The word Qunut is derived from the Arabic root letters"ق ن و" (qa-na-wa) and its lexical meaning is “to attain something by one's hands (working)”; it can also mean “a ripened bunch of dates”. However, in the Islamic terminology, its meaning is "obedience and worship coupled with humility and unpretentiousness" and thus its meaning within the Islamic terminology is to attain humbleness in worship through the acts within the prayer including the standing (for the recitation of the two chapters of the Qur'an), genuflexion (ruku’) and prostration (sajdah).

Of course, in the definition that the jurists offer for this word in the realm of Islamic jurisprudence, this word refers to a specific form of reciting one's supplication (du'a) before Allah (SwT) - in a specific posture during the salat which has been prescribed, as the lifting of one’s hands with the palms facing the sky in front of one's face - ideally being placed parallel to one's nose.

The beauty of the Qunut lies in the fact that a person offering his prayers - whether the obligatory or the recommended - is permitted at this juncture to make their requests and entreats known to Allah (SwT) in their own words and in their own language1 - whether they be supplications for the good in this world or for the next.

As for the Qunut in Salat Al-Ghufaylah, it is truly a beautiful supplication, which we make to Allah (SwT). We begin by testifying to the ultimate power and knowledge of Allah (SwT) that He is aware of everything, and thus we are confirming the fact that we are about to ask for things which may not entirely be good for us to possess.

Since Allah (SwT) knows the unseen and the evident, whereas we are limited to only the knowledge of the evident [and that too based on our extremely constrained scope of understanding], there are times in which we may desire things from this temporary, transient world which are not entirely good for us. Sometimes people desire enormous amounts of wealth, or certain types of knowledge, or to win a spouse with certain qualities and characteristics, or to be blessed with copious children. But there is a strong possibility that what may seem “good” for us (in this life and the next) may not necessarily be so for us, or we may not be able to successfully manage and handle such things.

It is for this reason that we remind ourselves in the Qunut of Salat Al-Ghufaylah BEFORE we make our own appeals to Allah (SwT) in our own words and language that only HE knows the unseen world and that He should grant us based on this.

As is a common practice and habit in the teachings of the Ahl Al-Bayt (‘a) before we actually make the request, we first ask Allah (SwT) to send His blessings upon Muhammad (S) and his immaculate family (‘a). Taking their names as intercessors and intermediaries is the essence of monotheism (tawhid) as we recognize that they are merely creations of Allah (SwT) - albeit the best of creations - but they have the ability to intercede for us by His permission.

We are then permitted to make our own supplications, which are already known to Allah (SwT), but this is where we need to consciously think about as to what it is that we want to ask from Allah. We need to ensure that our requests are legitimate, “possible” and are things that will benefit us - not only in this life, but more so in the next world. We should always keep in mind the less fortunate people in our society, our immediate family members, friends, neighbours, and community members, and should then beseech Allah (SwT) for our own personal needs.

We close the Qunut in Salat Al-Ghufaylah through a poignant supplication in which we once again tum our focus to the everlasting power and authority of Allah and confirm that there is no one other than Him who can grant our requests and this includes friends, family, colleagues at work or anyone else - and that He alone is the source of grace and bounty for all of us. We testify to the fact that He has the power to respond to our requests, and that even if we do not verbally utter our needs, He still knows what is in our hearts. However, as the hadith tells us, Allah ‘likes’ to hear His servant call out to Him and ask Him for one's needs - even if it be as ‘minor’ as our shoelaces or a pinch of salt!

To complete the etiquette of du'a, we then end the Qunut by asking Allah (SwT) to once again send His blessings upon Muhammad (S) and his family (‘a), and that all of our needs are granted just as we have been told that we should begin and end all of our supplications by asking for Divine grace to be bestowed upon the best of creations - Muhammad (S) and his noble family, the Ahl Al-Bayt (‘a).

The believer concludes his salat in the normal process with confidence in one's heart that Allah (SwT) has heard the supplications that were recited, and that if what we have asked for is good for us in this world and in the next then He will grant it to us; but if there is any danger or harm to one's faith or conviction, then He delay that goodness and store the rewards of it for the next world.

As the recommended prayers are one of the ways that help a believer in his spiritual ascent to Allah (SwT), and we have seen how the time period between Maghrib and 'Isha is one of the most important for such acts of worship, we present two other recommended prayers which can be performed within this time frame for those who wish to go above and beyond the 'minimal' spiritual regiment.

• 1. Some scholars deem that in the obligatory daily prayers, only supplications in ‘Arabic are permitted, while others permit supplications in qunut to be performed in any language.
  1. Ayatullah al-'Uzma Sayyid 'Ali Husayni Sistani, Ayatullah al-'Uzma Shaykh Lutfullah Safi al-Gulpaygani, Ayatullah al-'Uzma Shaykh Nasir Makarim as­Shirazi, Ayatullah al-‘Uzma Shaykh Wahid al-Khorasani state: “One's prayers are correct, however they have not entirely fulfilled the prescription of performance of qunut by reciting it in a language other than 'Arabic."
  2. Ayatullah al-'Uzma Sayyid 'Ali Husayni al-Khamene'i states: "According to precaution (obligatory precaution) one must recite the supplication of qunut in 'Arabic, however one can refer to the next most knowledgeable scholar who has a ruling on this."