Striving to offer duaa at the appropriate times during the prayer, especially in sujood There is no doubt that talking

to Allaah, humbling oneself before Him, asking things from Him and earnestly seeking His help, all help to strengthen the slaves ties to his Lord and increase his khushoo. Duaa is an act of worship, and we are commanded to make duaa. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): call upon Him in humility and in secret [al-Anaam 6:63]. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: Whoever does not call on Allaah, Allaah will be angry with him. (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, Kitaab al-Dawaat, 1/426; classed as hasan in Saheeh
al-Tirmidhi, 2686).

It was reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to make duaa at specific places in the prayer, i.e., in sujood, between the two prostrations and after the Tashahhud. The greatest of these is in sujood, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, The closest that the slave can be to his Lord is when he is prostrating, so increase your duaa [at that time]. (Reported by Muslim, Kitaab al-Salaah, Baab maa yuqaalu fil-rukoo wal-sujood. No. 215). And he said: As for sujood, strive hard to make duaa in it, for it is bound to be answered for you. (Reported by Muslim, Kitaab al-Salaah, Baab al-Nahy an qiraaat al-Quraan
fil rukoo wal-sujood, no. 207).

One of the duaas which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to recite in his sujood was: Allaahummaghfir li dhanbi diqqahu wa jillahu wa awwalahu wa aakhirahu wa alaaniyatahu wa sirrahu (O Allaah, forgive me my sins, the minor and the major, the first and the last, the open and the hidden). (Reported by Muslim, Kitaab al-Salaah, Baab ma yuqaalu fil-rukoo wal-sujood, no. 216). He also used to say, Allaahummaghfir li maa asrartu wa maa alantu (O Allaah, forgive me what I have done in secret and done openly). (Reported by al-Nisaa'i, al-Mujtabaa, 2/569; Saheeh alJaami, 1067).

We have already described some of the duaas that he used to recite between the two sajdahs. (See section 11). One of the things that he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to recite after the Tashahhud is what we learn from the hadeeth: When any one of you finishes the Tashahhud, let him seek refuge with Allaah from four things, from the punishment of Hell, from the punishment of the grave, from the trials (fitnah) of life and death, and from the evil of the Dajjal (Antichrist). He used to say, Allaahumma innee aoodhu bika min sharri maa amiltu wa min sharri maa lam amal (O Allaah, I seek refuge with You from the evil of what I

have done and the evil of what I have not done). Allaahumma haasibni hisaaban yaseeran (O Allaah, make my accounting easy). He taught Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq (may Allaah be pleased with him) to say, Allaahumma innee zalamtu nafsi zulman katheeran, wa la yaghfir aldhunooba illa anta, faghfir li maghfiratan min indaka warhamni innaka anta al-Ghafoor al-Raheem (O Allaah, I have wronged myself very much, and no one can forgive sin but You. Grant me forgiveness from You and have mercy on me, for You are the All-Forgiving, Most Merciful). He heard a man saying in his Tashahhud: Allaahumma inne asaluka yaa Allaah al-Ahad al-Samad alladhi lam yalid wa lam yoolad wa lam yakum lahu kufuwan ahad an taghfir li dhunoobi innaka antal-Ghafoor al-Raheem (O Allaah, I ask You O Allaah, the One, the Self-Sufficient Master, Who begets not neither is begotten, and there is none like unto Him, to forgive me my sins, for You are the All-Forgiving, Most Merciful). He (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to his companions: He has been forgiven, he has been forgiven. He heard another man saying, Allaahumma innee asaluka bi-anna lakalhamd, laa ilaaha ill anta wahdaka laa shareeka lak al-Mannaan yaa badee al-samawaati wal-ard, yaa dhaal-jalaali wal-ikraam, ya hayyu yaa qayyoom, innee asaluka al-jannah wa aoodhu bika min al-naar (O Allaah, I ask You as all praise is due to You, there is no god but You Alone, with no partner or associate, the Bestower, O Originator of the heavens and earth, O Possessor of Glory and Honour, O Ever-Living, O Self-Sustaining, I ask You for Paradise and I seek refuge with You from Hell). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to his companions: Do you know by what did he ask Allaah? They said, Allaah and His Messenger know best. He said, By the One in Whose hand is my soul, he asked Allaah by His greatest Name (ismuhul-azam) which, when He is called by it, He responds, and if He is asked by it, He gives. The last thing he would say between the Tashahhud and the Tasleem was: Allaahummaaghfir li maa qaddamtu wa ma akhkhartu wa maa asrartu wa maa alantu wa maa asraftu wa maa anta alam bihi minni antalmuqaddim wa antal-muakhkhir, laa ilaaha illa anta (O Allaah, forgive me what I have done in the past, and what I will do in the future, and what I have concealed, and what I have done openly, and what I have exceeded in, whatever You know about more than I. You are the Bringer-Forward, and You are the Delayer, there is no god except You).
(These duaas and others, along with their isnaads, are to be found in Sifat al-Salaah by al-Allaamah al-Albaani, p.163, 11th edn.)

Memorizing duaas like these will solve the problem that some people have of remaining silent behind the imaam when they have finished the Tashahhud because they do not know what they should say. Adhkaar to be recited after prayer These also help to strengthen khushoo in the heart and

Reference books for Home Libraray Here are a few suggestions:

Tafseer: Tafseer Ibn Katheer Tafseer Ibn Sadi Zubdat al-Tafseer by al-Ashkar Badaai al-Tafseer by Ibn al-Qayyim Usool al-Tafseer by Ibn Uthaymeen Lamahaat fi Uloom al-Quraan by Muhammad al-Sabbaagh Hadeeth Saheeh al-Kalim al-Tayyib Aml al-Muslim fil-Yawm wal-Laylah (or: Al-Saheeh al-Musnad min Adhkaar al-Yawm wal-Laylah) Riyaadh al-Saaliheen and its commentary Nuzhat al-Muttaqeen Mukhtasar Saheeh al-Bukhaari by al-Zubaydi Mukhtasar Saheeh Muslim by al-Mundhiri and al-Albaani Saheeh al-Jaami al-Sagheer Daeef al-Jaami al-Sagheer Saheeh al-Targheeb wal-Tarheeb Al-Sunnah wa Makaanatuhaa fil-Tashree Qawaaid wa fawaaid min al-Arbaeen al-Nawawiyyah by Naazim Sultaan Aqeedah Fath al-Majeed Sharh Kitaab al-Tawheed (edited by al-Arnaaoot) Alaam al-Sunnah al-Manshoorah by al-Hakami (ed.) Sharh al-Aqeedah al-Tahhaawiyyah, edited by al-Albaani The series on Aqeedah by Umar Sulaymaan al-Ashqar in 8 parts Ashraat al-Saaah by Dr. Yoosuf al-Waabil Fiqh Manaar al-Sabeel by Ibn Duwiyyaan Irwa al-Ghaleel by al-Albaani Zaad al-Maaad al-Mughni by Ibn Qudaamah Fiqh al-Sunnah [also available in English translation] Al-Mulakhkhas al-Fiqhi by Saalih al-Fawzaan Collections of fatwas by different scholars (Abd al-Azeez ibn Baaz, Muhammad Saalih

al-Uthaymeen, Abd-Allaah ibn Jibreen) Sifat Salaah al-Nabi (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) by Shaykh al-Albaani and Shaykh Abd al-Azeez ibn Baaz [available in English under the title The Prophets Prayer Described] Mukhtasar Ahkaam al-Janaaiz by al-Albaani Good manners and purification of the soul: Tahdheeb Madaarij al-Saalikeen Al-Fawaaid Al-Jawaab al-Kaafi Tareeq al-Hijratayn wa Baab al-Saaadatayn Al-Waabil al-Sayib Raafi al-Kalim al-Tayyib by Ibn al-Qayyim Lataaif al-Maaarif by Ibn Rajab Tahdheeb Mawizat al-Mumineen Ghadhaa al-Albaab Seerah and biographies Al-Bidaayah wal-Nihaayah by Ibn Katheer Mukhtasar al-Shamaail al-Muhammadiyyah by al-Tirmidhi, abridged by al-Albaani Al-Raheeq al-Makhtoom by al-Mubaarakpoori [available in English translation] Al-Awaasim min al-Qawaasim by Ibn al-Arabi, ed. by al-Khateeb and al-Istanbooli Al-Mujtama al-Madani (2 vols.) by Shaykh Akram al-Umari [available in English under the title Madinan Society at the Time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)] Siyar Alam al-Nubala Minhaj Kitaabat al-Taareekh al-Islaami by Muhammad ibn Saamil al-Salami There are many other good books on various topics, such as those by: Shaykh Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhaab Shaykh Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Naasir al-Sadi Shaykh Umar Sulaymaan ibn Ashqar Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ismaaeel al-Muqaddim Prof. Muhammad Muhammad Husayn Shaykh Muhammad Jameel Zayno Prof. Husayn al-Awayishahs books on al-Raqaaiq (topics to soften the heart and strengthen eemaan) Al-Eemaan by Muhammad Naeem Yaaseen Al-Walaa wal-Baraa by Shaykh Muhammad Saeed al-Qahtaani [available in English translation] Al-Inhiraafaat al-Aqdiyyah fil-Qarnayn al-Thaani Ashara wal-Thaalith Ashara by Ali ibn Bukhayt al-Zahraani Al-Muslimoon wa Zaahirat al-Hazeemah al-Nafsiyyah by Abd-Allaah al-Shabaanah Al-Marah bayn al-Fiqh wal-Qaanoon by Mustafa al-Sibaai Al-Usrah al-Muslimah amaam al-video wal-tilifiziyon by Marwaan Kijik Al-Marah al-Muslimah Idaadaatuhaa wa masooliyaatuhaa by Ahmad Abu Bateen Masooliyat al-Abb al-Muslim fi Tarbiyat Waladihi by Adnaan Baahaarith Hijaab al-Muslimah by Ahmad al-Baaraazi Wa Jaaa Dawr al-Maajoos by Abd-Allaah Muhammad al-Ghareeb

Books by Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd Abhaath al-Shaykh Mashoor Hasan Salmaan There are many other useful, good books what we have mentioned is only by way of example, and is by no means a complete list. There are also many useful pamphlets and booklets, but it would take too long to list everything. The Muslim should consult others and think hard. Whomever Allaah wishes good for, He helps him to understand