Fiqh-us-Sunnah - 1.161

Hadith 1.161.1

Supplications after the last tashahud and before the tasleem

It is preferred for the person to supplicate after the final tashahud and before making the final salutations (that end the prayer). The person may ask for whatever he wishes of the good of this life and the hereafter. Ibn Mas'ud reported that the Prophet, upon whom be peace, taught him the tashahud and then said, "Then choose whatever you wish to ask (of Allah)." (Related by Muslim.) Supplications are preferred acts in general, regardless of whether they are reported from the Prophet or not, although supplications authenticated by the sunnah are better. Some of these are: Abu Hurairah reported that the Messenger of Allah, upon whom be peace, said, "When one of you finishes the final tashahud, he should say, 'O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the torment of the Hell-fire and the grave, from the trials of life and death, and from the trials of the false Messiah." (Related by Muslim.) 'Aishah reported that the Messenger of Allah would supplicate in his prayer, "O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the torment of the grave, from the trials of the anti-Christ, and from the trials of life and death. Allah, I seek refuge in You from sin and debt." (Related by Muslim and al-Bukhari.) 'Ali reported that when the Prophet prayed, the last thing he would say between the tashahud and the tasleem was, "O Allah, forgive my past and later sins, what was in private and what was in public, and what I have been extravagant in. You are more knowledgeable of it than I. You are the Promoter and the Retarder. There is no god except You." (Related by Muslim.) 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr reported that Abu Bakr said to the Messenger of Allah, "Teach me a supplication that I may use in my prayers." He told him, "Say, O Allah, I have wronged my soul a great wrong and no one forgives sins except You, so forgive me with such forgiveness that only comes from You and have mercy on me. Verily, You are the Oft-Forgiving, the Oft-Mercful." (Related by al-Bukhari and Muslim.) Handhalah ibn 'Ali said that Muhjan ibn al-Adra' related to him that the Prophet entered the mosque while a man was just about to finish his prayer. The latter made the tashahud and said, "O Allah, I am asking You, O Allah, the One, the Only, the Absolute, who begets nor is begotten, nor is anyone like Him, to forgive my sins, for You are the Forgiving, the Merciful." The Prophet then said three times, "He has been forgiven."
(Related by Ahmad and Abu Dawud.) Shaddad ibn Aus reported that during his prayer, the Prophet would say, "O Allah, I ask You to confirm me in the affairs, to keep me on the correct path, to make me thankful for your blessings and excellent in Your worship. O Allah, I ask You for a tranquil heart and truthful tongue. O Allah, I ask You for the good of what You know, and I seek refuge in You from the evil of which you are aware, and I ask Your forgiveness from what You know." (Related by an-Nasa'i.) Said Abu Mijlaz, " 'Ammar ibn Yasar led us in the prayer and he made it very short. The people blamed him for that and he told them, 'Did I not complete my bowings and prostrations ... and did I not supplicate therein what the Prophet used to supplicate, saying, 'O Allah by Your knowledge of the unseen and Your power over the creation, let me live if You know that living is best for me, and let me die if You know that dying is better for me. I ask You (to forgive me) for fear of You in what is not seen and what is seen, to make my speech truthful while angry or pleased, and to have the same aim in poverty and riches. Grant me the pleasure of looking to Your face and of the longing to meet You. I seek refuge in You from a harmful loss and from the trials of a misguider.
O Allah, embellish me with the beauty of faith, and make us of the guided of the guiders." This is related by Ahmad and an-Nasa'i with a good chain.
Abu Saleh related from one of the companions that the Prophet said to a man, "What do you say in your prayer?" He said, "I say the tashahud and then I say, 'O Allah, I ask of you Paradise and seek refuge in You from Hell-fire.' But I cannot murmer as good as you or Mu'adh (as eloquent as you are)." The Prophet said, "We ask concerning Paradise and the Hell-fire." (Related by Ahmad and Abu Dawud.) Ibn Mas'ud reported that the Prophet taught him to say this supplication: "O Allah, bring our hearts together and make our relations good.
Guide us to the paths of peace and bring us out of the darkness and into the light. Keep us away from lewdness, both hidden and open. O Allah, bless us in our hearing and our sight, in our hearts, our wives and our offspring. Turn unto us, for You are the Oft-Turning, the Oft-Merciful. Make us thankful for Your blessings and complete it upon us." (Related by Ahmad and Abu Dawud.) Said Anas, "We were sitting with the Prophet and a man stood up and prayed. When he bowed and made the tashahud, he would supplicate, 'O Allah, I ask of You, for to You is the praise. There is no god except You, the Giver without question, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. O Sublime and Honorable One, O Living and Sustaining One, I ask of You.' The Prophet said to his companions, 'Do you know who he made his supplication with?' They said, 'Allah and His Messenger know best.' He said, 'By the One in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, he supplicated Allah by His greatest name. If one supplicates by that name, it will be listened to. If he asks by it, it will be given."
(Related by an-Nasa'i.) 'Umair ibn Sa'd said, "Ibn Mas'ud used to teach us the tashahud of the prayer and then he would say, 'When one of you finishes the tashahud, he should say: O Allah, I ask you for all good, that which I am aware of and that which I am not. I seek refuge in You from all evil, that which I am aware of and that which I am not. O Allah, I ask you for the good that your devoted servants asked for. I seek refuge in You from all evil, that which I am aware of and that which I am not. O Allah, I ask you for the good that your devoted servants asked for. I seek refuge in You from the evil that your devoted servants sought refuge for. Our Lord, give us the good of this life and the good of the Hereafter.' He said, 'No prophet or righteous person supplicated for anything except that it is contained therein." (Related by Ibn Abu Shaibah and Sa'eed ibn Mansur.)