—asking Him to lift that calamity from the Muslims, whether it is the sudden onslaught of an enemy or any other affliction that strikes them. In such circumstances qunūt in the prayers is prescribed. When there is no calamity, however, qunūt in the obligatory prayers is not legislated; indeed, some scholars regard it as a blameworthy innovation. This is because what is authentically established from the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—is that he only performed qunūt during times of calamity. He made qunūt and prayed on behalf of the oppressed in Mecca, and he invoked against those who killed the Qur’an-reciters from among the Companions at Biʾr Maʿūna and elsewhere, supplicating against them for an entire month. All of this indicates that qunūt is restricted to situations of hardship and disaster.

Imam al-Shāfiʿī, may Allah have mercy on him, held that qunūt is legislated permanently in the Fajr prayer, but the majority of scholars differ with him. The ḥadīth on which al-Shāfiʿī relied—“The Prophet continued to make qunūt until he departed this world”—contains weakness in its chain and is therefore unsuitable as evidence.

Authentic reports indicate the opposite: they show that the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—did not regularly perform qunūt in the obligatory prayers; he only did so during calamities. Likewise, the Rightly Guided Caliphs after him did not practice it, which proves that it is not prescribed. When some of the Companions were asked about it, they replied, “It is something newly introduced,” meaning that it arose after the Prophet. This demonstrates that qunūt in the Fajr prayer is not legislated, even though certain scholars have held that opinion. Allah knows best.