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Hadith of Anas (244): “The Prophet ﷺ performed qunūt in all five daily prayers for an entire month, invoking against certain Arab clans.” The clans are identified as Riʿl, ʿUṣayya, and Banū Liḥyān. This wording is recorded in the two Ṣaḥīḥ collections.
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The additional narration reported by al-Dāraqutnī states: “He continued to perform qunūt until he left this worldly life.” This version conflicts with that of the two Ṣaḥīḥs.
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Hadith of Anas (245): “He ﷺ would not perform qunūt except when supplicating for a people or against a people.” Thus he would pray for the oppressed and invoke against the aforementioned tribes as well as other chiefs of Quraysh who persecuted the weak.
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Hadith of Ṭāriq al-Ashjaʿī (246): He said that he prayed with the Prophet ﷺ and with the four Rightly Guided Caliphs, and they did not perform qunūt in the dawn prayer; rather, he added, its introduction is a later innovation.
Scholarly disagreement
The jurists agree that qunūt is recommended in principle, yet they disagree over the specific prayer in which it should be observed, arriving at several positions:
• The Ḥanafīs: qunūt in witr is obligatory.
• The Ḥanbalīs: qunūt in witr is recommended.
• The Mālikīs and Shāfiʿīs: it is recommended in the dawn (fajr) prayer.
• The Shāfiʿīs, Ḥanafīs, and Ḥanbalīs: it is recommended in the obligatory prayers whenever a calamity befalls the Muslims, though the Ḥanafīs restrict this to the audible prayers.
Proofs for each view
• Ḥanafī and Ḥanbalī evidence for qunūt in witr: the report narrated by the five compilers from al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī (Allah be pleased with him) in which he said, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ taught me phrases to say in the witr prayer.” This ḥadīth will be cited shortly, God willing.
• Mālikī and Shāfiʿī evidence: the narration of al-Dāraqutnī from Anas stating, “The Prophet ﷺ continued to perform qunūt in the dawn prayer until he left this life.”