“Our Lord,” that is, O our Lord.

– “You are exalted (taʿālait).” The elevation (ʿulū) of Allah is an eternal attribute, affirmed by the many texts of the Qur’an and Sunnah. Transcendence belongs to Him—an everlasting, unchanging reality. It is the elevation of His Essence, for He is above all of His creation, separate from them, and the elevation of His attributes, for none resembles or equals Him in any of His qualities: “There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing” (ash-Shūrā 42:11). It is also His elevation over the creation through His absolute domination: “He is the Subjugator above His servants” (al-Anʿām 6:18).

As for His istiwāʾ (rising) over the Throne, it is an active attribute linked to His will. The Throne is one of Allah’s creations, and He is independent of all created things. His istiwāʾ over the Throne is real and established, yet it is an istiwāʾ befitting His majesty and greatness. This is the doctrine of Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-Jamāʿah, who neither negate His attributes nor liken Him to the creation.

He states in Sharḥ al-Iqnāʿ: “There is no harm in supplicating in the qunūt of Witr with whatever one wishes; the congregant says ‘āmīn’ to the supplication without reciting a separate qunūt. If he hears it he says ‘āmīn’, and if he does not hear it he supplicates himself. When praying alone, he uses the singular pronoun and says: ‘O Allah, guide me …’. After concluding Witr, it is recommended to say: ‘Subḥāna al-Malik al-Quddūs’ three times, raising the voice on the third.” [Narrated by Aḥmad 33/149 and al-Nasāʾī 2/173].

– “I say them in the qunūt of Witr”: this indicates that a person may add other words to the Witr supplication besides these phrases. Moreover, the Prophet ﷺ did not tell al-Ḥasan, “Do not say anything else”; he taught him these words so that they would be among what he says.

Shaykh al-Islām said: One may choose to perform or omit the qunūt supplication, yet it is preferable to conclude it with blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ, for al-Tirmidhī (486) narrated from ʿUmar (Allah be pleased with him): “The supplication remains suspended between heaven and earth; nothing of it ascends until you send blessings …”