the excesses I have committed, and whatever You know about me better than I know myself. You are the One who brings forward and the One who delays; there is no god but You. ⦗Reported by Muslim⦘.

In the Sunan of Abū Dāwūd it is recorded that the Prophet ﷺ said to a man, “How do you supplicate during the prayer?” He replied, “After the tashahhud I say: ‘O Allah, I ask You for Paradise and I seek refuge in You from the Fire. Beyond that, I am not skilled in your humming nor in the humming of Muʿādh.’ The Prophet ﷺ answered, “It is around these two matters that we are humming.”

Shaddād ibn Aws (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to say in his prayer: “O Allah, I ask You for steadiness in affairs and resolve upon righteousness. I ask You for gratitude for Your favor and for excellent worship of You. I ask You for a sound heart and a truthful tongue. I ask You for the good of whatever You know, and I seek refuge in You from the evil of whatever You know, and I seek Your forgiveness for that which You know. Truly, You are the Knower of the unseen.” ⦗Reported by al-Tirmidhī and al-Nasāʾī⦘.

ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib narrated from his father who said: “ʿAmmār ibn Yāsir (may Allah be pleased with him) led us in prayer and made it brief. Some of the people said to him, ‘You have shortened—indeed, lightened—the prayer.’ He replied, ‘Even so, within it I recited supplications that I heard from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.’ When he rose to leave, one of the men followed him and asked about the supplication, so he said: