Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that I went to my maternal aunt (Sayyidah Maymunah, may Allah be pleased with her). Then he narrated part of the hadith. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) went towards the mosque and began to pray there. I also stood on your (peace be upon him) left side. You (peace be upon him) remained for a while, then when you (peace be upon him) were certain that I wanted to pray with you, you (peace be upon him) took hold of me by my forehead and pulled me until you made me stand on your right side. Thus, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) performed his night prayer in sets of two rak‘ahs. Then, when the first dawn appeared, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stood and prayed nine rak‘ahs, saying salam after every two rak‘ahs, and prayed one rak‘ah of witr. And this was the ninth rak‘ah. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stopped until the dawn became bright. Then you (peace be upon him) stood and performed the two sunnah rak‘ahs of Fajr. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) lay down on his side. Then Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) came. The rest of the hadith was narrated ahead. Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says: I have narrated the words of Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) in Kitab al-Kabir. Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says: In this narration of Sayyiduna Ibn Jubayr, there is evidence that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) performed witr after the first dawn had appeared and before the second dawn appeared. Thus, there are two types of Fajr. The first Fajr appears at night (while a part of the night still remains), and the second Fajr is that after which the day begins. The issue which I dictated in refutation of some scholars who objected to my companions, that it is not permissible to pray one rak‘ah of witr, I have dictated here the narrations regarding three rak‘ahs of witr reported from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and their reasons. Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says: Regarding the qunoot of witr, I do not remember any hadith proven from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). In this matter, I have mentioned the reason and chains of transmission of the narration of Sayyiduna Ubayy ibn Ka‘b (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding the qunoot in witr reported from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). And I have also mentioned here that the mention of qunoot in the hadith of Sayyiduna Ubayy (may Allah be pleased with him) is not authentic. Because even the hadith of Ubayy (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding three rak‘ahs of witr is not established. Whereas the narration of Burayd ibn Abi Maryam, through the means of Abi Hawra, is reported from Sayyiduna Hasan ibn Ali (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) taught him a supplication to recite in witr.

Sayyiduna Hasan bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with both of them) narrates that I learned some supplicatory words from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) which I recite in the Qunoot (of Witr). (The Imam narrates the above-mentioned narration through another chain as well.) Sayyiduna Hasan bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with both of them) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) taught me some supplicatory words which I recite in the Qunoot of Witr. (Those words are:) « الّٰھُمَّ اهْدِنِي فِي مَنْ هَدَيْتَ، وَعَافِنِي فِي مَنْ عَافَيْتَ، وَتَوَلَّنِي فِي مَنْ تَوَلَّيْتَ، وَبَارِكْ لِي فِيمَا أَعْطَيْتَ، وَقِنِي شَرَّ مَا قَضَيْتَ، فَاِنَّكَ تَقْضِي وَلَا يُقْضَى عَلَيْكَ، وَإِنَّهُ لَا يَذِلُّ مَنْ وَالَيْتَ، تَبَارَكْتَ رَبَّنَا وَتَعَالَيْتَ » "O Allah, grant me guidance among those whom You have guided. And grant me well-being and safety among those whom You have granted well-being and safety. And make me a friend among those whom You have befriended. And bless me in what You have given me, and protect me from the evil of what You have decreed. Surely, You alone decree and none can decree against You. And indeed, the one whom You befriend cannot be humiliated. O our Lord, You are Most Blessed and Most Exalted." This is the narration of Waki'. However, Yusuf narrated « إِنَّهُ لَا يَذِلُّ مَنْ وَالَيْتَ » without the waw, and Ibn Rafi' narrated this sentence « إِنَّكَ تَقْضِي وَلَا يُقْضَى عَلَيْكَ » with a fa and without the waw, and this sentence «إِنَّهُ لَا يَذِلُّ مَنْ وَالَيْتَ » without the waw. Imam Shu'bah also narrated this hadith from Burayd bin Abi Maryam in the story of the supplication, but did not mention Qunoot and Witr.

Imam Shu’bah narrates from Buraid bin Abi Maryam, and he from Abu Hawra, who says: I asked Sayyiduna Hasan bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with them both), “Which supplication did you memorize from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)?” He replied: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to teach us this supplication: « الّٰھُمَّ اهْدِنِي فِي مَنْ هَدَيْتَ » He narrated about the supplication in the same manner as the hadith of Waki’, and did not mention anything about Qunoot or Witr (i.e., he did not say that we used to recite this supplication in the Qunoot of Witr). And Imam Shu’bah is firm and strong in memorization from numerous narrators like Yunus bin Abi Ishaq. As for Abu Ishaq, it is not even known whether he heard this narration from Buraid or committed tadlis from him. However, it is possible, as some of our scholars claim, that every narration which Yunus narrates from the teachers of his father Abu Ishaq, Yunus has heard that narration from his father Abu Ishaq along with his teachers. And if it is proven from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he commanded the Qunoot of Witr or recited the supplication of Qunoot in Witr, then in my view, it is not permissible to oppose the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). But I do not know of this hadith being established.

Imam Zuhri narrated from Sa'id bin Musayyib and Abu Salamah bin Abdur Rahman, from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) would not perform Qunoot except when supplicating for or against a people. So, when he (peace be upon him) wanted to supplicate for a people or against a people, he would perform Qunoot after raising his head from the bowing (ruku') of the second rak'ah of Fajr prayer.

The elder of Kufa, 'Ala bin Salih, narrated from Zubaid, from the chain of Abdur Rahman bin Laila, regarding the prayer of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Zubaid said that he asked Abdur Rahman bin Abi Laila about Qunoot in Witr, so he said that Sayyiduna Bara' bin 'Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) informed us that this is an ongoing and established Sunnah. This elder, 'Ala bin Salih, made a mistake in the word "fi al-witr" (Qunoot in Witr). Indeed, the word is "fi al-fajr" (Qunoot in Fajr prayer), not "fi al-witr" (Qunoot in Witr). Perhaps in his book, a letter between the "fa" and "jeem" was erased, and the "fa" became a "waw", and the "jeem" was written small so it resembled a "ta", (and the word "fajr" became "witr"). It is also possible that he saw the people of his city performing Qunoot in Witr, and their scholars did not perform Qunoot in Fajr prayer, so he became confused and thought that the narration of Sayyiduna Bara' bin 'Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) was about Qunoot in Witr (whereas it is about Qunoot in Fajr).

Imam Sufyan Thawri (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated from Zubaid al-Yamami that he said: I asked Abdur Rahman bin Abi Laila about Qunoot in Fajr prayer, so he said that it is an ongoing and established Sunnah. Therefore, Imam Sufyan Thawri (may Allah have mercy on him), who surpassed narrators like 'Ala bin Salih in memorization and precision, informed that Zubaid asked Abdur Rahman bin Abi Laila about Qunoot in Fajr prayer, not about Qunoot in Witr. So he told Zubaid that (Qunoot in Fajr prayer) is an ongoing and established Sunnah. And he did not mention Sayyiduna Bara' (may Allah be pleased with him) in his narration.

Imam Sufyan Thawri and Imam Shu'bah (may Allah have mercy on them), who were the two Imams of hadith in their time, narrated from 'Amr bin Murrah, from Abdur Rahman bin Abi Laila, and he from Sayyiduna Bara' (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) performed Qunoot in Fajr prayer.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Bara’ (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) performed Qunoot in the Fajr prayer.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Bara’ bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to perform Qunoot in the Maghrib and Fajr prayers. Imam Shu’bah narrates from ‘Amr bin Murrah that he says, I heard Ibn Laila narrating from Sayyiduna Bara’ bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to supplicate Qunoot in the morning and evening (Fajr and Maghrib). Therefore, these words of the narration from Sayyiduna Bara’ bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) are authentic. The wording of the narration of ‘Ala bin Salih is not correct, and the highest and most established narration regarding the Qunoot of Witr is the one narrated as mawquf from Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka’b (may Allah be pleased with him) during the era of Sayyiduna ‘Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), that they (the Companions) used to perform Qunoot in Witr after the middle of Ramadan.

Sayyiduna Urwah bin Zubair narrates that during the caliphate of Sayyiduna Umar bin Khattab, Abdur Rahman bin Qari was the governor of the treasury along with Abdullah bin Arqam. (He narrates that) Sayyiduna Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) came out of his house one night in the blessed month of Ramadan, and Abdur Rahman bin Abdul Qari also walked with him. He made a round of the mosque, and the people of the mosque were praying in different groups; some people were praying alone, and some people were praying together with others. So Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "By Allah, I think that if we gather all of them behind one reciter, it would be very good." Then Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) firmly resolved to do this. And he ordered Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) to lead them in the voluntary prayers during the blessed month of Ramadan. Then one day Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came to them while they were praying (nafl) with their reciter, so Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "How excellent is this new thing!" The part of the night in which you sleep is better than the part in which you are praying." He meant the last part of the night. So people used to stand in prayer in the early part of the night, and after the middle of Ramadan, they would curse the disbelievers (with these words) in the supplication of Qunoot: « اللّٰهُمَّ قَاتِلِ الْكَفَرَةَ الَّذِينَ يَصُدُّونَ عَنْ سَبِيلِكَ وَيُكَذِّبُونَ رُسُلَكَ ، وَلَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِوَعْدِكَ ، وَخَالِفْ بَيْنَ كَلِمَتِهِمْ ، وَأَلْقِ فِي قُلُوبِهِمُ الرُّعْبَ ، وَأَلْقِ عَلَيْهِمْ رِجْزَكَ وَعَذَابَكَ ، إِلٰهَ الْحَقِّ » "O Allah, destroy and ruin those disbelievers who prevent others from Your path, who deny Your messengers, and do not believe in Your promise. Scatter their unity, cast terror into their hearts. O True Deity, impose Your punishment upon them." Then (the reciter and imam) would send blessings upon the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and supplicate for goodness and well-being for the Muslims as much as possible, then pray for forgiveness for the believers. The narrator states that when the imam finished cursing the disbelievers, sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and praying for forgiveness for the believing men and women, he would also supplicate: « اللّٰهُمَّ إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ، وَلَكَ نُصَلِّي وَنَسْجُدُ وَإِلَيْكَ نَسْعٰى وَنَحْفِدُ، وَنَرْجُو رَحْمَتَكَ رَبَّنَا، وَنَخَافُ عَذَابَكَ الْجِدّ، إِنَّ عَذَابَكَ لِمَنْ عَادَيْتَ مُلْحِقٌ » "O Allah, we worship You alone, we pray and prostrate for You alone, and we strive and struggle towards You alone. O our Lord, we hope for Your mercy and fear Your severe punishment. Indeed, Your punishment will certainly befall Your enemies." Then the imam would say "Allahu Akbar" and bow down for prostration.