Zikr After Salah

Salah consists of two parts, one is the praise and remembrance of Allah swt and second is dua by the offerer. But salah alone is not it. There are many sunnah azkar which one should recite after each salah. Remaining seated after salah even for a little time bring great rewards and peace with it. Remembering Allah does not only earn reward but it also is a source of peace. As Allah swt say in Holy Quran;

5:16 �With it, Allah leads anyone who seeks His pleasure, to the path of peace and serenity. By His grace, He brings them out of the depth of darkness into light, and guides them on to the straight path.� 

Allah's zikr is the way out of darkness. The more one is into the light, the more he is successful. If mind and soul are at peace, then everything is a positive opportunity.

In another place Allah swt say;

6:82 �Peace is actually for those who believe, and do not taint their beliefs with wrong deeds. They are the rightly guided!� 

Therefore, to be on the right path and to be the believer, one needs to remember Allah and remind himself of all the blessings he has. There are prescribed azkar after salah. Some of them are mentioned below along with their transliteration for the sake of ease. These azkar are to be recited by the imam, the one who is being in the prayer by imam and the one who is offering salah individually i.e. every person can read them.

After each obligatory prayer, once should say this thrice;

Astaghfirullah (I ask Allah forgiveness)

And then,

�Allahumma Anta Al-Salam Wa Minka Al-Salam, Tabarakta Wa Ta�alayta Ya-dhal-Jalali Wal-Ikram�  (O Allah, You are Al-Salam [the One Who is free from all defects and deficiencies] and from You is all peace, blessed are You, Possessor of majesty and honor!)

After fajar and maghrib prayer, one should say this 10 times along with the above mentioned azkar;

�La Ilah Illa Allah Wahdahu La Sharika Lahu Lahu Al-Mulk Wa Lahu Al-Hamd Yuhyi Wa Yumit Wa Huwa �Ala Kulli Shay�in Qadir� (There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah Alone, He have no associate. His is the Dominion to Him is due all praise; He gives life and causes death and He has power over all things)

After this zikr, one should say each of the following thirty times respectively;

(a) �Subhana Allah� (Glory is to Allah),
(b) Al-Hamdu Lillah (praise is due to Allah) and
(c) �Allahu Akbar� (Allah is the Great),

And then he should complete the count to hundred by saying this;

�La Ilah Illa Allah, Wahdahu La Sharika Lah, Lahu Al-Mulk Wa Lahu Al-Hamd, Yuhyi Wa Yumit, Wa Huwa �Ala Kull Shay�in Qadir�.

It is also sunnah to recite ayatul-kursi ( 2:255)  and surah Ikhlas, surah naas an surah al-falak one time each after zuhr, asar and isha prayers and thrice each after fajar and maghrib prayers.

All the above mentioned azkar are from the sahih traditions of prophet Muhammad pbuh. there are more and one should not limit himself to recite only what should be. But it should be our goal to earn as much sawab as we can from each act we do.

Remember, salah is the key to jannah. If it is offered in perfect manner, it is a success. But if one offers it just for the sake of offering it, then such a salah is not accepted because we need salah not Allah swt.