Supplication Before The Salaam, and Its Various Types

He (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) used to use different supplications in his prayer [260], supplicating with different ones at different times; he also endorsed other supplications, and "ordered the worshipper to select of them what he wishes." [261] They are:

«O Allaah! truly I seek refuge with You from the punishment of the grave, and I seek refuge with you from the trials of the False Christ, and I seek refuge with You from the trials of living and dying. O Allaah! truly I seek refuge with You from sin [262] and burden [263]»[264]

«O Allaah! truly I seek refuge with You from the evil of what I have done, and from the evil of what I have not done [265] [yet]»[266]

«O Allaah! call me to account with an easy reckoning»[267]

«O Allaah! [I ask you], by Your knowledge of the Unseen, and Your control over the creation: give me life as long as You know that life is best for me, and take me when death is best for me. O Allaah! I also ask of You fear of You, in secret and in open; I ask of You the word of Truth (in one narration: Wisdom) and justice in anger and in pleasure; I ask of You moderation in poverty and affluence; I ask of You joy which does not fade; I ask of You pleasure [which does not pass away, nor that] which ceases; I ask of You contentment with Your decree; I ask of You coolness of life after death; I ask of You the delight of looking towards Your Face; and [I ask of You] eagerness towards meeting You, not in harmful adversity, nor in misleading afflictions. O Allaah! adorn us with the decoration of eemaan, and make us those who guide and are guided»[268]

He taught Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq (radhi-yAllaahu 'anhu) to say:

«O Allaah! indeed I have wronged myself greatly, and none can forgive sins except You, so forgive me out of Your forgiveness, and have mercy on me. Truly, You are the Oft- Forgiving, the Most Merciful»[269]

He instructed 'Aa.ishah (radi Allaahu 'anhaa) to say:

«O Allaah! indeed I ask of You all Good, [the imminent and the far-off,] that of it which I know and that which I do not know. I seek refuge with You from all Evil, [the imminent and the far-off,] that of it which I know and that which I do not know. I ask of You (in one narration: O Allaah! indeed I ask of You) the Garden, and whatever saying or deed which brings one near to it; I seek refuge with You from the Fire, and (from) whatever saying or deed which brings one near to it. I ask of You (in one narration: O Allaah! indeed I ask of You) [the] good of what was asked of You by Your slave and messenger [Muhammad; and I seek refuge with You from evil of what Your slave and messenger Muhammad (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) sought refuge with You]. [I ask of You] that whatever You have decreed for me, its result [for me] be beneficial»[270]

He said to a man, What do you say during the prayer? He replied, "I bear witness (i.e. do the tashahhud), then I ask Allaah for the Garden, and I seek refuge with Him from the Fire. However, by Allaah, there is no murmuring [271] as good as yours or that of Mu'aadh." So he said, Our murmuring is like yours. [272]

He heard a man saying in his tashahhud:

«O Allaah! indeed I ask of You, O Allaah (in one narration: by Allaah), the One, the Only, the Absolute, Who begets not and nor is He begotten, and there is none like Him, that You forgive me my sins; indeed You are the Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful»

On this, he (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) said, He has been forgiven, he has been forgiven. [273]

He heard another man say in his tashahhud:

«O Allaah! Indeed, I ask of You, by the fact that to You belongs all Praise; there is no (true) god except You, [You alone, You have no partners;] the Bestower of Favours; [O] Originator of the Heavens and the Earth; O One that is Full of Majesty and Honour; O Living One, O Eternal One; [indeed I ask of You] [the Garden, and I seek refuge with You from the Fire]. [So the Prophet (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) said to his Companions, Do you know with what he has supplicated? They said: "Allaah and His Messenger know best." He said, By Him in Whose Hand is my soul,] he has supplicated Allaah with His Mighty (in one narration: Mightiest) name [274], with which if He is supplicated, He answers, and with which if He is asked, He gives»[275]

One of the last things he would say between the tashahhud and the tasleem would be:

«O Allaah! Forgive me what I have done in the past, and what I will do in the future, and what I have concealed, and what I have done openly, and what I have exceeded in, whatever You know about more know than I. You are the Bringer-Forward, and You are the Delayer, there is no (true) god except You»[276]

[260] We have not said: "... in his tashahhud" because the text is "... in his prayer", not specifying either tashahhud or anything else. Hence, it covers all positions suitable for supplication, e.g. prostration and tashahhud; the instruction to supplicate in these two postures has been mentioned.

[261] al-Bukhaaree and Muslim. Athram said: "I asked Ahmad: 'With what (words) should I supplicate after tashahhud ?' He said: 'As has been narrated.' I said: 'Didn't the Messenger of Allaah (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) say, "Then he should select whichever supplication he likes" ?' He said: 'He should select out of what has been narrated.' I repeated the question: he said: 'From what has been narrated'." This was quoted by Ibn Taymiyyah (Majmoo` al-Fataawaa 69/218/1), who endorsed it, adding, "Hence, 'whichever supplication' refers to the supplications which Allaah loves, not to any supplication ..."; later he said: "Hence, it is best to say: (one should supplicate) with the approved, established supplications, and these are what have ben narrated and those that are beneficial." This is so, but to recognise which supplications are indeed beneficial depends on authentic knowledge, and this is rarely found among the people, so it is best to stick to the supplications quoted, especially when they include what the worshipper wishes to request. Allaah knows best.

[262] ma'tham: what causes a man to sin, or the sin itself.

[263] maghram: burden; here it means debt, as proved by the rest of the hadeeth, in which `Aa.ishah said: "Someone said to him, `Why do you seek refuge from maghram, so often, O Messenger of Allaah ?' He replied, Truly, when a man becomes indebted, he speaks and lies, and he promises and breaks his promise.

[264] al-Bukhaaree and Muslim.

[265] i.e. from the evil of the bad actions I have done, and from the evil of not doing good actions.

[266] an-Nasaa.ee with a saheeh sanad and Ibn Abee `Aasim in his as-Sunnah (no. 370 - with my checking); the addition is from the latter.

[267] Ahmad and al-Haakim who declared it saheeh and adh-Dhahabee agreed.

[268] an-Nasaa.ee and al-Haakim who declared it saheeh and adh-Dhahabee agreed.

[269] al-Bukhaaree and Muslim.

[270] Ahmad, Tayaalisee, al-Bukhaaree in al-Adab al-Mufrad, Ibn Maajah and al-Haakim who declared it saheeh and adh-Dhahabee agreed. I have given its takhreej in Silsilah al-Ahaadeeth as-Saheehah (1542).

[271] dandanah: to speak such the intonation is audible, but the words are incomprehensible - in the case, the quiet words of supplication. The final statement means, "Our words are like yours."

[272] Abu Daawood, Ibn Maajah and Ibn Khuzaymah (1/87/1) with a saheeh isnaad.

[273] Abu Daawood, an-Nasaa.ee, Ahmad and Ibn Khuzaymah; al-Haakim declared it saheeh and adh-Dhahabee agreed.

[274] This is tawassul (a seeking of approach) to Allaah through His most beautiful names and attributes, and this is what Allaah the Exalted commands:

{To Allaah belong the most beautiful names, so call on Him by them}, (Soorah al-A`raaf 7:180). As for seeking to approaching Allaah through other things, e.g. for so-and-so's sake, or by so-and-so's right, status, dignity, etc., there is text from Imaam Abu Haneefah (rahima-hullaah) and his companions that such a practice is at least disliked (makrooh); in general it is prohibited (haraam). Therefore, it is a pity that one sees most of the people, among them many Shaykhs, totally neglecting the approved tawassul, - you will never hear them approaching Allaah this way - but they are well-versed in innovated forms of tawassul, which are at the very least debatable, as though no other way is allowed! Shaykh-ul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah has composed an extremely good essay on this subject entitled Tawassul and Waseelah ("Approaching Allaah, and the Means of doing so"), which should be consulted, for it is very important, and there is little to compare with it in its coverage. There is also my article Tawassul - its types and its rules, which is also important in its subject-matter and format, and also refutes some of the latest misconceptions advanced by contemporary doctors of religion. May Allaah guide us and them.

[275] Abu Daawood, an-Nasaa.ee, Ahmad, al-Bukhaaree in al-Adab al-Mufrad, at-Tabaraanee and Ibn Mandah in Tawheed (44/2, 67/1, 70/1-2) with saheeh isnaads.

[276] Muslim and Abu `Awaanah.