Prayer and mosque
Adhan, mosque, prayer, witr and istikhara
Invocation for going to the mosque
Upon entering the mosque
Upon leaving the mosque
What to say upon hearing the Athan (call to prayer)
- #22One repeats just as the mu-aththin (one who calls to prayer) says, except when he says: Hayya AAalas-salah (or) hayya AAalal-falah ‘come to prayer, come to success’ instead, one should say: La hawla wala quwwata illa billah. ‘There is no might nor power except with Allah.
- #23Immediately following the declaration of faith called by the mu-aththin, one says:‘And I too bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah, alone, without partner, and that Muhammad is His salve and Messenger. I am pleased with Allah as a Lord, and Muhammad as a Messenger and Islam as a religion.
- #24One should then send prayers on the Prophet (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) after answering the call of the mu.adhdhin’.
- #25O Allah, Owner of this perfect call and Owner of this prayer to be performed, bestow upon Muhammad al-waseelah and al-fadeelah and send him upon a praised platform which You have promised him. Verily, You never fail in Your promise.’al-waseelah: A station in paradise.al-fadeelah: A rank above the rest of creation.praised platform: One in which all of creation will praise him on, in order to bring about the account quickly and be relieved from the lengthy standing or the role of intercession.
- #26One should also supplicate for himself during the time between the athan and the iqamah as supplication at such time is not rejected.
Invocations for the beginning of the prayer
- #27O Allah, distance me from my sins just as You have distanced The East from The West, O Allah, purify me of my sins as a white robe is purified of filth, O Allah, cleanse me of my sins with snow, water, and ice.
- #28How perfect You are O Allah, and I praise You. Blessed be Your name, and lofty is Your position and none has the right to be worshipped except You.
- #29(I have turned my face sincerely towards He who has brought forth the heavens and the Earth and I am not of those who associate (others with Allah). Indeed my prayer, my sacrifice, my life and my death are for Allah, Lord of the worlds, no partner has He, with this I am commanded and I am of the Muslims. O Allah, You are the Sovereign, none has the right to be worshipped except You. You are my Lord and I am Your servant, I have wronged my own soul and have acknowledged my sin, so forgive me all my sins for no one forgives sins except You. Guide me to the best of characters for none can guide to it other than You, and deliver me from the worst of characters for none can deliver me from it other than You. Here I am, in answer to Your call, happy to serve you. All good is within Your hands and evil does not stem from You. I exist by your will and will return to you. Blessed and High are You, I seek Your forgiveness and repent unto You.)(Allah does not create pure evil which does not have any good or contain any benefit, wisdom or mercy at all, nor does He punish anyone without having commited a sin. Something can be good in terms of its creation when viewed in a particular perspective and at the same time be evil when viewed in another way. Allah created the devil and by him, He tests His servants, so there are those who hate the devil, fight him and his way and they stand at enmity towards him and his followers and there are others who are at allegiance with the devil and follow his steps. So evil exists in His creatures by His will and wisdom, not in His actions or act of creating.)
- #30O Allah, Lord of Jibra-eel, Meeka-eel and Israfeel (great angles), Creator of the heavens and the Earth, Knower of the seen and the unseen. You are the arbitrator between Your servants in that which they have disputed. Guide me to the truth by Your leave, in that which they have differed, for verily You guide whom You will to a straight path.
- #31(Allah is Most Great, Allah is Most Great, Allah is Most Great, much praise is for Allah, much praise is for Allah, much praise is for Allah, and I declare the perfection of Allah in the early morning and in the late afternoon.)(I take refuge with Allah from the devil, from his pride, his poetry and his madness.)
- #32(O Allah, to You belongs all praise, You are the Light of the heavens and the Earth and all that is within them. To You belongs all praise, You are the Sustainer of the heavens and the Earth and all that is within them. To You belongs all praise. You are Lord of the heavens and the Earth and all that is within them. To You belongs all praise and the kingdom of the heavens and the Earth and all that is within them. To You belongs all praise, You are the King of the heavens and the Earth and to You belongs all praise. You are The Truth, Your promise is true, your Word is true, and the Day in which we will encounter You is true, the Garden of Paradise is true and the Fire is true, and the Prophets are true, Muhammad is true and the Final Hour is true. O Allah, unto You I have submitted, and upon You I have relied, and in You I have believed, and to You I have turned in repentance, and over You I have disputed, and to You I have turned for judgment. So forgive me for what has come to pass of my sins and what will come to pass, and what I have hidden and what I have made public. You are Al-Muqaddim and Al-Mu-akhkhir. None has the right to be worshipped except You, You are my Deity, none has the right to be worshipped except You.)(Meaning of Al-Muqaddim and Al-Mu-akhkhir: Allah puts forward and favours whom He wills from amongst His creation just as He defers and holds back whom He wills in accordance to His wisdom. E.g. Favouring man over the rest of creation, favouring the Prophets over the rest of mankind, favouring Muhammad over all the Prophets and Messengers…etc.)
Invocations during Ruki' (bowing in prayer)
- #33How perfect my Lord is, The Supreme.’(three times)
- #34How perfect You are O Allah, our Lord and I praise You. O Allah, forgive me.
- #35Perfect and Holy (He is), Lord of the angles and the Rooh (i.e. Jibra-eel).
- #36O Allah, unto You I have bowed, and in You I have believed, and to You I have submitted. My hearing, sight, mind, bones, tendons and what my feet carry are humbled before You.
- #37How perfect He is, The Possessor of total power, sovereignty, magnificence and grandeur.
Invocations for rising from the Ruki'
- #38(May Allah answer he who praises Him.)(This supplication is to be made while rising.)
- #39Our Lord, for You is all praise, an abundant beautiful blessed praise.
- #40(The heavens and the Earth and all between them abound with Your praises, and all that You will abounds with Your praises. O Possessor of praise and majesty, the truest thing a slave has said (of You) and we are all Your slaves. O Allah, none can prevent what You have willed to bestow and none can bestow what You have willed to prevent, and no wealth or majesty can benefit anyone, as from You is all wealth and majesty.)(This supplication is made optionally only in conjunction with the previous one.)
Invocations during Sujood
- #41How perfect my Lord is, The Most High.’(three times)
- #42How perfect You are O Allah, our Lord, and I praise You. O Allah, forgive me.
- #43Perfect and Holy (He is), Lord of the angles and the Rooh (i.e. Jibra-eel).
- #44O Allah, unto You I have prostrated and in You I have believed, and unto You I have submitted. My face has prostrated before He Who created it and fashioned it, and brought forth its faculties of hearing and seeing. Blessed is Allah, the Best of creators.
- #45How perfect He is, The Possessor of total power, sovereignty, magnificence and grandeur.
- #46O Allah, forgive me all of my sins, the small and great of them, the first and last of them, and the seen and hidden of them.
- #47O Allah, I take refuge within Your pleasure from Your displeasure and within Your pardon from Your punishment, and I take refuge in You from You. I cannot enumerate Your praise, You are as You have praised Yourself.
Invocations for sitting between two prostrations
Supplications for prostrating due to recitation of the Qur'an
- #50My face fell prostrate before He who created it and brought forth its faculties of hearing and seeing by His might and power.<< So Blessed is Allah, the best of creators.
- #51O Allah, record for me a reward for this (prostration), and remove from me a sin. Save it for me and accept it from me just as You had accepted it from Your servant Dawood.
Invocation for At-Tashahhud (sitting in prayer)
How to recite blessings on the Prophet after the Tashahhud
- #53(O Allah, send prayers upon Muhammad and the followers of Muhammad, just as You sent prayers upon Ibraheem and upon the followers of Ibraheem. Verily, You are full of praise and majesty. O Allah, send blessings upon Mohammad and upon the family of Muhammad, just as You sent blessings upon Ibraheem and upon the family of Ibraheem. Verily, You are full of praise and majesty.)(send prayers: praise and exalt him in the highest and superior of gatherings: that of the closest angels to Allah)((al) has been translated in it’s broadest sense: some scholars are of the view that the meaning here is more specific and that it means: his followers from among his family.)
- #54O Allah, send prayers upon Muhammad and upon the wives and descendants of Muhammad, just as You sent prayers upon the family of Ibraheem, and send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the wives and descendants of Muhammad, just as You sent blessings upon the family of Ibraheem. Verily, You are full of praise and majesty.
Invocations after the final Tash-ahhud and before ending the prayer
- #55(O Allah, I take refuge in You from the punishment of the grave, from the torment of the Fire, from the trials and tribulations of life and death and from the evil affliction of Al-Maseeh Ad-Dajjal.)(Al-Maseeh Ad-Dajjal: among the great signs of the last hour and the greatest trials to befall mankind, which every Prophet has warned about. Most of mankind will follow him. He will appear from Asbahan, Iran at the time when the Muslims will conquer Constantinople. He will be given special powers and will make the truth seem false and vice versa. He will claim to be righteous and then he will claim prophethood and finally, divinity. From his features is that he will be blind in his right eye which is a definite proof that contradicts his claim to be Allah as it is a sign of imperfection. The word Kafir will be written between his eyes which every believer, literate or illiterate will recognise.)
- #56O Allah, I take refuge in You from the punishment of the grave, and I take refuge in You from the temptation and trial of Al-Maseeh Ad-Dajjal, and I take refuge in You from the trials and tribulations of life and death. O Allah, I take refuge in You from sin and debt.
- #57(O Allah, I have indeed oppressed my soul excessively and none can forgive sin except You, so forgive me a forgiveness from Yourself and have mercy upon me. Surely, You are The Most-Forgiving, The Most-Merciful.)(From Yourself: i.e. from Your innermost grace without deserving it and a forgiveness which is befitting to your tremendous generosity.)
- #58(O Allah, forgive me for those sins which have come to pass as well as those which shall come to pass, and those I have committed in secret as well as those I have made public, and where I have exceeded all bounds as well as those things about which You are more knowledgeable. You are Al-Muqaddim and Al-Mu-akhkhir. None has the right to be worshipped except You.)(Meaning of Al-Muqaddim and Al-Mu-akhkhir: Allah puts forward and favours whom He wills from amongst His creation just as He defers and holds back whom He wills in accordance to His wisdom. E.g. Favouring man over the rest of creation, favouring the Prophets over the rest of mankind, favouring Muhammad over all the Prophets and Messengers…etc.)
- #59O Allah, help me to remember You, to thank You, and to worship You in the best of manners.
- #60O Allah, I take refuge in You from miserliness and cowardice, I take refuge in You lest I be returned to the worst of lives “i.e. old age, being weak, incapable and in a state of fear”, and I take refuge in You from the trials and tribulations of this life and the punishment of the grave.
- #61O Allah, I ask You to grant me Paradise and I take refuge in You from the Fire.
- #62O Allah, by Your knowledge of the unseen and Your power over creation, keep me alive so long as You know such life to be good for me and take me if You know death to be better for me. O Allah, make me fearful of You whether in secret or in public and I ask You to make me true in speech, in times of pleasure and anger.I ask you to make me moderate in times of wealth and poverty and I ask You for everlasting bliss and joy which will never cease.I ask You to make me pleased with what You have decreed and for an easy life after death.I ask You for the sweetness of looking upon Your Face and a longing to encounter You in a manner which does not entail a calamity which will bring about harm nor a trial which will cause deviation. O Allah, beautify us with the adornment of faith and make us of those who guide and are rightly guided.
- #63(O Allah, I ask You O Allah, as You are The One, The Only, AS-Samad, The One who begets not, nor was He begotten and there is none like unto Him that You forgive me my sins for verily You are The Oft-Forgiving, Most-Merciful.)(AS-Samad: The Self-Sufficient Master, Possessor of perfect attributes whom all of creation turn to in all their needs.)
- #64O Allah, I ask You as unto You is all praise, none has the right to be worshipped except You, alone, without partner. You are the Benefactor. O Originator of the heavens and the Earth, O Possessor of majesty and honour, O Ever Living, O Self-Subsisting and Supporter of all, verily I ask You for Paradise and I take refuge with You from the Fire.
- #65(O Allah, I ask You, as I bear witness that You are Allah, none has the right to be worshipped except You, The One, AS-Samad Who begets not nor was He begotten and there is none like unto Him.)(AS-Samad: The Self-Sufficient Master, Possessor of perfect attributes whom all of creation turn to in all their needs.)
Istikharah (seeking Allah's Counsel)
Invocations for Qunut in the Witr prayer
- #116(O Allah, guide me along with those whom You have guided, pardon me along with those whom You have pardoned, be an ally to me along with those whom You are an ally to and bless for me that which You have bestowed. Protect me from the evil You have decreed for verily You decree and none can decree over You.For surety, he whom you show allegiance to is never abased and he whom You take as an enemy is never honoured and mighty. O our Lord, Blessed and Exalted are You.)(Evil you have decreed: Allah does not create pure evil which does not have any good or contain any benefit, wisdom or mercy at all, nor does He punish anyone without having commited a sin. Something can be good in terms of its creation when viewed in a particular perspective and at the same time be evil when viewed in another way.Allah created the devil and by him, He tests His servants, so there are those who hate the devil, fight him and his way and they stand at enmity towards him and his followers and there are others who are at allegiance with the devil and follow his steps. So evil exists in His creatures by His will and wisdom, not in His actions or act of creating.)
- #117O Allah, I take refuge within Your pleasure from Your displeasure and within Your pardon from Your punishment, and I take refuge in You from You. I cannot enumerate Your praise. You are as You have praised Yourself.
- #118O Allah, it is You we worship, and unto You we pray and prostrate, and towards You we hasten and You we serve. We hope for Your mercy and fear Your punishment, verily Your punishment will fall upon the disbelievers.O Allah, we seek Your aid and ask Your pardon, we praise You with all good and do not disbelieve in You.We believe in You and submit unto You, and we disown and reject those who disbelieve in You.