I would like to know what it is you recite before you start your prayer (before you read suratul fatiha).
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
(May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
As-salaam alaikum wa
rahmathulahi wa barakathahu
I would like to know what it is you recite before you start your prayer (before
you read suratul fatiha).
jazakallah
sister in islam
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errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from
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Answer:
What to recite
before fatihah in prayer
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His
help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide,
and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear
witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear
witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His
Messengers.
It is the preferred Sunnah of the Prophet (saws) to make a
supplication immediately after the ‘takbeer’ or start of prayer and before the
recitation of Surah al-Fatihah. Some
amongst the supplications made by the Messenger of Allah (saws) and recorded in
the authentic and established Sunnah are related below:
Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 1.132a
Ref: Sunnah acts of prayer, The Opening
Supplication
It is preferred for the person to begin his
prayer with one of the supplications that the Prophet (saws) used to begin his
prayers. This occurs after the opening ‘takbir’ and before the recitation of
Surah ‘al-Fatihah’. Some of the supplications that have been related are:
1. Reported Abu Hurairah, "When the
Prophet (saws) made the opening ‘takbir’ (for prayer), he (saws) would be quiet
for a little while before his recitation. I asked him, 'O Messenger of Allah
(saws), may my father and mother be sacrificed for you, why are you quiet
between the (opening) ‘takbir’ and your recitation? What do you say (at that
time)?' He (saws) said, 'I say, O Allah, make the distance between me and my
sins as far as you have made the distance between the East and the West. O
Allah, cleanse me of my sins as a white garment is cleansed of dirt. O Allah,
purify me from my sins by snow, rain and hail." (Related by al-Bukhari,
Muslim, Abu Dawud, an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah.)
2. Reported Ali ibn Abi Taalib (r.a.) that
when the Prophet (saws) stood for prayer, he (saws) would make the ‘takbir’ and
then say, "I have turned my face to the One Who Created the heavens and
the earth as a sincere submissive (person), and I am not one of the
polytheists. My prayers, my sacrifice, my life and my death are all for Allah,
the Lord of the Worlds. He has no partner. That is what I have been ordered and
I am of those who submit. O Allah, you are the King and there is no Lord
besides You. You are my Lord and I am Your slave. I have wronged my soul and
You are aware of my sins, so forgive all of my sins. No one forgives sins save
You. Guide me to the best character. No one can guide to the best of that save
You. Turn me away from its evil, and no one can turn me from its evil save You.
At your beck and call, all the good is in Your Hands and evil is not to You.
And I am for You and to You are the blessings and the exaltedness. I seek your
forgiveness and return unto You." (Related by Ahmad, Muslim, at-Tirmidhi,
and Abu Dawud.)
3. Abdurahman ibn 'Auf asked Aishah how the
Prophet (saws) began his prayer when he would pray during the night. She said,
"When he would get up during the night, he would begin his prayer with, 'O
Allah, Lord of Jibrael, Mikhail and Israfil, Creator of the heavens and the
earth, Knower of the Unseen and the Seen. You will Judge between Your slaves
concerning matters wherein they differ. Guide me to the Truth in those matters
wherein they differ by Your permission, for You guide whom You will to the
straight path." (Related by Muslim, Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhi, anNasa'i and
Ibn Majah.)
4. Nafa' ibn Jubair ibn Mutam narrated from
his father who said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say in his
voluntary prayer, 'Allahu Akbar kabeera' three times, 'al-Hamdu lillah
katheera' three times, 'Subhanallahi bukratan wa asila' three times, and then
'O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the Shaytaan the accursed, and from his
pricking, spittle and puffing.' I said, 'O Messenger of Allah (saws), what are
his pricking, spittle and puffing?' He (saws)
said, 'His pricking is the insanity by which he takes the children of Adam. His
spittle is arrogance, and his puffing is (evil) poetry." (Related by
Ahmad, Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah and Ibn Hibban.)
5. Ibn Abbas narrated that when the Prophet
(saws) got up for the night prayer, he would say, "O Allah, to You is the
praise. You are the support of the heavens and the earth and whatever is
therein. To You is the praise. You are the Light of the heavens and the earth
and whatever is therein. To You is the praise. You are the Truth. Your promise
is True. The meeting with You is True. Your speech is True.
It is considered a Sunnah and thus optional to make a
supplication after one declares the ‘takbeer’ to signal the start of prayer and
before one recites the Surah al-Fatihah in their first rakah of prayer; if one
may recite any one of the supplications made by the Messenger of Allah (saws)
it would be preferred and best; but if one wishes to make any other
glorification or supplication unto their Lord, there is absolutely no
harm.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only
due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me
alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is
the Only Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan
Wister