prayer, even if he performed them seated; for the witr of the night is below the witr of the day in rank, and so is lesser in its manner of performance. This occupies an intermediate rank between the two prostrations of forgetfulness and two full rak‘ahs. There are thus three degrees of making up deficiencies. Forgetfulness is made up for by two prostrations; but that deficiency is an outward shortfall in the amount of prayer performed, so making it up is obligatory and directly connected to the prayer. The two separate rak‘ahs, however, make up for deficiencies in its inward substance. In this way, one’s prayer becomes complete, as stated in the Sunan collections:

“The first of a servant’s deeds for which he will be brought to account is prayer. If he has completed it, [all is well]; otherwise, it will be said: ‘See whether he has any voluntary prayers.’”

The rest of his deeds will then be dealt with in the same way. And Allah knows best.

He—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—was asked:

“Did the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, offer the qunūt supplication in the ‘Ishā’ prayer or in the Fajr prayer? And what practice were the Companions following when the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, passed away?”

He replied:

As for qunūt in the Fajr prayer, it is authentically reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would offer it in times of calamity. On one occasion, he offered qunūt for a month, supplicating against a group of disbelievers who had killed some of his Companions, and then discontinued it. On another occasion, he offered qunūt, supplicating for some of his Companions who were being held captive by people preventing them from emigrating to join him.