Dua Qunoot, for witr, in both wordings.

Dua Qunoot is the short dua recited standing in the last rakah of witr. Hanafis recite Allahumma inna nasta'inuka before going into ruku, every night of the year. The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools recite Allahummahdini fiman hadayt, which the Prophet ﷺ taught his grandson al-Hasan, after rising from ruku. Both wordings are below, with when each is said.

Dua 1: Hanafi wording

اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْتَعِينُكَ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُكَ، وَنُؤْمِنُ بِكَ وَنَتَوَكَّلُ عَلَيْكَ، وَنُثْنِي عَلَيْكَ الْخَيْرَ، وَنَشْكُرُكَ وَلَا نَكْفُرُكَ، وَنَخْلَعُ وَنَتْرُكُ مَنْ يَفْجُرُكَ، اللَّهُمَّ إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ، وَلَكَ نُصَلِّي وَنَسْجُدُ، وَإِلَيْكَ نَسْعَى وَنَحْفِدُ، وَنَرْجُو رَحْمَتَكَ وَنَخْشَى عَذَابَكَ، إِنَّ عَذَابَكَ بِالْكُفَّارِ مُلْحِقٌ

Allāhumma innā nastaʿīnuka wa nastaghfiruk, wa nuʾminu bika wa natawakkalu ʿalayk, wa nuthnī ʿalaykal-khayr, wa nashkuruka wa lā nakfuruk, wa nakhlaʿu wa natruku man yafjuruk. Allāhumma iyyāka naʿbud, wa laka nuṣallī wa nasjud, wa ilayka nasʿā wa naḥfid, wa narjū raḥmataka wa nakhshā ʿadhābak, inna ʿadhābaka bil-kuffāri mulḥiq.

O Allah, we seek Your help and ask Your forgiveness, we believe in You and rely on You, we praise You with all good, we thank You and are not ungrateful to You, and we cast off and leave whoever disobeys You. O Allah, You alone we worship, to You we pray and prostrate, and to You we hasten and strive. We hope for Your mercy and fear Your punishment. Your punishment will surely reach the disbelievers.

Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, from Umar ibn al-Khattab and Abdullah ibn Masud; al-Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-Kubra, from Umar

Dua 2: Shafi'i and Hanbali wording

اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِنِي فِيمَنْ هَدَيْتَ، وَعَافِنِي فِيمَنْ عَافَيْتَ، وَتَوَلَّنِي فِيمَنْ تَوَلَّيْتَ، وَبَارِكْ لِي فِيمَا أَعْطَيْتَ، وَقِنِي شَرَّ مَا قَضَيْتَ، إِنَّكَ تَقْضِي وَلَا يُقْضَى عَلَيْكَ، وَإِنَّهُ لَا يَذِلُّ مَنْ وَالَيْتَ، وَلَا يَعِزُّ مَنْ عَادَيْتَ، تَبَارَكْتَ رَبَّنَا وَتَعَالَيْتَ

Allāhummahdinī fīman hadayt, wa ʿāfinī fīman ʿāfayt, wa tawallanī fīman tawallayt, wa bārik lī fīmā aʿṭayt, wa qinī sharra mā qaḍayt, innaka taqḍī wa lā yuqḍā ʿalayk, wa innahū lā yadhillu man wālayt, wa lā yaʿizzu man ʿādayt, tabārakta rabbanā wa taʿālayt.

O Allah, guide me among those You have guided, keep me well among those You have kept well, take care of me among those You take care of, bless me in what You have given, and protect me from the evil of what You have decreed. You decree and none decrees over You. Whoever You befriend is never humbled, and whoever You oppose is never honoured. Blessed are You, our Lord, and Exalted.

Sunan Abi Dawud 1425; Jami at-Tirmidhi 464, graded hasan; Sunan an-Nasa'i 1745

Dua 3: If you have not learnt it yet

رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةًۭ وَفِى ٱلْءَاخِرَةِ حَسَنَةًۭ وَقِنَا عَذَابَ ٱلنَّارِ

Rabbanā ātinā fid-dunyā ḥasanatan wa fil-ākhirati ḥasanatan wa qinā ʿadhāban-nār

Our Lord, give us in this world [that which is] good and in the Hereafter [that which is] good and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.

Quran 2:201, translation by Sahih International

Our teachers will check the Arabic and transliteration on this page before launch.

Guide

When and how to say it.

How to recite Qunoot in witr (Hanafi)

Pray two rakahs of witr and sit for the tashahhud.
Stand for the third rakah and recite Al-Fatiha and a surah.
Say Allahu akbar and raise your hands to your ears, as at the start of the prayer, then fold them again.
Recite Dua Qunoot quietly, whether you pray alone or behind an imam.
Say Allahu akbar, go into ruku and finish the prayer as normal.

Hanafi position

Witr is wajib, and Dua Qunoot in it is wajib, every night of the year, before the ruku of the third rakah. If you forget it and remember once you are in ruku, do not go back: finish the prayer and do sajdah sahw at the end. Qunoot is not recited in Fajr, except in a time of calamity (qunut an-nazilah).

Other madhhabs

Shafi'i: Qunoot in witr is sunnah in the second half of Ramadan, after rising from ruku in the last rakah, using Allahummahdini. Qunoot is also recited in every Fajr, after the ruku of the second rakah.
Maliki: There is no qunoot in witr. Qunoot in Fajr is recommended, said quietly before the ruku of the second rakah.
Hanbali: Qunoot in witr is sunnah all year, after ruku, using Allahummahdini. It is not recited in Fajr except in a time of calamity.

Where the two wordings come from

The Hanafi wording is reported from Umar ibn al-Khattab and Abdullah ibn Masud, who recited it in qunoot.¹ The text printed in most prayer books joins phrases from several of these reports, and some reports read inna adhabakal-jidda bil-kuffari mulhiq. Allahummahdini comes from al-Hasan ibn Ali, who said the Prophet ﷺ taught him words to say in witr.² Both are valid in any madhhab. Hanafi scholars prefer the first, and some recite the second after it.

If you do not know Dua Qunoot yet

Until you have learnt it, Hanafi scholars say you may recite Rabbana atina fid-dunya hasanah (Dua 3), or say Allahummaghfir li three times, and your witr is valid.³ Keep learning the full dua a line at a time: the copy button puts the Arabic, transliteration and meaning on your phone.

Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, Kitab al-Salat, the qunoot of Umar and of Ibn Masud; al-Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-Kubra, from Umar.
Sunan Abi Dawud 1425.
Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar, Bab al-Witr; al-Marghinani, al-Hidayah, Bab al-Witr. The other madhhabs' positions are summarised from their standard manuals.
Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, from Umar ibn al-Khattab and Abdullah ibn Masud; al-Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-Kubra, from Umar
Sunan Abi Dawud 1425; Jami at-Tirmidhi 464, graded hasan; Sunan an-Nasa'i 1745
Quran 2:201, translation by Sahih International

The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.

Questions

Good to know.

Is Dua Qunoot wajib?

In the Hanafi school, yes: Qunoot in witr is wajib, and forgetting it calls for sajdah sahw. In the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools it is sunnah, and the Maliki school does not recite it in witr.

Do I raise my hands for Dua Qunoot?

In the Hanafi school, say Allahu akbar and raise your hands to your ears before Qunoot, then fold them and recite. Shafi'is and Hanbalis raise their hands in front of the chest, as in dua, while reciting it after ruku.

What if I forget Dua Qunoot in witr?

Hanafi: if you remember before ruku, recite it then go into ruku. If you remember in ruku or later, carry on and do sajdah sahw at the end.

What can I say if I do not know Dua Qunoot?

Rabbana atina fid-dunya hasanatan wa fil-akhirati hasanatan wa qina adhaban-nar, or Allahummaghfir li three times, until you learn it.

Is Qunoot recited in Fajr?

Not in the Hanafi and Hanbali schools, except in a time of calamity. The Shafi'i school recites it in every Fajr after ruku, and the Maliki school before ruku.