his obligatory prayers, eclipse prayer and other prayers were balanced. If one weighs the merits of prolonging the standing, bowing and prostration while performing fewer units of prayer against shortening them while performing more units, the two approaches are close in merit. One may be better in a particular situation. Thus, when he offered the forenoon prayer on the day of the conquest of Mecca, he prayed eight brief units rather than limiting himself to two long ones. The Companions likewise increased the number of units in the Ramadan night prayers when prolonged standing became burdensome for those praying behind them.

What we have explained makes clear that qunūt is offered in times of calamity, and that its supplication has no single fixed wording. Nor should one supplicate with whatever happens to occur to him. Rather, one should offer supplications sanctioned by the Sharia that suit the reason for the qunūt. Just as, when praying for rain, one supplicates in a manner suited to that purpose, so too, when praying for victory, one supplicates in a manner suited to that purpose. The same applies when supplicating outside the prayer for that reason: one would offer supplications appropriate to the purpose. This is what is established by the Sunnah of Allah’s Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and the practice of his rightly guided caliphs.

Those who say that qunūt is among the subsidiary elements of prayer whose omission is remedied by prostrations for forgetfulness base this on the view that it is a Sunnah practice recommended for regular observance, like the first tashahhud and similar acts. It has become clear, however, that this is not the case: it is not a regular Sunnah practice, and no prostrations for forgetfulness are made on its account. Nevertheless, someone who holds that view on the basis of an interpretive judgment is accorded allowance for that interpretation, as in other matters open to scholarly judgment. For this reason, someone praying behind an imam should follow him in matters where scholarly judgment is permissible.