than it; for supplication depends on what the servant seeks. He did not specify a particular supplication and command it, as he commanded the recitation of al-Fātihah, which includes His words:

“Guide us to the straight path.”

An obligatory supplication can only be a specified one, even if supplication as a general category is obligatory. It is well known that supplication is permissible both within prayer and outside it. Most of the supplications transmitted from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—were made at the end of prayer, as in the hadith reported from him—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—in which he stated:

“Supplication is most likely to be answered in the depths of the latter part of the night and at the end of prayer.”

Thus, supplication at the end of prayer—especially before the salutation, when the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—usually supplicated—is more likely to be answered than at any other stage of prayer, because it follows the completion of worship.

As for prostration, he mentioned it together with bowing because he said:

“I have been forbidden to recite the Quran while bowing or prostrating. When bowing, magnify the Lord; when prostrating, supplicate earnestly, for then your supplication is likely to be answered.”

Having forbidden recitation in these two postures, he mentioned a prescribed alternative for anyone who wished, assigning magnification of the Lord specifically to bowing and supplication to prostration. He thus brought together the three categories: recitation, remembrance, and supplication.

Among the evidence showing the superiority of remembrance over petition is what is authentically reported in Sahīh Muslim