What is the ruling on adding to the supplication of Qunut and the rest sitting?

The questioner : May Allah increase you in good. This questioner says: Honorable Shaykh, peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings. It is established from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in the supplication of Qunut that he used to supplicate with the words “O Allah, guide me among those You have guided” up to “Blessed are You, our Lord, and Exalted.” And the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Pray as you have seen me praying.” So what is the ruling on adding to this supplication, and what is the ruling on the rest sitting?

The Shaykh : The questioner’s statement that it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he used to say such and such, this is not established from the words of the Messenger, but it is established from his teaching of al-Hasan ibn 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with them both). The hadith says: al-Hasan said, “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) taught me a supplication to recite in the Qunut of the Witr.” He did not say, “He taught me the supplication of the Qunut of the Witr.” He said, “A supplication to recite in the Qunut of the Witr.” This indicates that the Qunut of the Witr is broader than this supplication, because the preposition “in” indicates a location, and the location is broader than what? The thing located. And he said, “A supplication in the Qunut of the Witr,” so the Qunut of the Witr, or the supplication in the Qunut of the Witr, is broader than this supplication that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) taught al-Hasan. Now, if the wording of the hadith had been, “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) taught me the supplication of the Qunut of the Witr: O Allah, guide me among those You have guided,” then the Sunnah would have been to restrict oneself to this supplication, and that anything contrary to it is not part of the supplication. And based on this, and based on this, I say that there is no harm if a person adds to this supplication in the bowing of the Witr. If he is alone, let him lengthen it as much as he wishes, let him lengthen it as much as he wishes. But it is recommended that a person chooses, that a person chooses the comprehensive supplications, meaning the comprehensive supplications rather than the detailed ones. Because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to supplicate with comprehensive supplications and leave what is besides that.
As for if the one performing Qunut is an imam, then it is obligatory for him to consider the people, to consider the people, and not to lengthen it to the point that it becomes difficult for them. For this reason, when a man came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) complaining about Mu'adh ibn Jabal that he used to recite for them in the 'Isha' prayer and lengthen it, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) became angry and said, “O people, among you are those who drive people away. So which of you... O people, let him lighten it.” And this is evidence that the imam must consider the condition of the believers and not make it difficult for them, even with the recitation of the prayer, he must not make it difficult for them. As for the second part of his question, which is the sitting for rest. The scholars have differed on this in three opinions. One opinion is that it is not recommended at all. They cited as evidence for this the hadith of Wa'il ibn Hujr that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to stand up without sitting. They also cited as evidence the meaning, saying that this sitting does not have a specific dhikr, and if it were prescribed, a dhikr would have been prescribed for it, because there is no sitting in the prayer that does not have a specific dhikr. So when it is not established that this sitting has a dhikr, it is known that it is not prescribed. And as for the third opinion, or the second, it is that it is a recommended practice in every case, because it is established in the two Sahihs from the hadith of Malik ibn Huwayris that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he was in an odd number of his prayer, would not stand up until he sat firmly. He said, “He would not stand up until he sat firmly.” This indicates that he sits and settles, then stands up. And when a person reflects on the hadith, he finds that it indicates the third opinion, which is that if a person needs it, either due to fatigue, old age, or illness, there is no harm in sitting. In fact, this is prescribed. And if he does not need it, he does not sit, because the non-prescription of a dhikr in it indicates that it is an extra sitting. Otherwise, a dhikr would have been prescribed for it. And if it is extra, then only the one who needs it is excused in it. And the one who reflects on the hadith, or the most correct of the hadiths, finds that this opinion, which is the detailed one, is closer to the truth than the others, due to its support by the meaning and the condition of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). For Malik ibn Huwayris (may Allah be pleased with him) saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sit, then lean on his hands, then stand up. And leaning on the hands is not needed by a person except if he is what? Incapable of bearing the standing. So this is evidence that he, peace and blessings be upon him, needed this sitting, so he sat. Well done. He sat, peace and blessings be upon him, otherwise, if he had not needed it. And this is also indicated by the fact that he sat, then stood up on his hands. And standing up on the hands is only needed by one who is incapable and needs to support his body with his hands. The author of al-Mughni said, and this opinion is the one in which the evidences converge.
And this is also the choice of Ibn al-Qayyim, and it is, in my view, stronger than the opinion of absolute recommendation. And yet, its strength in my view is not that clear strength. I hold it more likely that the texts do not indicate it, and if they do not indicate it, then the stronger opinion is not doing it, without doubt. Because we cannot prescribe anything in the prayer except with certainty. If someone says, “This is the certainty, and the default for the actions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the prayer is that they are acts of worship,” we say: The apparent form of the sitting and standing of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) indicates what? That he was incapable and needed to lean on his hands. And no one doubts that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), in the last part of his life, was afflicted with flesh and grew old, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would sometimes perform Tahajjud at night sitting, and not perform Tahajjud standing. Yes. You ruined it with the hijab. Two days ago, I asked one of my teeth to answer her with a tape about the hijab. The man was ill and it did not happen. Perhaps you cannot answer her now. No, no, he is looking for you. The important thing is that what is stronger in my view is its non-prescription. But here is an issue that the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah pointed out in the Fatawa, and he said, “If the imam does not sit for rest, then it is not recommended for the ma'mum to sit, because his standing with his imam is part of the completion of following.” And I say, in support of the words of the Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him), this ma'mum leaves an obligatory part of the prayer, which is the first Tashahhud, for the sake of following the imam. For example, if a man enters the Zuhr prayer in the second rak'ah with the imam, he adds to the prayer a sitting that is not prescribed except for following the imam. And he reduces a prescribed sitting to consider the following of the imam.

The presenter : May Allah thank you.

The Shaykh : Is there anything else after this? Is there anything else? Yes.

The presenter : And this is a fish.

The Shaykh : This is also a question with a poem. And I told you, whoever prepares the answer for me, I will give him the meaning and he will recite it? Yes, you? Are you Hassan ibn Thabit or Abdullah ibn Rawahah? Well, let’s look at that first one and this one. No, let’s look at it later, I want to try myself. Yes.