Then, once we have finished these litanies in the order just described, we recite the Throne Verse (Āyat al-Kursī) as well as Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ—“Say: He is Allah, One”—and the two chapters of refuge, al-Falaq and al-Nās. It is recommended to repeat these three sūrahs three times after the Maghrib and Fajr prayers.

It is also recommended to voice the tahlīl, tasbīḥ, taḥmīd, and takbīr aloud after the prayer, but not in unison; each worshipper should raise his voice individually. To keep track of the prescribed numbers of tahlīl, tasbīḥ, taḥmīd, and takbīr, one may make use of a counting aid, yet again this should be done individually, not collectively.

The Sunnah is to count on one’s fingers, for the fingers will be questioned and made to speak on the Day of Resurrection. Using a string of prayer beads (subḥah) is permissible so long as one does not believe it possesses any special merit; some scholars nevertheless regarded it as disliked. If someone imagines that the beads themselves have inherent virtue, their use becomes an innovation—like the oversized strings that certain Ṣūfīs wear around their necks or on their wrists like bracelets. Besides being an innovation, such displays reek of ostentation and affectation.

After completing these remembrances a person should pray privately for whatever he wishes, for supplication offered after this act of worship and these momentous invocations is more likely to be answered. He should not raise his hands in supplication after an obligatory prayer, as some people do, for that is an innovation; he may, however, do so occasionally after a voluntary prayer. Nor should he make his supplication aloud: he should lower his voice, for that is nearer to sincerity and humility and farther from ostentation.