What is the ruling on one who restricts qunut to the Fajr prayer?
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The questioner: And qunut.
The Shaykh: And qunut in Fajr is the position of Imam al-Shafi'i. If one does it following Imam al-Shafi'i and the Sunnah has not become clear to him, he is not to be blamed. But if the Sunnah has become clear to him and he prefers the madhhab over the Sunnah, he has fallen into religious innovation.
The questioner: So what is Imam al-Shafi'i's evidence for qunut?
The Shaykh: His evidence is a hadith that is not authentic according to the scholars of hadith. It is what al-Hakim narrated in al-Mustadrak with a chain containing a man known as Abu Ja'far al-Razi, whose name is Isa ibn Mahan, and he is poor in memory. He narrated from Anas ibn Malik who said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) continued to make qunut in the Fajr prayer until he departed this world." If this hadith were authentic, the position should be followed. But the hadith is weak, as is established by the scholars of hadith, especially Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah in his book al-Zad al-Ma'ad fi Hady Khayr al-'Ibad. This hadith, in addition to having a weak chain, is contradicted by what is authentic from Anas with a sound chain that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "He did not make qunut except when he supplicated for a group or against a group"; meaning: he did not make qunut continuously, but only according to need. Therefore, the scholars agreed that qunut for a specific occurrence is the Sunnah, whereas continuous qunut is not authentic, not even in witr. In witr, it is done occasionally, without making it a continuous practice.
The questioner: So, what does the one praying do, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner: What does the one praying do? Does he follow him?
The Shaykh: He follows him, and it is necessary.
The questioner: And he raises his hand in.
The Shaykh: He makes qunut, he raises.
The Shaykh: And qunut in Fajr is the position of Imam al-Shafi'i. If one does it following Imam al-Shafi'i and the Sunnah has not become clear to him, he is not to be blamed. But if the Sunnah has become clear to him and he prefers the madhhab over the Sunnah, he has fallen into religious innovation.
The questioner: So what is Imam al-Shafi'i's evidence for qunut?
The Shaykh: His evidence is a hadith that is not authentic according to the scholars of hadith. It is what al-Hakim narrated in al-Mustadrak with a chain containing a man known as Abu Ja'far al-Razi, whose name is Isa ibn Mahan, and he is poor in memory. He narrated from Anas ibn Malik who said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) continued to make qunut in the Fajr prayer until he departed this world." If this hadith were authentic, the position should be followed. But the hadith is weak, as is established by the scholars of hadith, especially Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah in his book al-Zad al-Ma'ad fi Hady Khayr al-'Ibad. This hadith, in addition to having a weak chain, is contradicted by what is authentic from Anas with a sound chain that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "He did not make qunut except when he supplicated for a group or against a group"; meaning: he did not make qunut continuously, but only according to need. Therefore, the scholars agreed that qunut for a specific occurrence is the Sunnah, whereas continuous qunut is not authentic, not even in witr. In witr, it is done occasionally, without making it a continuous practice.
The questioner: So, what does the one praying do, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner: What does the one praying do? Does he follow him?
The Shaykh: He follows him, and it is necessary.
The questioner: And he raises his hand in.
The Shaykh: He makes qunut, he raises.
Source
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The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.