Praise be to Allah, Lord of all worlds. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and all his companions.
The supplications said after the prayer are among the greatest daily Sunnahs a Muslim should preserve. They come after a mighty act of worship and combine seeking forgiveness, magnifying Allah, affirming His oneness, thanking Him, and asking Him for firmness and acceptance. They are simple adhkar, yet immense in reward, and the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, taught them to his companions and encouraged them to maintain them.
They are the prescribed remembrances a Muslim says after making salam from the obligatory prayer, such as seeking forgiveness, saying tasbih, tahmid, takbir, tahlil, reciting Ayat al-Kursi, reciting the Mu'awwidhat, and other established supplications and adhkar.
These adhkar are said after the five obligatory prayers, and Fajr and Maghrib have some additional adhkar that are specifically mentioned in the Sunnah.
The order of the adhkar is broad and flexible, but it is best for the Muslim to begin with what is reported that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, used to say immediately after the salam, then continue with the rest of the remembrances.
Even though the servant has just completed the prayer, he still seeks Allah’s forgiveness, because no act of worship is free from some shortcoming, distraction, or deficiency, so he concludes it with istighfar.
From Thawban, may Allah be pleased with him; narrated by Muslim.
The phrase “no possessor of fortune can benefit from his fortune against You” means that wealth, status, or worldly advantage do not avail a person before Allah; rather, what benefits him is faith and righteous deeds.
Narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim from Al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah, may Allah be pleased with him.
This dhikr renews the meaning of tawhid after the prayer, and affirms that all worship belongs to Allah alone.
Narrated by Muslim from 'Abdullah ibn Al-Zubayr, may Allah be pleased with them both.
Another established form is thirty-three tasbihs, thirty-three tahmids, and thirty-four takbirs. A shorter established form also exists: ten tasbihs, ten tahmids, and ten takbirs.
Narrated by Muslim, and other forms are established in the Sunnah.
A hadith about its virtue after every prescribed prayer was deemed sound or acceptable by a number of scholars, stating that whoever recites it after each prayer is kept from entering Paradise only by death.
Its virtue is mentioned in a hadith deemed sound or acceptable by a number of scholars.
They are recited three times after Fajr and Maghrib because those are the times of entering the day and the night, and the adhkar of those times are given extra care.
The instruction to recite the Mu'awwidhat after every prayer is established in the hadith of 'Uqbah ibn 'Amir, narrated by Abu Dawud, Al-Nasa'i, and Al-Tirmidhi.
It is reported regarding its virtue after Maghrib that whoever says it ten times right after Maghrib, Allah sends for him a guard detail that protects him from Satan until morning, ten binding good deeds are written for him, ten destructive sins are erased from him, and it is equivalent for him to freeing ten believing slaves. A similar meaning is reported after the Fajr prayer as well.
The word maslahah here means a group of guards; what is intended is angels who protect him by Allah’s command from Satan.
Narrated by Ahmad, Al-Tirmidhi, Al-Nasa'i, and others, and judged sound or acceptable by a number of scholars.
| Supplication | Repetition | Brief Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Seeking forgiveness and “O Allah, You are Peace” | 3 times, then once | Muslim |
| None has the right to be worshipped except Allah... none can withhold what You give | Once | Al-Bukhari and Muslim |
| None has the right to be worshipped except Allah... and we worship none but Him | Once | Muslim |
| Tasbih, tahmid, and takbir | 33/33/33 then the completion | Muslim |
| Ayat al-Kursi | Once | A hadith deemed sound or acceptable by a number of scholars |
| Al-Ikhlas and Al-Mu'awwidhatayn | Once, and three times after Fajr and Maghrib | Abu Dawud, Al-Nasa'i, and Al-Tirmidhi |
| None has the right to be worshipped except Allah... He gives life and causes death | 10 times after Fajr and Maghrib | Ahmad, Al-Tirmidhi, and Al-Nasa'i |
The adhkar after prayer are an emphasized Sunnah and are not obligatory according to the majority of scholars. Still, preserving them is a sign of honoring the prayer and following the Sunnah.
Yes. There is no harm in reading them from a phone or a sheet of paper for one who has not memorized them yet, then striving to memorize them over time.
The prescribed adhkar said after the prayer are to be said immediately after the obligatory prayer, before moving to the regular Sunnah prayer.
They are said once after Dhuhr, 'Asr, and 'Isha', and three times after Fajr and Maghrib, combining the adhkar after prayer with the morning and evening adhkar.
The adhkar after prayer are a great door of goodness. They take only a few minutes, yet they fill the heart with tawhid, seeking forgiveness, gratitude, and neediness before Allah. So make them a fixed part of your prayer. Begin with what you already know, then add more until you have memorized them all. Whoever preserves dhikr after prayer finds his heart increased in life and tranquility by Allah’s permission.