If the imam says Qunoot in Fajr prayer silently, should he say Qunoot or remain silent?

What the imam is doing before bowing in the second rak’ah is
Qunoot, and saying it silently is permissible according to the Maaliki
madhhab. They regarded it as mustahabb to make Qunoot in Fajr prayer silent.
This is also one of the two views of the Shaafa’is. 

The basic principle concerning Qunoot in Fajr is the subject
of some difference of scholarly opinion. Some of them, such as the Maalikis
and Shaafa’is, think that it is prescribed, and some of them, such as the
Hanafis and Hanbalis, do not think that this is the case. 

Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in
al-Mughni (1/449): It is not Sunnah to say Qunoot in Fajr prayer or any
other prayer, apart from Witr. This is the view of al-Thawri and Abu
Haneefah, and it was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas, Ibn ‘Umar, Ibn Mas’ood and
Abu’l-Darda’. 

Maalik, Ibn Abi Layla, al-Hasan ibn Saalih and al-Shaafa’i
said that it is Sunnah to say Qunoot in Fajr at all times, because Anas
said: The Messenger of Allaah (blessings and peace of Allaah be upon him)
said Qunoot in Fajr until he departed this world. This was narrated by Imam
Ahmad in al-Musnad. ‘Umar said Qunoot in Fajr in the presence of the
Companions and others. 

And we have what is narrated, that the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allaah be upon him) said Qunoot for a month, praying against one of
the tribes of the Arabs, then he stopped doing that. Narrated by Muslim. And
Abu Hurayrah and Abu Mas’ood narrated something similar from the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allaah be upon him). And it was narrated that Abu
Maalik said: I said to my father: O my father, you prayed behind the
Messenger of Allaah (blessings and peace of Allaah be upon him), and behind
Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and ‘Uthmaan, and behind ‘Ali here in Kufah for about five
years. Did they say Qunoot? He said: That is an innovation. Al-Tirmidhi
said: this is a saheeh hasan hadeeth, and should be followed according to
most of the scholars. Ibraaheem al-Nakha’i said: The first one who said
Qunoot in Fajr prayer was ‘Ali, because he was a man at war who prayed
against his enemies. Sa’eed narrated in his Sunan from Hushaym, from
‘Urwah al-Hamadhaani, that al-Shu’bi said: When ‘Ali said Qunoot in Fajr
prayer, the people objected. ‘Ali said: We are only asking Allaah for
support against our enemies. And it was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may
Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (blessings and
peace of Allaah be upon him) did not say Qunoot in Fajr prayer except when
he was praying for some people or praying against some people. Narrated by
Sa’eed. The hadeeth of Anas may be understood as meaning that he stood for a
long time, because that may be called Qunoot. And the Qunoot of ‘Umar may be
understood as having happened at times of calamity, because most of the
reports from him indicate that he did not say Qunoot, but a number of people
narrated that from him, which indicates that his Qunoot was only in times of
calamity. End quote. 

See: al-Mawsoo’ah al-Fiqhiyyah, 34/58 

Although the more correct view is that there should be no
Qunoot in Fajr except in times of calamity, there is nothing wrong with
praying behind someone who says Qunoot in Fajr and saying Ameen to his du’aa’. 

The Shaafa’is say that it is permissible to pray Zuhr and
‘Asr behind someone who is praying Fajr and Maghrib, and they said that it
does not matter if one follows the imam in Qunoot when he is praying Fajr,
and to sit for the second tashahhud when the imam is praying Maghrib, as in
the case of one who joins the prayer late, and he may stop following the
imam, but following the imam is better than stopping following him.

If it is said: how can it be permissible for the one who is
praying behind an imam to follow the imam in Qunoot even though it is not
prescribed for the one who is praying behind him, my answer is that this is
forgiven for the sake of following the imam. Mughni al-Muhtaaj by
al-Sharabeeni, 1/245 

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him)
said: 

If the person praying behind an imam is following someone who
says Qunoot in Fajr or Witr, he should say Qunoot with him, whether he says
Qunoot before or after bowing, but if he does not usually say Qunoot he
should not say Qunoot with him. 

If the imam thinks that something is mustahabb and the people
praying behind him do not think that it is mustahabb, and he refrains from
it the sake of agreement and harmony, then he has done well. End quote.
Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 22/268. 

See also question no.
20031,
5459,
59925. 

With regard to what we have mentioned about following the
imam, it makes no difference whether the imam says Qunoot out loud or
silently. If the imam says it out loud, then those who are praying behind
him should say Ameen to his du’aa’, and if he says it silently, as mentioned
in the question, then the person praying behind him should say Qunoot to
himself, until the imam has finished. 

Ibn Muflih quoted in al-Furoo’, 1/542, a report from
Imam Ahmad that if he does not hear the imam, he should say du’aa’, even if
this is in the Qunoot of Witr. It is stated that with regard to the one who
is praying behind an imam who says Qunoot in Fajr, there are two reports:
one says that he should keep quiet and the other says that he should follow
him as in Witr. Al-Mardaawi said in his Tasheeh: The correct view is
that he should follow him, so he should say Ameen and offer du’aa’. End
quote. 

Hence Shaykh Ibn Qaasim (may Allaah have mercy on him) stated
in Haashiyat al-Rawd that he should follow him here, and he commented
on the words in al-Rawd, “Whoever follows an imam who says Qunoot in
Fajr should follow him and say Ameen” by noting (2/199):

i.e., he should follow the imam in his du’aa’, because of the
hadeeth: “The imam has only been appointed to be followed, so do not differ
from him.” Similarly, the person who is praying behind an imam should say
Ameen to his imam’s du’aa’ if he hears Qunoot, and if he does not hear it
he should say du’aa’. End quote. 

And Allaah knows best.