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

The questioner : The questioner says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, 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 the words: “Blessed is 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 sitting for rest?

The Shaykh : The questioner says: It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he used to say such and such. This is not established as a saying 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 thing contained within it. And here he said: “A supplication in the qunut of witr,” so the qunut of witr, or the supplication in the qunut of witr, is broader than this supplication that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) taught to al-Hasan.
Now, if the wording of the hadith had been: “The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) taught me the supplication of the qunut of witr: O Allah, guide me among those You have guided,” then the Sunnah would have been to restrict oneself to this supplication, and anything that contradicts it would not be part of the supplication. And based on this, I say that there is no harm in a person adding to this supplication in the qunut of witr. If he is alone, let him lengthen it as much as he wishes. But it is recommended that a person choose comprehensive supplications, meaning the comprehensive supplications rather than the detailed ones, because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to supplicate with comprehensive supplications and leave aside what else there was.
As for when the one performing qunut is an imam, it is obligatory for him to consider the people, to consider the people, and not to lengthen it to the point where it becomes burdensome for them. For this reason, when a man came to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) complaining about Mu'adh ibn Jabal, saying 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: . So as for the people, let him lighten it. This is evidence that the imam must consider the condition of the believers and not burden them, even with the recitation in prayer, he should not burden them.
And 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 the meaning as evidence, saying: Because 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 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) used to . He said: He did not stand up until he was settled. 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, whether due to fatigue, old age, or illness, there is no harm in sitting, rather 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 authentic of the hadiths, finds that this opinion, which is the detailed one, is closer to the truth than the others, because it is supported 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) sitting, then leaning on his hands, then standing 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 and then stood up on his hands, and standing up on the hands is only needed by one who is incapable, who needs to support his body with his hands. The author of al-Mughni said: This is the opinion in which the evidences converge. And this is also the choice of Ibn al-Qayyim. And in my view, it is stronger than the opinion of absolute recommendation. And yet, its strength in my view is not that clear strength. I hold 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 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 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. And no one doubts that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), in the last part of his life, was afflicted with flesh and grew old, and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to sometimes perform tahajjud at night sitting, and not standing. Is it illness? Illness? The man’s illness? No, no, he is looking for you. No, no, he is looking for you.
The important point is that what is stronger in my view is that it is not prescribed. But here is an issue that the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah pointed out in the fatwas, 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 Shaykh’s words (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 the sake of following the imam. And he omits a prescribed sitting, for the sake of considering the following of the imam.

The presenter : May Allah thank you.

The Shaykh : Is there anything else? Is there anything else? Yes. And this is a truck. Yes. This is also a question with a poem. And I told you that whoever prepares the answer for me, I will give him the meaning while he recites? Yes, you? Are you Hassan ibn Thabit or Abdullah ibn Rawahah? Well, let me look at that first one and this one. No, by Allah, like this, professor. Let us leave it for later, I will look at it later, I will try myself. Yes.

The presenter : May Allah reward you,