Imam Zuhri narrated from Sa'id bin Musayyib and Abu Salamah bin Abdur Rahman, from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) would not perform Qunoot except when supplicating for or against a people. So, when he (peace be upon him) wanted to supplicate for a people or against a people, he would perform Qunoot after raising his head from the bowing (ruku') of the second rak'ah of Fajr prayer.

The elder of Kufa, 'Ala bin Salih, narrated from Zubaid, from the chain of Abdur Rahman bin Laila, regarding the prayer of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Zubaid said that he asked Abdur Rahman bin Abi Laila about Qunoot in Witr, so he said that Sayyiduna Bara' bin 'Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) informed us that this is an ongoing and established Sunnah. This elder, 'Ala bin Salih, made a mistake in the word "fi al-witr" (Qunoot in Witr). Indeed, the word is "fi al-fajr" (Qunoot in Fajr prayer), not "fi al-witr" (Qunoot in Witr). Perhaps in his book, a letter between the "fa" and "jeem" was erased, and the "fa" became a "waw", and the "jeem" was written small so it resembled a "ta", (and the word "fajr" became "witr"). It is also possible that he saw the people of his city performing Qunoot in Witr, and their scholars did not perform Qunoot in Fajr prayer, so he became confused and thought that the narration of Sayyiduna Bara' bin 'Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) was about Qunoot in Witr (whereas it is about Qunoot in Fajr).

Imam Sufyan Thawri (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated from Zubaid al-Yamami that he said: I asked Abdur Rahman bin Abi Laila about Qunoot in Fajr prayer, so he said that it is an ongoing and established Sunnah. Therefore, Imam Sufyan Thawri (may Allah have mercy on him), who surpassed narrators like 'Ala bin Salih in memorization and precision, informed that Zubaid asked Abdur Rahman bin Abi Laila about Qunoot in Fajr prayer, not about Qunoot in Witr. So he told Zubaid that (Qunoot in Fajr prayer) is an ongoing and established Sunnah. And he did not mention Sayyiduna Bara' (may Allah be pleased with him) in his narration.

Imam Sufyan Thawri and Imam Shu'bah (may Allah have mercy on them), who were the two Imams of hadith in their time, narrated from 'Amr bin Murrah, from Abdur Rahman bin Abi Laila, and he from Sayyiduna Bara' (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) performed Qunoot in Fajr prayer.