The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) would seek to draw close to Allah (may He be glorified and exalted) by offering supplication (du‘a’) in all situations. This included the supplication of Qunut, which he would offer during his prayer. His companions (may Allah be pleased with them) were very keen to follow the practice of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and to spread his Sunnah. In this hadith, Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) tells us about the Qunut of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) during his prayer. Qunut is the name of the supplication that is offered during the prayer at a particular point when standing, as the imam may say Qunut before bowing or straight after standing up from bowing in the final rak‘ah, and those who are praying behind him should say Amin to his supplication. Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) explained that Qunut was offered in Maghrib and Fajr prayers, and the reason for this Qunut was that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was praying against a tribe of the polytheists who had killed approximately seventy reciters of the Qur’an whom the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) had sent to them, to call them to Islam and teach them about the religion. He continued to pray against them, as was narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim from Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) prayed Qunut for a month, after bowing in Fajr prayer, praying against Ri‘l and Dhakwan, saying: “ ‘Usayyah [a tribe] have disobeyed [‘asat] Allah and His Messenger.” Then he stopped praying against them, when Allah (may He be exalted) revealed the words: {Not for you, [O Muhammad, but for Allah], is the decision} [Al ‘Imran 3:128]. This hadith indicates that Qunut may be said at times of calamity and turmoil. It indicates that we may pray against oppressors and those who harm the Muslims..