Quick answer: straight after the final salam, the Sunnah is to seek forgiveness three times and say a short dua for peace, then glorify, praise and magnify Allah a set number of times, and finish with Ayat al-Kursi. Every part of this sequence is reported in Sahih Muslim, and the exact wording and counts are given below so you can follow them word for word.
What the Prophet ﷺ said right after the salam
The first thing reported from the Prophet ﷺ after finishing the obligatory prayer is not a long supplication. It is a brief turn towards Allah: asking forgiveness, then praising Him as the source of peace.
اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ السَّلاَمُ وَمِنْكَ السَّلاَمُ تَبَارَكْتَ ذَا الْجَلاَلِ وَالإِكْرَامِ " . قَالَ الْوَلِيدُ فَقُلْتُ لِلأَوْزَاعِيِّ كَيْفَ الاِسْتِغْفَارُ قَالَ تَقُولُ أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ .
Thauban reported:When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) finished his prayer. He begged forgiveness three times and said: O Allah! Thou art Peace, and peace comes from Thee; Blessed art Thou, O Possessor of Glory and Honour. Walid reported: I said to Auza'i: How is the seeking of forgiveness? He replied: You should say: I beg forgiveness from Allah, I beg forgiveness from Allah
Thawban (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated this practice from the Prophet ﷺ. The sequence is simple: say “I seek the forgiveness of Allah” three times, then the short dua above once. It is recited immediately, before standing up or starting any other dhikr, and applies to each of the five daily prayers.
The tasbih: glorifying, praising and magnifying Allah
After the istighfar and the short dua, the next part of the Sunnah is the tasbih, a count of three phrases said after every prescribed prayer. Ka’b ibn Ujrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported the Prophet ﷺ describing it as a practice whose reciters are never left disappointed.
مُعَقِّبَاتٌ لاَ يَخِيبُ قَائِلُهُنَّ – أَوْ فَاعِلُهُنَّ – دُبُرَ كُلِّ صَلاَةٍ مَكْتُوبَةٍ ثَلاَثٌ وَثَلاَثُونَ تَسْبِيحَةً وَثَلاَثٌ وَثَلاَثُونَ تَحْمِيدَةً وَأَرْبَعٌ وَثَلاَثُونَ تَكْبِيرَةً
Ka'b b. 'Ujra reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:There are certain ejaculations, the repeaters of which or the performers of which after every prescribed prayer will never be caused disappointment:" Glory be to Allah" thirty-three times." Praise be to Allah" thirty-three times, and" Allah is most Great" thirty-four times
In plain English, the three phrases are: “Glory be to Allah” (SubhanAllah), “Praise be to Allah” (Alhamdulillah), and “Allah is the Greatest” (Allahu Akbar). The hadith ties this specifically to the obligatory prayers, which is why it is most closely associated with the five daily fard prayers rather than voluntary ones.
Completing the hundred, and the forgiveness it carries
A second narration, from Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), gives a closely related version of the same tasbih, with a different way of making up the count to one hundred, and a specific promise attached to it.
حَدَّثَنِي عَبْدُ الْحَمِيدِ بْنُ بَيَانٍ الْوَاسِطِيُّ، أَخْبَرَنَا خَالِدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، عَنْ سُهَيْلٍ، عَنْ أَبِي عُبَيْدٍ الْمَذْحِجِيِّ، – قَالَ مُسْلِمٌ أَبُو عُبَيْدٍ مَوْلَى سُلَيْمَانَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْمَلِكِ – عَنْ عَطَاءِ بْنِ يَزِيدَ اللَّيْثِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " مَنْ سَبَّحَ اللَّهَ فِي دُبُرِ كُلِّ صَلاَةٍ ثَلاَثًا وَثَلاَثِينَ وَحَمِدَ اللَّهَ ثَلاَثًا وَثَلاَثِينَ وَكَبَّرَ اللَّهَ ثَلاَثًا وَثَلاَثِينَ فَتِلْكَ تِسْعَةٌ وَتِسْعُونَ وَقَالَ تَمَامَ الْمِائَةِ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لاَ شَرِيكَ لَهُ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ غُفِرَتْ خَطَايَاهُ وَإِنْ كَانَتْ مِثْلَ زَبَدِ الْبَحْرِ " .
Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:If anyone extols Allah after every prayer thirty-three times, and praises Allah thirty-three times, and declares His Greatness thirty-three times, ninety-nine times in all, and says to complete a hundred:" There is no god but Allah, having no partner with Him, to Him belongs sovereignty and to Him is praise due, and He is Potent over everything," his sins will be forgiven even If these are as abundant as the foam of the sea
Here, each of the three phrases is said thirty-three times, reaching ninety-nine, and the hundredth is completed with a declaration of Allah’s oneness, sovereignty and power. Both versions are authentic and widely practised; some Muslims use the 33-33-34 count from Ka’b ibn Ujrah’s narration, others use the 33-33-33-plus-one pattern from Abu Hurairah’s. Scholars generally treat either as a valid way of fulfilling the same Sunnah, since both go back to the Prophet ﷺ through Sahih Muslim.
Ayat al-Kursi after the tasbih
Many Muslims follow the tasbih with the Verse of the Throne, Ayat al-Kursi, from Surat al-Baqarah.
ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلْحَىُّ ٱلْقَيُّومُ ۚ لَا تَأْخُذُهُۥ سِنَةٌۭ وَلَا نَوْمٌۭ ۚ لَّهُۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۗ مَن ذَا ٱلَّذِى يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُۥٓ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِۦ ۚ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ ۖ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَىْءٍۢ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِۦٓ إِلَّا بِمَا شَآءَ ۚ وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ ۖ وَلَا يَـُٔودُهُۥ حِفْظُهُمَا ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَلِىُّ ٱلْعَظِيمُ
Allah – there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of [all] existence. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is [presently] before them and what will be after them, and they encompass not a thing of His knowledge except for what He wills. His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation tires Him not. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.
This verse holds a distinct place in the Quran. Ubayy ibn Ka’b (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet ﷺ asked him which verse of the Quran he considered greatest, and when Ubayy answered with this one, the Prophet ﷺ confirmed it and congratulated him on the knowledge, a report recorded in Sahih Muslim. Reciting it as part of the after-salah remembrance is a widespread practice among Muslims, alongside the tasbih described above.
Order, timing and how often
Putting the pieces together, the Sunnah sequence runs in this order, each said once unless a count is given:
- Astaghfirullah (I seek the forgiveness of Allah): three times
- Allahumma antas-salam wa minkas-salam, tabarakta ya dhal-Jalali wal-Ikram: once
- SubhanAllah, Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar: thirty-three times each (closing the hundred either with a thirty-fourth Allahu Akbar, or with the declaration of Allah’s oneness)
- Ayat al-Kursi: once
All of it is said after each of the five daily obligatory prayers, right where you prayed, before you move on to other things. None of it needs to be rushed. Counting on the fingers of the right hand, or with a tasbih counter, is a common way many Muslims keep track of the thirty-three and thirty-four counts without losing their place.
What the four schools say about saying it aloud
The wording of the dhikr itself is agreed on, since it comes directly from the hadith above. Where scholars differ is on whether it is better to recite the tasbih silently to oneself or aloud together with others in the mosque.
| School | Reciting the tasbih aloud in a group | Key authorities cited |
|---|---|---|
| Hanafi | Considered commendable, provided it does not lead to showing off or disturb others nearby | Al-Tahtawi, Ibn Abidin |
| Shafi’i | Permitted without reservation among the school’s authorities | Al-Nawawi, Ibn Hajar al-Haytami, al-Subki |
| Maliki | Not covered in the sources used for this article | – |
| Hanbali | Not covered in the sources used for this article | – |
This is also the position adopted by al-Tahtawi and Ibn Abidin, the two foremost references for fatwa in the Hanafi school, and there is no consequential disagreement about the permissibility of group remembrance in the Shafi’i school; it is the recorded position of al-Nawawi, Ibn Hajar, al-Subki, Ibn Daqiq, Ibn Abd al-Salam, al-Khalili, and their other imams. Where a school’s view was not found in the sources checked for this article, that is noted rather than guessed at. Anyone wanting a ruling for their own local mosque practice should ask a qualified scholar familiar with their community.
Situation, when and source at a glance
| What is said | When | Count | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Astaghfirullah + Allahumma antas-salam | Immediately after the salam | 3x istighfar, dua once | Sahih Muslim 591 |
| SubhanAllah, Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar | After each obligatory prayer | 33, 33, 34 | Sahih Muslim 596a |
| SubhanAllah, Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar + declaration of oneness | After each obligatory prayer | 33, 33, 33 + 1 | Sahih Muslim 597a |
| Ayat al-Kursi | After the tasbih | Once | Quran 2:255; virtue in Sahih Muslim 810 |
A note on consistency
None of these reports describe dhikr after salah as a cure for anything or a substitute for seeking proper help when it is needed; it is an act of remembrance and gratitude after worship. The hadith from Ka’b ibn Ujrah describes those who keep up this practice regularly as never being disappointed, which points to consistency over any single recitation being the point. Missing it occasionally does not undo its benefit; returning to it after every prayer is what the reports commend.
Those building a daily routine around the five prayers may also find the missed prayers tracker useful for keeping count of qada prayers, and the printable planners and checklists section has sheets that can double as a simple dhikr counter.