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Why is it considered an innovation (bid‘ah) to regularly supplicate (du‘a’) after prayer or to perform qunūt in the Fajr prayer, even though the Salaf had daily devotions (wird)? And is regularly performing dhikr after Fajr to obtain the reward of Hajj and ‘Umrah considered an innovation?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Remembrance of Allah (dhikr) is one of the best acts of worship and the most rewarding. Allah has asked believers to perform it frequently and has promised them forgiveness and a great reward. Perseverance in acts of obedience is not an innovation (bid'ah); rather, it is from the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and the righteous, such as night prayers (qiyam al-layl) and various forms of dhikr. The imams have recommended that a person have regular litanies (awrad) of prayer, recitation, or dhikr that they maintain. Innovation is the adherence to a specific act of worship in a particular form and at a specific time without legitimate legal evidence. As for persevering in the remembrance of Allah after Fajr until sunrise, its virtue is immense, and it is not an innovation.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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