Remembrances after the salam of the prayer

اَسْتَغْفِرُ اللّٰهَ (I seek forgiveness from Allah) Say it three times, then say this:

اَللّٰهُمَّ اَنْتَ السَّلَامُ وَمِنْكَ السَّلَامُ تَبَارَكْتَ [ يَا ] ذَا الْجَلَالِ وَالْاِكْرَامِ

O Allah! You are the One who is peace, and from You alone is peace. You are most blessed, O Possessor of majesty and honour!

1. Sahih Muslim, no. (591), the wording is his, Sunan Abi Dawud, no. (1315), Sunan at-Tirmidhi, no. (300), Sunan an-Nasa'i, no. (1337), Sunan Ibn Majah, no. (928), and the addition is in their narrations, and al-Albani graded it Sahih in “Sahih Abi Dawud” (5/246) no. (1355)

Say these words three times:

لَآ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ وَحْدَهٗ لَا شَرِيْكَ لَهٗ ، لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ وَهُوَ عَلٰى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيْرٌ

There is no deity except Allah; He is alone and has no partner. His is the dominion and His is all praise, and He has full power over all things.

1. Sahih al-Bukhari, no. (6473), Sunan an-Nasa'i, no. (1343), Musnad Ahmad (4/250). Saying it three times was narrated only by Amir ash-Sha'bi, against all the other narrators.

After that, say this:

اَللّٰهُمَّ لَا مَانِعَ لِمَآ اَعْطَيْتَ وَلَا مُعْطِيَ لِمَا مَنَعْتَ وَلَا يَنْفَعُ ذَا الْجَدِّ مِنْكَ الْجَدُّ

O Allah! None can withhold what You give, and none can give what You withhold, and the high standing of a man of standing cannot benefit him against You.

1. Sahih al-Bukhari, no. (844), Sahih Muslim, no. (593), Sunan Abi Dawud, no. (1505), Sunan an-Nasa'i, no. (1341).

لَآ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ وَحْدَهٗ لَا شَرِيْكَ لَهٗ ، لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ وَهُوَ عَلٰى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيْرٌ ، لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ اِلَّا بِاللّٰهِ ، لَآ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ ، وَلَا نَعْبُدُ اِلَّآ اِيَّاهُ ، لَهُ النِّعْمَةُ وَلَهُ الْفَضْلُ وَلَهُ الثَّنَآءُ الْحَسَنُ لَآ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ مُخْلِصِيْنَ لَهُ الدِّيْنَ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ الْكَافِرُوْنَ

There is no deity except Allah; He is alone and has no partner. His is the dominion and His is all praise, and He has full power over all things. There is no strength to avoid evil nor power to do good except through the enabling of Allah. There is no deity except Allah, and we worship none but Him. His is the blessing, His is the bounty and His is the finest praise. There is no deity except Allah; we make our religion sincerely for Him, even if the disbelievers dislike (it).

1. Sahih Muslim, no. (594), the wording is his, Sunan Abi Dawud, no. (1506), Sunan an-Nasa'i, no. (1339) and no. (1340).

”سُبْحَانَ اللّٰهِ“(Glory be to Allah) [say it 33 times]

”اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ“(All praise is for Allah) [say it 33 times]

” وَاللّٰهُ اَكْبَرُ “ (And Allah is the Greatest) [say it 33 times]

After that, say this:

لَآ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ وَحْدَهٗ لَا شَرِيْكَ لَهٗ، لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ وَهُوَ عَلٰى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيْرٌ

There is no deity except Allah; He is alone and has no partner. His is the dominion and His is all praise, and He alone has full power over all things.

1. Sahih Muslim, no. (597), Sunan Abi Dawud, no. (1504).

After every prayer, recite the following surahs:

بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ

﴿قُلْ هُوَ اللّٰهُ اَحَدٌ ۝١ اَللّٰهُ الصَّمَدُ ۝٢ لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُوْلَدْ ۝٣ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَّهٗ كُفُوًا اَحَدٌ ۝٤﴾

بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ

﴿قُلْ اَعُوْذُ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَقِ ۝١ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ ۝٢ وَمِنْ شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ اِذَا وَقَبَ ۝٣ وَمِنْ شَرِّ النَّفّٰثٰتِ فِي الْعُقَدِ ۝٤ وَمِنْ شَرِّ حَاسِدٍ اِذَا حَسَدَ ۝٥﴾

بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ

﴿قُلْ اَعُوْذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ ۝١ مَلِكِ النَّاسِ ۝٢ اِلٰهِ النَّاسِ ۝٣ مِنْ شَرِّ الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ ۝٤ الَّذِيْ يُوَسْوِسُ فِيْ صُدُوْرِ النَّاسِ ۝٥ مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ وَالنَّاسِ ۝٦﴾

In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

Say, "He is Allah, [who is] One, Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent."

In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

Say, "I seek refuge in the Lord of daybreak from the evil of that which He created and from the evil of darkness when it settles and from the evil of the blowers in knots and from the evil of an envier when he envies."

In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

Say, "I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind, the Sovereign of mankind, the God of mankind, from the evil of the retreating whisperer - who whispers [evil] into the breasts of mankind - from among the jinn and mankind."

1. Sahih, Sunan at-Tirmidhi, no. (2903), al-Arba'un of Ibn Asakir (page 83), al-Awsat of Ibn al-Mundhir (3/277), from the hadith of Uqbah bin Amir, and al-Albani graded it Sahih in “as-Sahihah” no. (1514)

   This hadith of Uqbah bin Amir (RA), in at-Tirmidhi, Ibn Asakir and Ibn al-Mundhir, is mentioned only with “al-Mu'awwidhatayn”, that is, it mentions only Surah al-Falaq and Surah an-Nas.

   But in some books this same hadith has the word “al-Mu'awwidhat” [Sunan Abi Dawud, no. 1523]. From this some people understood that Surah al-Ikhlas is also included in it, its inclusion among the mu'awwidhat being by way of taghlib, whereas in other routes of this same hadith “al-Mu'awwidhatayn” is stated clearly, which proves that by “al-Mu'awwidhat” only the “Mu'awwidhatayn” are meant, that is, the plural has been used for two.

   If, in this hadith, Surah al-Ikhlas were included by taghlib in the plural form mu'awwidhat, then in the other routes of this same hadith, where only the “Mu'awwidhatayn” are mentioned, “Surah al-Ikhlas” should also have been mentioned with them. For example, in a hadith of Sahih al-Bukhari the term mu'awwidhat is applied by taghlib to Surah al-Ikhlas along with the Mu'awwidhatayn [Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 6319], but in its other routes, where only the “Mu'awwidhatayn” are mentioned, “Surah al-Ikhlas” is also mentioned separately with them. The words are: “بِقُلْ هُوَ اللّٰهُ أَحَدٌ وَبِالْمُعَوِّذَتَيْنِ” [Sahih al-Bukhari, 5748]

   So if, in the cited hadith of Sunan Abi Dawud, Surah al-Ikhlas had been taken as included by taghlib through the word “mu'awwidhat”, then when only the “Mu'awwidhatayn” are mentioned in the other, detailed hadith, Surah al-Ikhlas should also have been mentioned separately with them. But that is not the case, which proves that here only the Mu'awwidhatayn are called “mu'awwidhat”, the plural being used for two.

   ☆ Note that some narrators turned this same hadith of Uqbah bin Amir (RA) into a hadith of “Abdullah bin Khubayb”, and stated in it that the Prophet ﷺ, on a rainy night, taught him to recite the Mu'awwidhatayn and Surah al-Ikhlas. [Sunan Abi Dawud, no. (5082), Sunan at-Tirmidhi, no. (3575), Sunan an-Nasa'i, no. (5428)]

   Besides being weak, this narration also goes against a stronger narration, because it was narrated by “Usayd bin Abi Usayd”, who is a trustworthy narrator of a lower grade, whereas “Zayd bin Aslam”, a trustworthy narrator of a high grade and a narrator of the two Sahihs, narrated this same hadith and mentioned only the Mu'awwidhatayn, without even naming Surah al-Ikhlas; see: [Sunan an-Nasa'i, no. 5429, as-Sunan al-Kubra of an-Nasa'i, no. 7809, al-Awsat of at-Tabarani, no. 2796, Ma'rifat as-Sahabah, no. 4096 and others]

   But both these narrations are weak, because there is severe inconsistency in how their chain and text are narrated. In the text, sometimes Surah al-Ikhlas and the Mu'awwidhatayn are mentioned and sometimes only the “Mu'awwidhatayn”, as has passed; and as for the chain, sometimes it is presented as the incident of “Abdullah bin Khubayb” [Sunan Abi Dawud, no. 5082 and others] and sometimes as the incident of “Uqbah bin Amir” [Sunan an-Nasa'i, no. 5430 and others].

   After considering all the routes, the conclusion is that this incident in reality belongs to Uqbah bin Amir (RA), and its correct context is the one narrated with sahih chains from the other students of Uqbah bin Amir (RA), and in it only the Mu'awwidhatayn are mentioned; see: [Sunan Abi Dawud, no. 1462, Sunan an-Nasa'i, no. 953, no. 5436, no. 5437, no. 5438 and others]

   Hafiz Ibn Hajar (RH) has also, in several places, declared it the incident of Uqbah bin Amir (RA). [Nata'ij al-Afkar 2/347, Tahdhib at-Tahdhib, Indian edition 6/89, an-Nukat az-Ziraf 4/317] In short, this is originally the hadith of Uqbah bin Amir (RA), and none of the sahih, established routes of his hadith mention Surah al-Ikhlas. Hafiz Ibn Hajar (RH) in Nata'ij al-Afkar strongly rejected the inclusion of Surah al-Ikhlas in the hadith of Uqbah bin Amir (RA), and by quoting the various routes of this hadith he made clear that it mentions only the Mu'awwidhatayn. [Nata'ij al-Afkar of Ibn Hajar 2/291, 292; this book is among the last works of Ibn Hajar (RH)]

   Note that at-Tabarani narrated another hadith from Abu Umamah (RA) in which reciting Surah al-Ikhlas is mentioned clearly [al-Mu'jam al-Kabir of at-Tabarani (8/114)]

   But in its chain there is “Muhammad bin Ibrahim bin al-Ala' ad-Dimashqi”.

   Imam Ibn Hibban (RH) called him a fabricator of hadith [al-Majruhin (2/301)]

   Imam ad-Daraqutni (RH) declared him a liar, [Su'alat al-Barqani lil-Daraqutni (58)]

   Allamah al-Albani (RH) also called it mawdu' and fabricated, (ad-Da'ifah no. (6012)); see also: (ad-Da'ifah 13/33)

﴿ اللّٰهُ لَآ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا هُوَ ۚ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّوْمُ لَا تَاْخُذُهٗ سِنَةٌ وَّلَا نَوْمٌ ؕ لَهٗ مَا فِي السَّمٰوٰتِ وَمَا فِي الْاَرْضِ ؕ مَنْ ذَا الَّذِيْ يَشْفَعُ عِنْدَهٗٓ اِلَّا بِاِذْنِهٖ ؕ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ اَيْدِيْهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ وَلَا يُحِيْطُوْنَ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهٖٓ اِلَّا بِمَا شَآءَ وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالْاَرْضَ ۚ وَلَا يَئُوْدُهٗ حِفْظُهُمَا وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيْمُ ﴾

Allah - there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Self-Sustaining. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is [presently] before them and what will be after them, and they encompass not a thing of His knowledge except for what He wills. His Kursī extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation tires Him not. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.

1. as-Sunan al-Kubra of an-Nasa'i, no. (9928), 'Amal al-Yawm wa al-Laylah of an-Nasa'i, no. (110), and al-Albani graded it Sahih in “as-Sahihah” (2/697).

   The scholars differ on whether this narration is sahih or weak; Ibn al-Jawzi (RH) even called it mawdu' and fabricated. Our study of its chains and routes is ongoing; in sha' Allah the details will be found in our book “The Sunnah Remembrances after the Obligatory Prayers”.