Qunut: in witr and in calamity

The qunut is the supplication said standing within the prayer. It has two main places: the witr at night, and the fajr prayer according to some schools. The Companions observed the witr qunut before the bowing: 'Umar, 'Ali, Ibn Mas'ud and Ibn 'Abbas report that they followed the Prophet's night prayer (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and that he performed the qunut before bowing (reported by Malik in the Muwatta).

The Prophet's formula

The formula reported from the Prophet for the qunut is well known:

Allahumma, guide us among those You have guided, grant us health among those You have granted it, protect us among those You have protected...Abu Dawud 1425, at-Tirmidhi 464, an-Nasa'i 1745

The scholars also note that the qunut standing had the length of a medium surah, and that the Prophet supplicated in the qunut like a true call.

The qunut in fajr

Anas reports: the Prophet performed the qunut in the fajr prayer for a month, supplicating against Arab tribes, then he abandoned it (reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim). The jurists draw two readings from it: those who keep the fajr qunut see a sunna established then suspended with its cause; those who abandon it argue from the fact that the Prophet stopped practicing it, like the qunut of maghrib, abrogated by consensus. The traditions also show that he performed the qunut in maghrib (reported by Muslim).

In times of trial

The fajr qunut was clearly tied to a collective trial: supplicating against aggressors. This model opens the door of communal supplication when the community is struck.

Practical note

Follow your mosque's imam in his qunut practice: both positions (before or after the bowing) rest on solid reports. In the witr, the qunut remains recommended among all the schools, with the formulas transmitted from the Prophet.