It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that when the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, would say Allahu Akbar for prayer, he would remain silent between the takbeer and the recitation. I asked: May my parents be sacrificed for you, please tell me about your silence between the takbeer and the recitation, what is its reality? He, peace and blessings be upon him, said: I recite this supplication: Translation of the supplication: O Allah! Put distance between me and my sins as You have put distance between the East and the West. O Allah! Purify me of my sins as a white garment is cleansed of dirt. O Allah! Wash away my sins with water, snow, and hail.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would stand for prayer at night and begin his prayer, he would say Allahu Akbar and recite this supplication: Subhanaka Allahumma wa bihamdika tabaarakasmuka wa ta'ala jadduka wa la ilaha ghayruk. Then he would say La ilaha illallah three times, then recite: A'udhu billahi as-sami'il 'aleem min ash-shaytanir-rajim min hamzihi wa nafkhihi. Then he would say Allahu Akbar three times and then recite: A'udhu billahi as-sami'il 'aleem min ash-shaytanir-rajim min hamzihi wa nafkhihi wa nafathihi.

Translation of the supplications: O Allah! You are pure and with Your praise, blessed is Your name, exalted is Your majesty, and there is no deity except You. There is no true deity except Allah. I seek refuge with Allah, the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing, from the accursed Satan and from his madness and arrogance. Allah is the Greatest. I seek refuge with Allah, the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing, from the accursed Satan and from his madness, his arrogance, and his poetry.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah Bahili, may Allah be pleased with him, that when the Noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, would stand for prayer at night and enter into prayer, he would say Allahu Akbar three times, La ilaha illallah three times, and Subhan Allah wa bihamdihi three times, then he would recite: A‘udhu billahi min ash-shaytan ir-rajim min hamzihi wa nafkhihi wa nafthihi.

Sayyiduna Jubair bin Mut’im says: I heard that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited three times in a voluntary prayer: ALLAHU AKBAR KABE AN, three times ALHAMDULILLAHI KATHE AN, and three times SUBHANALLAHI BUKRATAN WA ASEELA, and then said: A’UDHU BILLAAHIS SAMEE’IL ‘ALEEMI MINA AYTAANIR RAJEEMI MIN HAMZIH WA NAFTHIH WA NAFKH. I asked: O Messenger of Allah! What is meant by his hamz, nafth, and nafkh? He (peace and blessings be upon him) replied: Hamz means madness and insanity, which befalls the son of Adam, and then he described the state of that madness, in which he falls unconscious. Nafkh means arrogance, and nafth means poetry.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) says that once we were performing prayer with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), when suddenly a man said these words: "Allah is the Greatest, very great. All praise is for Him, which is very much. He is pure; morning and evening we declare His purity." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: Who was the one who said these words? A man replied: O Messenger of Allah! It was I. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I was amazed at these words, for the gates of the heavens have been opened for them. Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) says: Since I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say this, I have never abandoned these words.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr bin Aas (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man once entered the prayer and he said these words: "Alhamdulillah mil'a as-samawat" and further glorified Allah and made supplication. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Who was the person who recited these words? He said: It was I. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Certainly, I saw the angels passing these words to one another.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abi Awfa (may Allah be pleased with him) says that we were standing in a row following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) when a man came and said: Allahu Akbar Kabiran wa Subhanallahi Bukratan wa Aseela. (Allah is the Greatest, very great. He is pure, morning and evening we declare His purity.) The Muslims raised their heads (towards him) and considered it bad and said: Who is it that is raising his voice above the voice of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? But when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) finished, he asked: Who was the one raising his voice? It was replied: O Messenger of Allah! It is he. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: By Allah, I saw your words ascending to the sky until a door was opened for them and they entered it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Wa’il bin Hujr (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: I prayed with the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and a man said: "Alhamdulillahi kathīran ṭayyiban mubārakan fīh." (All praise is due to Allah, abundant, pure, and blessed praise.) When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) finished the prayer, he asked: Who is the one who said these words? That man said: O Messenger of Allah! It was me, and my intention was only good. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Surely, for these words, the gates of the heavens have been opened, and nothing stopped them before reaching the Throne.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him): That when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would say the takbeer, he would begin (the prayer), then he would say (and in one narration: when he would begin the prayer, he would say the takbeer, then he would say):“I have turned my face towards Him who created the heavens and the earth, being ever-inclined (to Him), a Muslim, and I am not of the polytheists. Indeed, my prayer, my sacrifice, my life, and my death are for Allah, the Lord of the worlds. He has no partner, and with this I have been commanded, and I am of the Muslims.”Abu Nadr says:“And I am the first of the Muslims. O Allah, there is no deity except You.”And in one narration:“O Allah, You are the King, there is no deity except You, You are my Lord and I am Your servant. I have wronged myself and I acknowledge my sin, so forgive me all my sins, for none forgives sins except You. Guide me to the best of character, for none guides to its best except You, and turn away from me its evil, for none turns away its evil from me except You. Blessed are You.”And in one narration:“Here I am at Your service and all good is in Your hands, and evil is not attributed to You. I am by You and to You. Blessed and Exalted are You. I seek Your forgiveness and turn to You.”

The translation of this supplication: I have turned my face towards Him who created the heavens and the earth, being ever-inclined (to Him), a Muslim, and I am not of the polytheists. Indeed, my prayer, my sacrifice, my life, and my death are for Allah, the Lord of the worlds. He has no partner, and with this I have been commanded, and I am of the Muslims. The words of Abu Nadr are:“And I am the first of the Muslims. O Allah, there is no deity except You.”The words of one narration are:“O Allah, You are the King, there is no deity except You, You are my Lord and I am Your servant. I have wronged myself and I acknowledge my sin, so forgive me all my sins, for none forgives sins except You. Guide me to the best of character, for none guides to its best except You, and turn away from me its evil, for none turns away its evil from me except You. Blessed are You.”And the words of one narration are:“Here I am at Your service and at Your pleasure, all good is in Your hands, and evil is not attributed to You. I am by You and to You (meaning, You are the One who grants me success and my refuge is to You). Blessed and Exalted are You. I seek Your forgiveness and turn to You.”

And when he would bow (in ruku‘), he would say:“O Allah, for You I have bowed, in You I have believed, and to You I have submitted. My hearing, my sight, my mind, my bones, and my nerves have humbled themselves to You.”O Allah! I have bowed for You alone, I have believed in You, I have submitted to You, my ear, my sight, my mind, my bones, and my sinews are humbling themselves to You.

And when he would raise his head from ruku‘, he would say:“Allah has heard the one who praises Him. Our Lord, to You is all praise, filling the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them, and filling whatever else You will after that.”Allah has heard the one who praises Him. O our Lord! To You alone is all praise, as much as fills the heavens and the earth and the space between them, and as much as fills whatever else You will after that.

And when he would prostrate (in sujood), he would say:“O Allah, for You I have prostrated, in You I have believed, and to You I have submitted. My face has prostrated to the One who created it, shaped it, and perfected its form, and opened its hearing and sight. So blessed is Allah, the best of creators.”O Allah! I have prostrated for You alone, I have believed in You, I have submitted to You, my face has prostrated to the One who created it, shaped it, perfected its form, and opened its hearing and sight. Blessed is Allah, the best of creators.

Then when he would finish the prayer with salam, he would say:“O Allah, forgive me for what I have sent forth and what I have delayed, what I have done secretly and what I have done openly, and what I have exceeded in, and what You know better than me. You are the One who brings forward and the One who delays. There is no deity except You.”O Allah! Forgive for me my earlier and later (sins), my hidden and open (sins), and what I have exceeded in, and what You know better than me (forgive that too). You are the One who brings forward and the One who delays. There is no true deity except You.

Abu Muslima Saeed bin Yazid says: I asked Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) whether the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite {بِسْمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ} or {اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰہِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِیْنَ}? He replied: You are asking me about something which I do not remember, or no one before you has asked me about it.