Do we follow some of the imams who recite qunut in the Fajr prayer, or not? And likewise, raising the hands in it? (Clarifying the correct methodology in discussion and clarifying the truth)

The questioner : Before your question, this is a request for knowledge, Shaykh, but I mean a clarification regarding the imams. For example, we know that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) recited qunut in the five prayers during times of calamity, and he did not specify a particular prayer for qunut. But some imams always recite qunut in the Fajr prayer, always. And if you tell them that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) recited qunut in times of calamity and in the five obligatory prayers, they say, "But al-Shafi'i." And if you tell them, they say, "Ibn Abbas was asked." The evidence al-Shafi'i used is that Ibn Abbas was asked and said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) always recited qunut in Fajr." This is in the hadith. So what is your response to this? May Allah reward you with good. Do we follow them in raising the hands and recite qunut behind them, or is it following the imam who is followed, or do we leave the guidance of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), or what do we do?

The Shaykh : Your question is understood, but it contains some errors that need to be corrected. But perhaps I misunderstood, and perhaps someone else mispronounced it, so we need to see.

The questioner : I think I mispronounced it.

The Shaykh : What is the hadith of Ibn Abbas?

The questioner : That he was asked, "Did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) recite qunut in Fajr?" He said: "He always recited qunut in Fajr. He always recited qunut in Fajr."

The Shaykh : How did he always recite qunut in Fajr?

The questioner : He always recited qunut in Fajr. This is what I heard...

The Shaykh : In any case, because I am afraid that this speech will be recorded, and it has been recorded. Okay, be careful. First, I remind you, and the reminder benefits the believers. People who follow a madhhab do not benefit from research and discussion with such heat, because they have lived their lives this way. So as soon as you tell them, "So-and-so, the Companion, said such and such," they will say, "Al-Shafi'i said such and such," meaning you know more than him. Therefore, I see that every student of knowledge who wants to discuss with a madhhab follower must present a clarification before the discussion and prepare the atmosphere. I do not say so that the madhhab follower will accept his opinion and ruling, but so that he does not become his opponent. Is this at least the meaning of my words? That is, the one who wants to call madhhab followers to follow the Sunnah hopes for two things from them: one is following the Sunnah, and this is very difficult; the second is that they do not take you as an opponent, and this is easy. So what is the way? It is as Allah the Exalted said: . So now, I imagine a madhhab follower who is fanatic about his madhhab in front of me, and I pray behind him, and I see him always reciting qunut. In this period in which I am afflicted—I say afflicted—by praying behind him, and he contradicts the Sunnah in which I believe, does it mean I have prepared an atmosphere between me and him so that I can enter into such a discussion with him, which might shock him immediately? If you have prepared this atmosphere, it allows me to enter into this topic with him in this particular detail. Otherwise, instead of discussing this detail with him, I discuss the principle with him, in a way that is far from attacking him personally. This is what I advise the one who calls to following the Sunnah, this advice which is necessary. But in answer to your question, I say first: adhering to qunut in Fajr always and forever, whether there is a calamity or not—and even if, unfortunately, Muslims are in a calamity every day—this has no basis in the authentic Sunnah. But may Allah bless you, you cannot convince the graduates of the Faculty of Sharia, let alone the doctors who teach in the Faculty of Sharia, to go against their madhhab, much less to convince the general Muslims. Therefore, the matter requires some patience, deliberation, and composure. So I say, but imagine who will understand what I say from these imams who do not have what is supposed to be there of knowledge, not from the Book and the Sunnah, but from traditional fiqh. Most imams today, unfortunately, have a job like any job in any department, until some of them do not know how to read the Qur'an, do not know how to read al-Fatihah. The important thing is, imagine I am now in front of a man who follows a madhhab, so I say to him, "My brother, this qunut in Fajr, al-Shafi'i said it, but the hadith he relied on is not authentic, because al-Hakim narrated it in al-Mustadrak through Abu Ja'far al-Razi from Abu al-Aliyah from Anas ibn Malik, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . And al-Hakim said it has an authentic chain, but al-Dhahabi rejected it by saying that Abu Ja'far al-Razi is not strong in hadith. So this hadith is weak, and it is not permissible to act upon it. Do they think I am unfair? They will not understand me. They might answer me, either explicitly or by hint, "Are you more knowledgeable than Imam al-Shafi'i?" No, by Allah, I am not more knowledgeable than him, but I have combined his knowledge with the knowledge of the other imams. Perhaps in this matter, I will be more knowledgeable than him, but the merit is not mine; the merit belongs to the other imams whose knowledge I sought help from. And then I go back and say, there is another hadith from Anas ibn Malik, narrated by Ibn Khuzaymah in his Sahih with an authentic chain, from Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) himself, who narrated to us the weak hadith, who said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not recite qunut except when he prayed for a group or prayed against a group." This requires a man who is a doctor and a graduate of the Faculty of Sharia, and he will respond to you, or mostly he will not respond to you. Therefore, the matter requires some broad-mindedness and long-suffering, along with breadth in knowledge. So, the one who recites qunut in the Fajr prayer, you recite qunut with him and do his action, and you have the full reward of the prayer, because the Messenger said:

The questioner : Is the hadith you mentioned just now a madhhab?

The Shaykh : This is a madhhab without a doubt, but this is a madhhab based on the Sunnah. Whatever it is, whether a material or spiritual madhhab, it is a madhhab. Yes, please.