The second is that qunūt is always prescribed, that observing it regularly is Sunnah, and that it is to be offered in the Fajr prayer.
Some who hold this view say that the Sunnah is to offer it silently before bowing, after the Quran recitation, and to use only the supplications beginning:
“O Allah, we seek Your help,”
to its end, and:
“O Allah, You alone we worship,”
to its end. This is Mālik’s view.
Others say that the Sunnah is to offer it aloud after bowing. They recommend using the qunūt supplication that al-Hasan ibn ‘Alī narrated from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:
“O Allah, guide me among those You have guided,”
to its end, although they may allow qunūt both before and after bowing.
Those who hold this view may cite the words of Allah Most High:
“Guard the prayers, especially the middle prayer, and stand before Allah in devout obedience.”
They say that the middle prayer is Fajr and that qunūt is to be offered in it.
Both premises are weak. As for the first, authentic reports from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, establish:
“The middle prayer is ‘Asr.”
No one familiar with the transmitted hadiths doubts this. Hence, hadith scholars and others have agreed on it, although the Companions and scholars expressed various views on the matter, speaking according to their own scholarly judgment.