How Do We Pray Fajr Salah with Qunut al-Nazila?

Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Question

How do we pray Fajr Salah with Qunut al-Nazila?

Answer

I pray you are well.

The Qunut al-Nazila (a supplication within the prayer at the time of a calamity) is only done by the imam in one of the prayers where the Quran recitation is aloud. It should be done after the ruku’, and the followers say ‘Amin’ when the imam supplicates. [Ibn ‘Abidin; Radd al Muhtar]

The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) did this when the tribes of Ri’l and Dhakwān asked for seventy experts of the Quran to be sent to them in order to learn from them and then proceeded to murder them treacherously. He made a du’a against them daily after fajr for a month.

Based on this, it is permissible for Muslims to perform this supplication in times of extreme need and difficulty. Part of its wisdom is that it expresses intense need before Allah, represented by its being within the prayer.

We ask Allah Most High to remove the suffering of all those under oppression and those in difficulty worldwide; that is not difficult for Allah Most High.

The answer discussed is according to the Hanafi school. Here is the link for the Shafi’i way of performing Qunut al-Nazila:
What Is the Basis of Reciting the Qunut in the Fajr Prayer According to the Shafi’i School?

[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began his studies in Arabic Grammar and Morphology in 2005. After graduating with a degree in English and History he moved to Damascus in 2007 where, for 18 months, he studied with many erudite scholars. In late 2008 he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continued his studies for the next six years in Sacred Law (fiqh), legal theory (Usul al-fiqh), theology, hadith methodology, hadith commentary, and Logic. He was also given licenses of mastery in the science of Quranic recital and he was able to study an extensive curriculum of Quranic sciences, tafsir, Arabic grammar, and Arabic eloquence.