Islamic Fiqh > Prayer > Invocations and dhikr after prayer
The moment after salam: the dhikrs fixed by the Sunna, their counts, and the rule of personal invocations at this privileged instant.
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Updated on 31 August 2026 at 3:55 AM
The end of the prayer opens a time of supplication. Abdullah ibn Mas'ud narrates that the Companions used to say in the tashahhud greetings addressed to such and such a person; the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) corrected the formula and taught the complete tashahhud, then said: when you have said that, you have accomplished your prayer, "then let him choose in his asking whatever he wishes" (al-Bukhari 800, Muslim 402).
The majority of scholars teaches that it is sunna to invoke after the final tashahhud whatever one wishes of the matters of the Hereafter and this world, as long as it is not a sin. Personal supplication finds its natural place here: in the posture of humility preceding the salam.
Abu Hanifa limits the supplication in prayer to the formulas transmitted in the Quran and the Sunna. From this stock comes the supplication Abu Bakr asked the Prophet for: "teach me a supplication with which I may invoke in my prayer". He answered: say "Allahumma, I have wronged myself with a great wrong; none forgives sins but You; forgive me a forgiveness from You and have mercy on me, You are the Forgiving, the Merciful" (reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim).
The scholars agree on the legitimacy of the prayer upon the Prophet in the tashahhud; they differ on its status: the Hanafis, the Malikis and Ahmad in one transmission make it a sunna, not an obligation, relying on Ibn Mas'ud's teaching: "when you have done that, your prayer is complete" (reported by Abu Dawud); other schools count it as obligatory (wajib).
Keep a learned formula for the tashahhud, then a short personal supplication before the salam: forgiveness, family, community. The silence of the heart in this last moment is worth more than a long list.