What is said upon hearing the adhan and after the prayers

From Makkah al-Mukarramah, from the al-Masfalah district, we received this message from a questioner who requested to be identified by the initials (A. A. K). He says, from Makkah al-Mukarramah: Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings. I ask for guidance and a response to my question, which is: When I used to hear any adhan, I would supplicate to Allah and ask Him, and I would perform the five daily prayers in congregation, approximately. After the obligatory prayer, I would supplicate for ten minutes and then stand up to complete the sunnah prayer. However, when school started, I was unable to continue with that. When I heard the sound of the adhan, I was busy memorizing or reading and could not leave what was in my hands, and I would supplicate to Allah. Also, after the obligatory prayer, I did not supplicate but would immediately perform the sunnah prayer. Am I being punished for that, or not?
Answer: It is the sunnah for the believer, when he hears the adhan, to respond to the mu’adhdhin and to say what the mu’adhdhin says, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So it is the sunnah for you, my brother, and for anyone else who hears the adhan, to respond to the mu’adhdhin with the same words as his. When the mu’adhdhin says: Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, he says the same. When he says: I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, he says the same. When he says: I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, he says the same. And at the two testimonies, he says: I am pleased with Allah as my Lord, with Islam as my religion, and with Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) as my Messenger. When the mu’adhdhin says: Hurrah al-salah, Hurrah al-falah, he says: La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah at every word, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained. When he says: Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, he says the same. When he says: La ilaha illa Allah, he says the same. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said regarding this that This is a great virtue. You should not neglect this good. Whoever hears the call should say what the mu’adhdhin says, whether the listener is a man or a woman. It is the sunnah for everyone to respond to the mu’adhdhin with the same words as his, except for the two calls to prayer and success, where he says: La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah. Then, after finishing, he sends blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and then he says: This is how the hadith came. And in a hadith of ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) in Muslim, it is stated that whoever says it from his heart will enter Paradise. This is a great virtue in responding to the mu’adhdhin. And at the two testimonies, when he says: I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, he says at that time: I am pleased with Allah as my Lord, with Islam as my religion, and with Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) as my Messenger. It came in a hadith regarding this occasion from Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said regarding this: This indicates the virtue of these words when responding to the mu’adhdhin at the testimonies. He says at that time: I am pleased with Allah as my Lord, with Islam as my religion, and with Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) as my Messenger, and that this is among the causes of forgiveness. As for supplication, it is recommended to supplicate, so one supplicates between the adhan and the iqamah. It came in a hadith that supplication between the adhan and the iqamah is not rejected. It is recommended for the believer to increase supplication between the adhan and the iqamah. And you, my brother, the questioner, when you hear the adhan, you should pay attention to responding, and then go to the mosque and leave the work in your hand. Leave the work in your hand until after the prayer. Go to the prayer and perform what Allah has prescribed for you after the adhan, and prepare to perform the obligatory prayer. The prayer before the obligatory prayer is a sunnah, which may be a rawatib, such as the four rak’ahs before the Zuhr prayer, or it may be a nafilah that is not a rawatib, such as four before ‘Asr, two before Maghrib, and two before ‘Isha’. These are recommended and are not rawatib. Then you pray two after the obligatory prayers: two after Zuhr, and if you pray four, that is better; two after Maghrib; two after ‘Isha’; and two before the Fajr prayer. These are all rawatib that you perform after the prayers, but after the dhikr. Some people, when they finish the prayer, stand up immediately to perform them, and this is contrary to the sunnah. Rather, the better and the sunnah is that after he finishes the prayer, he says: I seek forgiveness from Allah, three times. Then he says: (O Allah, You are Peace, and from You comes peace. Blessed are You, O Owner of Majesty and Honor). Then he remembers Allah and says: It is established from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he used to recite this dhikr after the five prayers. These adhkar are established from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he used to recite them. As for seeking forgiveness three times and “O Allah, You are Peace” to the end, this is established from the hadith of Thawban in Muslim. And as for the other adhkar that you heard, some of them are established from the hadith of al-Mughirah in the two Sahihs, and some from the hadith of ‘Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr in Muslim. The one who prays should not leave them, whether he is a man or a woman. These adhkar, and I repeat them after the five obligatory prayers. When the imam finishes the prayer, and the one praying alone, and the one praying behind the imam, when he finishes the prayer, each one says: I seek forgiveness from Allah, three times. O Allah, You are Peace, and from You comes peace. Blessed are You, O Owner of Majesty and Honor. This is said by the imam, the one praying behind him, and the one praying alone after the salam. Then the imam turns to the people after that and gives them his face. Then each one says after that: And the meaning of that is: The wealth and fortune of the one who is wealthy and fortunate from You do not benefit him. Rather, all are poor in need of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) . All of them are poor in need of Allah. No one can prevent what Allah gives, and no one can give what Allah withholds. The wealth of the wealthy does not benefit him. Rather, all are poor in need of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Then after this, he glorifies Allah thirty-three times, praises Allah thirty-three times, and magnifies Allah thirty-three times. Subhan Allah, Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar, thirty-three times each. Then he completes the hundred in the perfection of the hundred by saying: La ilaha illa Allah wahdahu la sharika lah, lahul mulku wa lahul hamd, wa huwa ‘ala kulli shay’in qadir. All of this is recommended before he comes to the supplications that the questioner mentioned. Then he recites Ayat al-Kursi [al-Baqarah: 255]. This is Ayat al-Kursi. Then he recites and the two Mu’awwidhat after every prayer: Zuhr, ‘Asr, Maghrib, ‘Isha’, and Fajr. This is the best. And in Maghrib, he repeats it three times. and the two Mu’awwidhat are repeated three times in Maghrib and in Fajr. He repeats and the two Mu’awwidhat three times. This is the best. And if he stands up and does not come to this, there is no blame on him. But this is the best. And if he supplicates after this, he supplicates between himself and his Lord specifically, without raising his hands... between himself and his Lord, without raising his hands, secretly between himself and Allah. There is no harm if he supplicates after this dhikr. As for him supplicating or raising his hands from the moment he finishes the prayer, there is no basis for that. But from the moment he finishes the prayer, he engages in the prescribed dhikr. If he supplicates after that, between himself and his Lord, without raising his hands, there is no harm in that and no blame in that. And if he leaves this and stands up, and does not sit for supplication and does not come to the dhikr, that is permissible. But he has left the best.
The sunnah is to come to these adhkar after every obligatory prayer, following the example of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). And this is important; the believer should pay attention to it. I have seen some people, especially in al-Masjid al-Haram and in the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) Mosque, some people when they finish the prayer stand up immediately to pray the rawatib, and this is contrary to the sunnah. Rather, the sunnah is that he remains remembering Allah and comes to these adhkar, and then after this he stands up and comes to the sunnah after that, without hastening. This should be understood well. And every one who heard this lesson should convey it to others. I ask my brothers who are listening to this lesson that each one convey this benefit to others; because this is from the category of cooperation in righteousness and piety, and from the category of advising one another to truth and patience upon it, and from the category of calling to Allah (Mighty and Majestic). May Allah grant everyone success and guidance.
The presenter: May Allah reward you.