It is recommended for a Muslim, once the call to prayer has ended, to invoke blessings upon the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—and to ask Allah to grant him the Wasīlah. Whoever asks Allah to grant him the Wasīlah becomes entitled to intercession. Muslim narrated in his Sahīh from ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās—may Allah be pleased with them both—that he heard the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—say: “When you hear the muezzin, repeat what he says. Then invoke blessings upon me, for whoever invokes one blessing upon me, Allah will bless him tenfold for it. Then ask Allah to grant me the Wasīlah, for it is a rank in Paradise befitting only one of Allah’s servants, and I hope that I am that servant. Whoever asks Allah to grant me the Wasīlah will be entitled to intercession.”1

The best formula for invoking blessings upon him is the Abrahamic formula that the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—taught his community: “O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You sent blessings upon Abraham and the family of Abraham. Truly, You are Praiseworthy, Glorious. O Allah, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You blessed Abraham and the family of Abraham. Truly, You are Praiseworthy, Glorious.”

Al-Bukhārī narrated in his Sahīh from Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh—may Allah be pleased with them both—that the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—said: “Whoever says upon hearing the call, ‘O Allah, Lord of this perfect call and of the prayer about to be established, grant Muhammad the Wasīlah and distinction, and raise him to the Praiseworthy Station that You have promised him,’ will be granted my intercession on the Day of Resurrection.”2

Thereafter, a Muslim may supplicate Allah for whatever good of this world and the Hereafter he wishes, for this is one of the occasions when supplications are answered. Abū Dāwūd narrated in his Sunan from ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās—may Allah be pleased with them both—that a man said, “O