he leaves, let him say: ‘O Allah, I ask You of Your bounty.’” Narrated by Muslim1.

Abdullāh ibn Amr ibn al-Ās—may Allah be pleased with him—reported that whenever the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—entered the mosque, he would say: “I seek refuge in Allah the Magnificent, in His noble countenance, and in His eternal dominion from Satan, the accursed. When he said this, Satan would say, ‘He has been protected from me for the rest of the day.’” Narrated by Abū Dāwūd2.

These are all the reported supplications that it is recommended for a Muslim to say when entering and leaving the mosque. If he finds all of this too lengthy, he should confine himself to what is narrated in Sahīh Muslim: when entering, he should say, “O Allah, open for me the gates of Your mercy,” and when leaving, “O Allah, I ask You of Your bounty.”

The words “when he enters the mosque” mean while he is entering it, and “when he leaves” means while he is leaving it.

The words “In the name of Allah,” said when entering and leaving, indicate seeking aid through the preposition bi- (“in/by”). When saying “In the name of Allah,” each person supplies the verb appropriate to his circumstances. Here the implied wording is, “In the name of Allah, I enter”—that is, seeking His aid—glory be to Him—and His enabling grace. The same applies when leaving.

The words “and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah” show the virtue of invoking peace and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—when entering and leaving the mosque. This is one of the occasions on which it is recommended to invoke peace and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him. Ibn al-Qayyim—may Allah have mercy on him—discussed these occasions in detail in his book, Clarifying Understanding concerning Invoking Blessings and Peace upon the Best of Mankind.