one’s voice in remembrance when people finished the obligatory prayer was a practice in the time of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.” Ibn ‘Abbās said: “I would know that they had finished when I heard it.” Another wording states: “I would only know that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had completed his prayer by hearing the declaration of Allah’s greatness.”

These, then, are the forms of remembrance prescribed in the Sunnah after prayer.

He—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked about someone who says:

“I believe that whoever introduces any form of remembrance other than what the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prescribed and is authentically reported from him has acted wrongly and erred. For had he been content to have the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as his prophet, leader and guide, he would have been satisfied with the forms of remembrance authentically reported from him. His turning instead to his own opinions and inventions betrays ignorance, reflects Satan’s enticement, and runs contrary to the Sunnah. The Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, left no good without directing us to it and prescribing it for us. Allah withheld no good from him, as evidenced by His granting him the good of this world and the Hereafter, for he is the most honoured of all creation in Allah’s sight.”

Is this indeed the case or not?

He replied:

Praise be to Allah. There is no doubt that remembrance and supplication are among the finest acts of worship. Acts of worship are founded upon revealed prescription and adherence to the prophetic example, not upon personal inclination