which he used to recite during the night prayer, and the various supplications he would offer in his prayer at the end of the tashahhud (testimony of faith). All these forms established from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, are permissible by the agreement of the Muslims. However, those he commanded are better for us than those he practised without commanding them.

It is recorded in the Sahīh that he said:

“When any of you sits for the tashahhud, let him seek refuge in Allah from four things, saying: ‘O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the punishment of Hell, from the punishment of the grave, from the trials of life and death, and from the trial of the False Messiah.’”

Offering this supplication is better than saying:

“O Allah, forgive my past and future sins, what I have concealed and what I have disclosed, and what You know better than I do. You are the One who brings forward and the One who holds back. There is no god but You.”

It is also authentically established that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to say this at the end of his prayer. However, he commanded the first supplication. A practice whose obligatory status scholars have disputed is more strongly emphasized than one which he did not command and whose obligatory status scholars have not disputed.

Likewise, a supplication that he repeated frequently, such as:

“Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire,”

is more strongly emphasized than one he did not repeat as frequently.