that comes second is given precedence, and it is the half devoted to Allah, Mighty and Majestic. Likewise, in the authentic hadith of intercession, he said:

“When I see my Lord, I will fall down before Him in prostration and praise Him with words of praise that He will inspire in me, which I cannot offer now. He will say, ‘O Muhammad, raise your head. Speak and you will be heard; ask and you will be granted what you ask; intercede and your intercession will be accepted.’”

Thus, he began by praising Allah until he was permitted to ask, and then he asked.

In Sahīh al-Bukhārī, the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:

“Whoever wakes during the night and says, ‘None has the right to be worshipped except Allah alone, without partner. His is the dominion, and to Him belongs all praise, and He has power over all things. Praise be to Allah; glory be to Allah; Allah is the Greatest. O Allah, forgive me.’ If he supplicates, his supplication will be answered; and if he performs ablution and prays, his prayer will be accepted.”

He also said:

“The best words that I and the prophets before me have spoken are: ‘None has the right to be worshipped except Allah alone, without partner. His is the dominion, and to Him belongs all praise, and He has power over all things.’”

For this reason, the tashahhud (the testimony recited while sitting in prayer) consists of praise of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. Regarding its conclusion, he said, “Then let him choose whatever supplication he wishes.” The prescribed supplications come after the tashahhud; supplication while sitting before the tashahhud was not prescribed. Rather, praise was placed before supplication. In the hadith concerning the man who supplicated before offering praise, the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said, “This man has been hasty.”

Imam Ahmad, al-Tirmidhī and Abū Dāwūd narrated from Fadālah ibn ‘Ubayd, who said: “The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—heard a man supplicating during his prayer without having praised Allah or invoked blessings upon