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Supplication during qunut and tashahhud

Answered as per Shafi'i Fiqh by Qibla.com

Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Karim Yahya, SunniPath Academy Teacher

After reading ” Allahumma-ghfir lee yaa Ghafoor Allahumma salli ‘ala sayyidina Muhammad wa ‘alaa aalihi wa sahbihi wa sallim” in qunut, may one make any supplication (du’a) in Arabic or another language? And can one make any Arabic supplication (du’a) during tashahhud after sending blessings (salat) upon the Prophet and his folk, Allah bless him and them and grant them peace?

Answer:
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate

Qunut is a supplication (du’a), like “Allahumma-ghfir lee”, and praise (thana’), such as, “yaa Ghafoor”. Any Arabic invocation (dhikr) consisting of this suffices. So making Arabic supplications (du’a) in addition to the one you mentioned is permissible, but they come before sending blessings on the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. The most appropriate supplication (du’a) is that which the Prophet, Allah bless and grant him and his folk peace, taught his beloved grandson, our liegelord Hasan, Allah be pleased with him. This supplication with its additions is known as the Qunut of the Shafi’is [it is mentioned in Reliance of The Traveler section f8.53].

As for non-Arabic invocations (dhikr) during the prayer, it is praiseworthy for someone unable to say them in Arabic to translate the prophetic invocations (dhikr) and supplications (du’a) like the invocations of prostration and the Qunut. Someone unable to say Arabic supplications may not compose their own supplications in a different language during the prayer (salat) because doing this invalidates their prayer (salat). This is also the case when someone able to recite prophetic invocations translates them; their prayer (salat) is invalidated according to the soundest position because there is no need for translation.[1]

It is sunna to supplicate in Arabic (or translate a prayer transmitted in the sunna) after the final blessings on the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and before salams because this was ordered in rigorously authenticated (sahih) prophetic traditions. Omitting this supplication is actually offensive (makruh) and the best forms of this prayer are those narrated from the Prophet Muhammad, Allah bless he and his folk and grant them peace, because he is the one who encompassed that which is appropriate for every occasion as opposed to other than him.[2] And Allah knows best and he alone gives success (tawfiq) and we ask Him to bless our liegelord Muhammad as well as his folk and companions and grant them all peace.

[1] See: Ibn Hajar al-Haytami, Hawashi al-Sharwani Wa Ibn Qasim al-Abbadi ‘Ala Tuhfah al-Muhtaj Bisharh al-Minhaj (Beruit, Dar Ihya’ al-Turath al-‘Arabi), 2:89.
[2] ibid 2:87.

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