Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

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One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Assalam Alaikum,

I would like to ask you following question:

1. In one of the masjid I have noticed that there is  'Dua e Qunut' during Fajr Prayer, please comment if it is advisable.

2. During my traveling if I join the Johr Namaz which is of 4 rakat and being a traveller I am praying only 2 rakat and other 2 rakat I can niyat as a Asr? Please advice.

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Answer:

Qunut in fajr

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your Question: ….In one of the masjid I have noticed that there is  'Dua e Qunut' during Fajr Prayer, please comment if it is advisable.

Ibn Abbas (r.a.) relates that the Messenger of Allah (saws) made ‘qunut’ supplications consecutively for one month in all the five obligatory prayers ‘dhuhr’, 'asr’, ‘maghrib’, 'isha’, and the ‘fajr’ prayers. At the end of every prayer, after saying: "Allah hears him who praises Him" in the last rak'ah, he (saws) would supplicate against Re'l, Dhakwan, and Usiyyah of the tribe of Banu Sulaim (these three had killed the emissaries that the Prophet (saws) had sent to them) and the companions behind him would say 'Ameen'.

Related by Ahmad and by Abu Dawood.

There is evidence in the authentic and established Sunnah that during extremely trying times, the Messenger of Allah (saws) did indeed make ‘qunut’ supplications during the obligatory prayers, including the ‘fajr’ prayer.

The absolute majority of the scholars and jurists in Islam are of the opinion that it was not the normal practice and custom of the Messenger of Allah (saws) to make the ‘qunut’ supplications….but he (saws) did so only in extremely trying times.

Abu Malik al-Ashja'i said: "My father prayed behind the Prophet (saws) when he was sixteen years old, and he (also) prayed behind Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman (during their reigns as Khalifahs).” I asked him, 'Did they make the qunut'?' He said, 'No.’” Related by Ahmad, an-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, and at-Tirmidhi.

Hadrat Anas ibn Maalik (r.a.), who served the Prophet (saws) as his servant in his house for ten years, said that the Prophet (saws) would not make the ‘qunut’ in ‘fajr’ unless he was supplicating for a people or supplicating against a people.

Related by Ibn Hibban, al-Khatib, and Ibn Khuzaimah.

It is also related that during the reign of the Rightly Guided Khalifahs, Hadrat Abu Bakr (r.a.), Hadrat Umar (r.a.), Hadrat Uthman (r.a.) and Hadrat Ali (r.a.), the ‘qunut’ supplications was not practiced in the dawn prayer. This is the opinion of the Hanafiyyah, the Hanbaliyyah, Ibn al-Mubarak, al-Thauri, and Ishaq.

Although there is strong evidence that the ‘qunut’ supplications was not the general practice of the Messenger of Allah (saws) and the companions unless in a time of severe calamity, there is indeed a narration recorded from Hadrat Anas (r.a.) which says: "The Messenger of Allah (saws) did not stop making ‘qunut’ during the dawn prayer until he left this world."

Related by Ahmad, al-Bazzar, adDaraqutni, al-Baihaqi, and al-Hakim.

Thus the offering of the ‘qunut’ supplications during the ‘fajr’ prayer is a matter upon which, depending upon which hadith one prefers over another, the scholars and jurists of Islam have differed upon.

The scholars and jurists of all schools of thought are absolutely unanimous that there is allowance in the authentic and established Sunnah that the Messenger of Allah (saws) did offer the ‘qunut’ supplications in the ‘fajr’ (and other obligatory) prayers; thus if one chooses to offer the ‘qunut’ or abstain, they would both be in accordance with the Sunnah. The difference of opinion is only whether it was the norm or was it practiced only during times of severe calamity.

Your Question: …..During my traveling if I join the Johr Namaz which is of 4 rakat and being a traveller I am praying only 2 rakat and other 2 rakat I can niyat as a Asr? Please advice.

Dear and beloved brother, first and foremost, one cannot offer two different prayers with one ‘tasleem’ in Shariah!

Thus if you are traveling and happen to join a congregation which is offering the obligatory ‘dhuhr’ prayers of four-rakahs, you should offer the full four-rakahs behind the resident ‘imaam’ as your ‘dhuhr’ prayers.

Alternatively, you as a traveler could become the ‘imam’ and make intention to pray ‘qasr’ or shortened prayers and complete your prayer after two rakahs with the ‘tasleems’; the ‘muktadees’ or the resident believers whom you led in prayers could then complete the balance two-rakahs by themselves. But if you are not the ‘imam’ and choose to join a congregation as a ‘muktadee’, then it is incumbent upon you to complete the prayer with the ‘imam’.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan