Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the tribes of Ri'l, Dhakwan, 'Usayyah, and Banu Lihyan came to the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and made it appear that they had become Muslims. Then they sought help from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) against their own people. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent seventy men from the Ansar to help them. In those days, we used to call them the Qurra (reciters), because during the day they would gather wood and at night they would pray. The people of those tribes took them along, and when they reached near Bi'r Ma'unah, they betrayed them and killed those seventy companions. Because of this, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) performed Qunoot in the morning prayer for a month, in which he would invoke curses upon the tribes of Ri'l, Dhakwan, 'Usayyah, and Banu Lihyan. Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that people recited about this incident in the Qur'an. According to the narration of Ibn Ja'far, it was this verse: {بَلِّغُوْا عَنَّا قَوْمَنَا أَنَّا قَدْ لَقِیْنَا رَبَّنَا فَرَضِیَ عَنَّا وَأَرْضَانَا } meaning: "Convey from us to our people that we have met our Lord, and He is pleased with us and we are pleased with Him." Then this verse was abrogated.

(Second chain) Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not feel as much grief for any group as he felt for these people; they were called the Qurra (reciters). Sufyan says: This verse was revealed about these people: {بَلِّغُوْا قَوْمَنَا عَنَّا أَنَّا قَدْ رَضِیْنَا وَرَضِیَ عَنَّا} meaning: "Convey to our people that we are pleased with our Lord and He is pleased with us." Someone asked Imam Sufyan, "About whom was this verse revealed?" He said: "About the people of Bi’r Ma‘unah."

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) recited the Qunoot supplication for a month after bowing (ruku’), in which he invoked curses upon the tribes of Ri’l and Dhakwan. Also, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The tribe of ‘Usayyah has disobeyed Allah and His Messenger.

It is also narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) recited the supplication of Qunoot after bowing (ruku') for a month, in which he would invoke curse upon a tribe from among the Arab tribes, then he abandoned it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, that when the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, raised his head from bowing in the Fajr prayer, he said: "Rabbana wa laka al-hamd." This was in the last rak'ah. Then he began to supplicate against certain people: "O Allah! Send Your curse upon so-and-so, ..." He supplicated against the hypocrites, but Allah the Exalted revealed this verse: (O Prophet!) You have no authority in the matter; Allah may accept their repentance or punish them, for they are wrongdoers.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) raised his head from the last bowing (ruku) in the morning prayer, he made this supplication: O Allah, our Lord! And to You alone belongs all praise. So grant deliverance to Walid bin Walid, Salamah bin Hisham, Ayyash bin Abi Rabi’ah, and the weak ones of Makkah. O Allah! Intensify Your punishment upon the tribe of Mudar and inflict upon them a famine like that during the time of Yusuf (peace be upon him).

Sayyiduna Khafaf bin Ima’ Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) led us in the morning prayer while we were with him. When he raised his head from the last bowing, he invoked this curse: May Allah curse Lihyan, Ra’l, Dhakwan, and ‘Usayyah; they have disobeyed Allah and His Messenger. May Allah grant safety to Aslam, and may Allah forgive Ghifar. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) fell into prostration. When he finished (the prayer), he said: O people! I did not say these words; rather, Allah, the Exalted, said them. In another narration, Khafaf said: For this reason, cursing the disbelievers was established.

Ibn Sirin says that Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked whether the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) performed Qunoot. He replied: Yes, he performed it after bowing (ruku). After that, he was asked again whether the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) performed Qunoot in the Fajr prayer. He replied: Yes, he performed it after bowing for some time.

Asim Ahwal says: I asked Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) about Qunoot—whether it is before or after bowing (ruku‘)? He replied: It is before bowing. I said: People think that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) performed Qunoot after bowing. Upon hearing this, he said: The people are mistaken. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) performed Qunoot for only one month, in which he invoked curses upon those people who had killed his Companions, who were called the Qurra (reciters).

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) always performed Qunoot in Fajr until he departed from this world.