260 – Muʿādh ibn Jabal, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to him: “I counsel you, Muʿādh: never leave off, after every prayer, saying, ‘Allahumma aʿinnī ʿalā dhikrika wa shukrika wa ḥusni ʿibādatik – O Allah, aid me in remembering You, thanking You, and worshipping You well.’ ” Reported by Aḥmad, Abū Dāwūd, and al-Nasāʾī with a strong chain. (1)

Degree of authenticity The ḥadīth is ṣaḥīḥ. Imām al-Nawawī states in al-Adhkār that its chain is sound. Shaykh Ṣiddīq Ḥasan remarks in Nuzul al-Abrār that it is recorded by Abū Dāwūd, al-Nasāʾī, Ibn Ḥibbān 5/364, and Ibn Khuzaymah 1/369 in their Ṣaḥīḥ collections. Al-Ḥākim declared it authentic according to the criteria of the two Shaykhs, al-Dhahabī concurred, and al-Mundhirī cited it as evidence.

Vocabulary • lā tadaʿanna: three fatḥahs, from wadaʿahu – to abandon; i.e., do not neglect it. • aʿinnī: open hamzah, kasrah on the ʿayn, doubled nūn; a supplication from iʿānah (assistance) in which the verb’s nūn assimilates into the nūn of protection, hence the shaddah; meaning, help me and grant me success.

Points derived from the ḥadīth 1. It is recommended to say this supplication after the obligatory prayers; the restriction to the obligatory is implied when the term “prayer” is left unqualified. 2. Concerning the phrase “after every prayer,” the scholars differed: does dubur al-ṣalāh refer to the moments just before the salām or to the time immediately after it?