—he would recite during the night prayer.
9- “Subḥānaka allāhumma wa-bi-ḥamdik, lā ilāha illā anta” (Glory be to You, O Allah, and praise is Yours; there is no deity but You).
10- “Allāhumma, ighfir lī mā asrartu wa-mā aʿlantu” (O Allah, forgive me for what I have concealed and what I have proclaimed).
11- “Allāhumma, ijʿal fī qalbī nūran, [wa-fī lisānī nūran], wajʿal fī samʿī nūran, wajʿal fī baṣarī nūran; wajʿal min taḥtī nūran, wajʿal min fawqī nūran; waʿan yamīnī nūran, waʿan yasārī nūran; wajʿal amāmī nūran, wajʿal khalfī nūran, [wajʿal fī nafsī nūran], wa-aʿẓim lī nūran” (O Allah, place light in my heart, [light upon my tongue], light in my hearing, light in my sight; put light beneath me and light above me, light on my right and light on my left; put light before me and light behind me, [light within my soul], and make the light You grant me immense).
12- “[Allāhumma, innī] aʿūdhu bi-riḍāka min sakhaṭik, wa-aʿūdhu bi-muʿāfātika min ʿuqūbatik, wa-aʿūdhu bika mink; lā uḥṣī thanāʾan ʿalayk; anta kamā athnayta ʿalā nafsik” (O Allah, I seek refuge in Your pleasure from Your anger, in Your pardon from Your punishment, and I seek refuge in You from You. I cannot enumerate praise of You; You are as You have praised Yourself). ⦗761–770⦘
The prohibition of reciting the Qur’an while prostrating
He ﷺ forbade the recitation of the Qur’an during bowing and prostration, and instead urged strenuous effort and abundant supplication in this pillar—as was mentioned under Bowing. He would say, “The servant is never closer to his Lord than when he is prostrating, so make plentiful supplication in it.” ⦗771⦘
Prolonging the prostration
He ﷺ would normally make his prostration about as long as his bowing, yet at times he prolonged it even further when something required it. One of the Companions related:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ came out to us for one of the two late-afternoon prayers—[Zuhr or ʿAṣr]—carrying Ḥasan, or perhaps Ḥusayn. The Prophet ﷺ stepped forward, placed the child [beside his right foot], then pronounced the opening takbīr and began the prayer. During the prayer he made a prostration that he lengthened tremendously. I raised my head [from among the people] and saw the boy sitting on the back of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ while he was prostrating, so I went back down to my own prostration. When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ finished the prayer, the people said, ‘Messenger of Allah, you prolonged one of your prostrations so much that we thought something had happened, or that revelation was coming to you!’ He replied, ‘None of that occurred; rather, my son was riding on my back and I did not wish to hurry him off until he had satisfied his need.’ ”
In another narration: “He ﷺ would be praying, and whenever he prostrated Ḥasan and Ḥusayn would leap onto his back. If anyone tried to keep them away he would motion for them to be left alone. When he finished the prayer he seated them in his lap and said, ‘Whoever loves me should love these two.’ ” ⦗772–773⦘