Question:
Is dua after salaah in congregation a sunnah or should the imam get up immediately after salaah to perform his sunnah whilst the muqtadi’s complete there athkaar.
Answer:
الحمد لله رب العالمين ، وصلى الله على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين، وبالله التوفيق
The du’aa and the adhkar1 after Salah are a recommended act (Sunnah), that is to be done individually and said to one’s self (sirrin), unless the Imam of Salah is teaching the people the adhkar, wherein he is to say the adhkar aloud, and upon the people learning the litany of adhkar said after Salah, he is to begin reciting them silently again, this is the verdict according to the Madhhab of Imam Ash-Shafi’i as will see below. In regards to the getting up of the Imam immediately, such is only the Sunnah when there is a need (hajah) to do so. In the last paragraph of the text we will quote from Reliance of the Traveller the proper etiquette of the Imam upon completion of the Salah in congregation is given.
Imam An-Nawawi says in his Kitab At-Tahqiq,
“It is recommended to do the dhikr and the du’aa upon the ending of Salah silently, although if an Imam wants to teach the people he may do so aloud, though when they have learned he returns to making it silently [so himself].” [Page 219]
In the translation of ‘Umdat As-Salik one can find the mu’tamad opinion of our school regarding how the adhkaar and du’aa are to be performed after the Salah as well as the answer to the rest of your question (note we have edited the translation to include the arabic, and transliteration of the arabic, in the adhkar):
“It is recommended to invoke Allah Most High (dhikr)to oneself and to supplicate after the prayer. (O: Shafi’i says in al-Umm, “I prefer that the imam and follower invoke Allah (dhikr) after the Salams, and do so silently, unless the imam wants to be learned from, in which case he says the invocations aloud until he believes that he has been learned from, after which he says them to himself.”) (n: The following invocations are listed in the commentary and have been written in full and vowelledby the translator in the facing column of Arabic. Their order is sunna, as the commentator notes below.
(1) Ayat al-Kursi (Koran 2:255) (said once);
(2) al-Ikhlas (Koran 112)(once);
(3) al-Falaq (Koran 113) (once);
(4) al-Nas (Koran 114)(once);
(5) “I ask Allah’s forgiveness”(three times): (Astaghfirullah)
(6)
اللهم أنت السلام ومنك السلام تباركت
يا ذا الجلال والإكرام
“Allahumma Antas Salām wa minkas Salām tabarakta ya Dhal Jalāli wal-Ikrām”
“O Allah, You ar peace, from You is peace, You are exalted through Yourself above all else, OYou of Majesty and Beneficence”;
(7)
اللهم لا مانع لما أعطيت، ولا معطي لما منعت، ولا ينفع ذا الجد منك الجد
“Allahumma Lā Mān’i limā ‘A’ṭayt , wa lā Mu’ṭiya limā Man’at, wa lā yanfa’u dhal Jaddi minkal Jadd”
“O Allah, none can withhold what You bestow, none can bestow what You withhold, and thefortune of the fortunate avails nothing against You”;
(8) “Allah is exalted above any limitation or imperfection” سبحان الله Subḥān Allāh (thirty-three times);
(9) الحمد لله Al ḥamdulillāh “Praise be to Allah” (thirty-three times);
(10) الله أكبر Allāhu Akbar “Allah is greatest” (thirty-three times (A: or thirty-four) times);
(N: (8), (9), and (10) above are also recommended before going to sleep at night, in which case “Allah is greatest” is said thirty-four times)
(11) and
لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له له الملك وله الحمد وهو على كل شيء قدير
Lā ilāha illa Allāhu Waḥdahu Lā Sharīka Lahu, Lahul Mulku wa lahul ḥamdu wa huwa ‘Alā Kulli Shayin Qadīr
“There is no god but Allah, alone, without partner. His is the dominion, His the praise, and He has power over all things.”
(O: It is recommended to begin the supplication with the Koran when called for, like Ayat al-Kursi and so forth, then, (5)through (10) above.)
One should invoke the Blessings on the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) at the beginning (O: and middle) and end of one’s supplications.
The imam turns for (N: postprayer) invocation and supplications so that his right side is towards the group and his left side towards the direction of prayer (qiblah). He leaves his place as soon as he finishes, if there are no women (N: in which case he waits for them to leave first). It is recommended that the followers remain seated until the imam stands. (A: In the Shafi’i school, the invocations are recommended to precede the post prayer sunna rak’as).” [End Quote from “‘Umdat As-Salik” Reliance of the Traveller]
And Allah Knows Best!
Shafiifiqh.com Fatwa Dept.
- Adhkar is the plural of ‘dhikr’ ذكر, it refers to the litany of remembrances of Allah [↩]