam during the qunoot of witr, then it can be
established by way of their action in the qunoot an-naazilah
(supplication against people in the obligatory prayers), since their
saying "Aameen" behind the imaam in that prayer (*) is something done
in an obligatory prayer, and it is established that it was done in
Maghrib, which is the obligatory witr, thus it would be permissible
to do it in a non-obligatory prayer, based on the principle mentioned
in the abstract:

...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...

(*) As established in a hasan hadeeth collected by Ahmad (2746), Aboo
Daawood (1443), Ibn Khuzaymah (618), al-Haakim (1/225), and al-
Buyhaqee in as-Sunan al-Kubraa (2/200). It was authenticated by al-
Haakim, Ibn Khuzaymah, and al-Albaanee (Irwaa' al-Ghaleel:2/163).

And Allaah knows best.

Moosaa ibn John Richardson

[Salema]

Jazakallah..

[bila]

is it ok to cry loudly during prayer
i mean like sobbing

[Abunaaila]

Wa A'laikum as Salaam:

Na'am. Here is the proof...

A'ishata said: "The Messenger of Allah said in his sickness: Command Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer. `A'ishata said: I said verily if Abu Bakr were to take your position, people would not [be able to] hear [his recitation] due to the crying, so command 'Umar to lead the people in prayer. He then said: Command Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer. 'A'ishata said to Hafsata: Tell him that Abu Bakr is such that if he were to stand in your place, the people would not [be able to] hear [his recitation] due to the crying; so command 'Umar to lead the people in prayer. So Hafsata did [as she was told]. Then, the Messenger of Allah said: Meh, You are verily the "companionettes"(95) of Yousif, Command Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer. Hafsata said to 'A'ishata: I was not about to strike any Good from you".

Reporters
'Al- Adawee said it was sound and that it was reported by Al-Bukhãri on page 206 of volume 2 of Fath Al-Bãree; Muslim, page 140 of volume 4; and At-Tirmithi, page 156 of volume 10 of Tuhfah, and At-Tirmithi said that it was comely-sound.