Calamities are the time for Qunūt

All praise is due to Allah, the One who hears the secret and whispered speech, and provides relief from calamity and misfortune. Peace and blessings be upon the Chosen Prophet ﷺ, his family, and all of his Companions.

The catastrophic situations that Muslims go through, be that in Syria, Palestine, Myanmar, Kashmir, East Turkestan, and elsewhere, must compel Muslims all over the world to support them in every possible way.

The Prophet ﷺ said,

“A Muslim is the brother of a fellow Muslim. He should neither commit oppression upon him nor ruin him.

“And he who meets the need of his brother, Allah will meet his needs, and he who relieved a Muslim from hardship, Allah will relieve him from the hardships to which he would be put on the Day of Resurrection, and he who did not expose (the follies of a Muslim), Allah would conceal his follies on the Day of Resurrection.” [1]

Du’ā is the least we can offer to the affected

Amongst the most important and effective ways of supporting those who are oppressed or experiencing great calamities is to make du’ā to Allah to alleviate their hardship, and in the case of oppression, to grant them victory and help them be rid of the oppressive ruler sooner rather than later.

Rules and mannerisms of Qunūt

One of the important forms of du’ā is Qunūt, the direction of which is briefly explained below.

What is it?

What is meant by Qunūt is to supplicate collectively to Allah, Mighty and Magnificent, in obligatory congregational prayers, in order to relieve a calamity that has afflicted a group of Muslims.

What is the evidence for it?

The main evidence for this type of du’ā is the Qunūt of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ for one full month, when he supplicated against some Arab tribes who had betrayed and killed the Qur’ān reciters that the Prophet ﷺ had sent to them.

Similarly, he (ﷺ) supplicated that Allah save some of his Companions from the plots of the Quraysh.

Both these narrations are found in the two famous authentic books. [2]

Abu Hurayrah (radiy Allāhu ʿanhu) reported that whenever the Prophet ﷺ wanted to supplicate against someone, or for someone, after he would stand up from rukū’, he would say,

“Allah hears him who praises Him, to You is the praise.”

He (ﷺ) would then say,

“O Allah, save al-Walīd ibn al-Walīd, Salamah ibn Hāshim, Iyash ibn Abi Rabi’ah, and the oppressed believers.

“O Allah, put hardship and pressure on the tribe of Mudar and give them years of famine like those during the time of Yusuf.” [3]

He (ﷺ) would say this aloud.

In some of his Fajr prayers, he (ﷺ) would say,

“O Allah, curse so and so…”

…cursing some tribes of the Arabs until Allah revealed:

“Not for you is the decision whether He turns in mercy to (pardon) them or punish them; they are the evildoers.” [4]

It is done after rukū’ in the last raka’ah of obligatory prayers

Qunūt takes place after rukū’ in the last raka’ah of all the obligatory prayers, whether the prayer is a silent or loud prayer when performed in congregation (jamā’ah).

There is no harm if it be confined only to the loud prayers, since there is no specific evidence concerning this. As such, the matter is flexible.

It can begin with supplication against the oppressor

Qunūt can commence with supplication against the oppressors, without mentioning the praises of Allah, and there is no harm in this.

Indeed, it seems to be closer to the practice of the Prophet ﷺ in the narrations previously mentioned.

Were one to commence with the praise of Allah, there is no harm in this due to the generality of his (ﷺ) saying,

“If anyone makes du’ā, let him start with praising Allah, then invoking salāh upon the Prophet, then supplicate for what he wishes.”

As above, the same applies to invoking salāh upon the Prophet ﷺ — the matter is flexible.

It is not started with Qunūt of Witr

We should not start this Qunūt by using the Qunūt of Witr prayer (which starts with “Allāhumma ihdina fi-man hadayt…”) because this — assuming that it is authentically reported for the Qunūt of Witr prayer — is mentioned in a specific context and not a general way.

The Qunūt for calamity is for a completely different situation and, as such, different mannerisms are reported for it.

It is recommended to limit its scope to the calamity

It is recommended to limit the du’ā to the calamity and not to prolong it by mentioning other things.

This is in compliance to the practice of the Prophet ﷺ.

The imam should recite it aloud, with listeners responding “āmīn”

The du’ā should be pronounced loudly by the imam, and those who follow him should respond by saying “āmīn” after those statements that contain requests.

Once the calamity has passed, the Qunūt should be stopped in prayers

If the specific calamity or atrocity passes, the imam should stop performing this Qunūt in the obligatory prayers.

Following the imam is essential

You must follow the imam whom you pray behind when he makes Qunūt, even if you do not agree with this opinion.

This is because following the imam in that which doesn’t invalidate the prayer is obligatory.

Qunūt, in the view of those who do not allow it, does not invalidate the prayer; the difference is whether it is a Sunnah or not.

Avoid unnecessarily beautifying Qunūt

We advise the Muslims to leave off going to extremities in the Qunūt by beautifying it with poetic words.

We should try to employ the supplications of the Messenger ﷺ which were concise and comprehensive.

Sincere intent and reflection is critical

We must make the supplication sincerely and reflect on its meaning within our hearts.

This is the means for it to be answered by Allah.

The Prophet ﷺ said,

“Know that Allah will not answer a supplication arising from a negligent and heedless heart.” [5]

I urge imams in the UK and other countries to practise this important way of supporting Muslims who are impacted by atrocities and calamities, in places such as Syria, Palestine, India, Myanmar, and elsewhere, until they overcome the calamity.

We ask Allah alone by His Beautiful Names and Lofty Attributes to remove the Muslims’ calamities in every place. He is the only One able to do so, He is the All-Capable.

May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, upon his family, and all his Companions.

Source: Islam21c

Notes

[1] Muslim

[2] Bukhāri and Muslim

[3] Sahīh al-Bukhāri

[4] al-Qur’ān, 3:128

[5] Tirmidhi and Musnad of Ahmad

Note from the editor: this article was originally published on 13 Rabī’ al-Awwal 1438 / 13 December 2016, and revised on 3 Rabī’ al-Thānī 1445 / 18 October 2023.