Is it a correct, prescribed practice for a worshipper to say to his brother after finishing the prayer: “May Allah accept it” or “May Allah accept it”?

The questioner : After we finished the prayer, the brother Abu al-Harith, one of them, said, “May Allah accept it,” and the second one said to him, meaning, say, “May Allah accept it.”

The Shaykh : And what did the third one say?

The questioner : “May Allah accept it.”

The Shaykh : “May Allah accept it.”

The questioner : So which of these is the correct one, or which is the most correct of these sayings?

The Shaykh : If the question is from the linguistic Arabic perspective, there is no difference. But I do not think the question concerns the Arabic aspect. If the question is, as I think, from a legal perspective, then none of these forms has a basis in the Sunnah. Because from the Arabic perspective, if one says “May Allah accept it,” it is like “May Allah accept it” or “May Allah accept it” in the past tense, just as one says regarding a deceased Muslim, “May Allah have mercy on him,” or says, “May Allah have mercy on them.” Both carry the same meaning. Likewise, if one says, “May Allah have mercy on so-and-so,” it means, “O Allah, have mercy on so-and-so,” because this is a supplicatory sentence. Therefore, the three phrases in the supplication for the acceptance of the prayer all serve one purpose from the Arabic perspective. But the reality is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), throughout his blessed life, while he was praying with the people as an imam and teaching them the prayer, and he is the one who said, as we all know: It was never reported from him that he ever said to his Companions, “May Allah accept it,” or “May Allah accept it,” or “O Allah, accept from you.” Nor was the reverse reported, meaning that none of the Companions of the Messenger (peace be upon him) said any of these three phrases to him. None of that was reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), neither as a directive from him to his Companions, nor as a directive, nor as a directive from his Companions to him. Perhaps you know the saying of the Messenger (peace be upon him), which he used to preach to the people: (peace and blessings be upon him). Therefore, the Sunnah is that when a worshipper finishes the prayer and has not greeted any of the worshippers before, the Sunnah is to greet him and shake his hand. As for when two or more people enter the mosque and then leave together, and one of them says to the other, “May Allah accept it from you,” this, as we said, was never reported in the Sunnah.

The questioner : All right, my master, if a person insists on practicing it, is it considered an innovation?

The Shaykh : By Allah, the issue differs if his insistence comes after the clear proof has reached him, for that means he is being obstinate, and it is undoubtedly considered an innovation for him. But you know that most people do not know; most people, hand out and walk, meaning they see each other and say this word, and they say it. And most people do not know the guidance of the Messenger (peace be upon him) and his Sunnah in all his worship, and particularly in his prayer. Therefore, the original ruling is that these people are excused. But if it is clarified to them, and then they are obstinate and insist, then it is said there that they are held accountable as innovators.