Is it permissible not to raise the hands when the imam recites the qunut in the Fajr prayer?

The questioner : Regarding the qunut in Fajr, O our Shaykh.

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : Is it permissible for us not to raise our hands, for example, unlike the imam who recites the qunut?

The Shaykh : Is it permissible, what?

The questioner : We do not raise our hands, for example, with an imam who recites the qunut in Fajr.

The Shaykh : If the imam raises his hands, you raise yours; if the imam raises his hands, you raise yours.

The questioner : It is not permissible to oppose the imam.

The Shaykh : No, in matters of ijtihad (independent legal reasoning), one should follow the imam. But as for matters in which the imams—meaning the imams of the mosques—innovate, these are not to be followed in that regard. Rather, it is the matters of ijtihad in which the imams exerted effort and differed, and then an imam among today’s mosque imams follows one of the established schools of jurisprudence from those well-known imams of knowledge, righteousness, and piety, that this imam is to be followed and not opposed. I give you an example: an imam in a mosque who does not raise his hands, for example. He is asked why, and he says, “Because I am a Hanafi.” It is true that Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy on him) held in his ijtihad that the hands are not raised except at the takbir of ihram. Then this so-called Hanafi imam is seen to remain silent after reciting al-Fatihah. He is asked why he remains silent, and he says, “So that those behind me can read.” Well, this is not permissible in his school. So he is not following his imam now; he is following his own desire to accommodate the people. This is an approximate example. So he is not to be followed in what he does that opposes his imam. And we reverse it with another example, because there we can oppose him, but here we give an example of how this imam opposes his imam. However, if he remains silent, we consider it an opportunity and read, like the Shafi'i imam who remains silent. Even though we advise him not to remain silent, because this long pause after reciting al-Fatihah has no basis in the Sunnah. We give an example now of a Shafi'i imam who does not raise his hands at the ruku' (bowing) and the rising from it. I am speaking of this: why do you not raise your hands? You are a Shafi'i, and the Shafi'i school raises the hands and says it is a recommended practice (sunnah). He says, “Out of consideration for the Hanafis behind me.” This consideration is also not said to be the way of his imam, and consideration for the Sunnah is undoubtedly better than consideration for these people who pray behind him. Likewise, measure by this many other examples. It may be that he leaves off the Sunnah out of consideration for preaching to the people, or rather out of negligence and laziness. For example, we find many mosque imams who follow the school of Imam al-Shafi'i who do not sit in the final tashahhud, do not sit, and do not sit for the rest (istirahah). Do we agree with them or oppose them? We oppose them. Why? Because these people opposed the Sunnah, and additionally, they opposed the imam. So these people have no sanctity that we should follow them out of respect for their imam, because they opposed the imam at the very time they opposed the Sunnah. So this Shafi'i who does not raise his hands: we raise our hands because we do, first, what is authentically reported from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and second, what is said by the imam of this imam who opposes the first imam, who is Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and the other imam, who is Imam al-Shafi'i. And on that basis, measure accordingly.