The Dhikr after Prayer: Is it Recited Collectively by the Prayers, and Is There a Report That the Imam or His Assistant, Who Is the Mu'adhdhin Who Calls to Prayer and Iqamah, Does So?

The questioner : The Dhikr after prayer: Is it recited collectively by the worshippers? And is there a report that the imam or his assistant, who is the mu'adhdhin who calls to prayer and iqamah, does so? I say: Is it recommended that he say in a loud voice after the prayer, "Glory to our Lord, the Noble, Glory to You, O Magnificent, Subhan Allah," meaning, say "Subhan Allah" thirty-three times? Then he says, "Glory to You, we have no knowledge except what You have taught us. O our Lord, we constantly thank You with much thanks. Alhamdulillah," meaning, say "Alhamdulillah" thirty-three times? Then he says Glory to His Majesty, Allahu Akbar, meaning, say "Allahu Akbar" thirty-four times? Then he says after that, "La ilaha illa Allah wahdahu la sharika lah, lah al-mulk wa lah al-hamd wa huwa 'ala kulli shay'in qadir." Is it from the Sunnah that he raises his voice and the worshippers listen to him, then they glorify, praise, and magnify? Or is the Sunnah that the worshipper seeks forgiveness from his Lord and says three times, "Astaghfir Allah al-'Azeem"? Then he says, "Allahumma anta as-salam wa minka as-salam, tabarakta wa ta'alt ya dha al-jalal wa al-ikram"? Then he says, "Allahumma a'inni 'ala dhikrika wa shukrika wa husni 'ibadatik"? Then he glorifies Allah, praises Him, and magnifies Him thirty-three times individually? Are these adhkar performed individually, or is there a report that the imam commands them one by one?

The Shaykh : These attributes mentioned by the questioner, such as the imam saying "Subhan al-Jalil al-'Azeem" and the like, are a religious innovation (bid'ah) that has not been reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). What is reported is that every person seeks forgiveness and remembers Allah for himself. However, the Sunnah is to recite this dhikr aloud. It is established from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) that he said: And he used to teach them this when they departed, when they heard it. This is evidence that the Sunnah is to recite it aloud, contrary to the practice of most people today who recite it quietly. Some of them recite the takbirat aloud but not the tasbih and tahmid, and I do not know any basis in the Sunnah for distinguishing between these. The Sunnah is to recite it aloud. The claim by some people that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) recited it aloud only to teach the people is refuted. This is because teaching from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) occurred through speech, as he said to the poor among the Muhajireen: Then we say: Even if the intention was teaching, teaching is in the essence of the supplication or the dhikr, and also in its attribute. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) taught us this dhikr in its essence and its attribute, which is reciting it aloud. The fact that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) persisted in doing this indicates that it is a Sunnah. If it were only for teaching, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would have limited himself to teaching the people, and then the people would have recited this dhikr quietly.
The important point is that the stronger position in this issue is that it is recommended to recite the dhikr after the prayers in the prescribed manner, and that it is also recommended to recite it aloud, meaning to raise the voice. Yes.

The questioner : His other question asks: Is sujud al-sahw one prostration or two? And does the worshipper prostrate for forgetfulness in both obligatory and voluntary prayers, or only in obligatory prayers? And does he recite the tashahhud after the two prostrations, or does he say the salam directly?

The Shaykh : Before answering this question, and I want to clarify this as well, when we said to raise the voice, we meant that it should not be a disturbing raising of the voice. Raising the voice in dhikr after prayer should not be disturbing, for this is not befitting. Therefore, when the people raised their voices in dhikr during the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) on their return from Khaybar, he said: Meaning, be gentle with her and do not disturb her. So the intended meaning of raising the dhikr, even in the hadith of Ibn Abbas regarding the adhkar after prayers, is a raising that does not cause disturbance or hardship for the person. Yes.