After-prayer athkar: what to say when you finish salah
The moment right after you say salam is easy to rush past — stand up, reach for your phone, move on to whatever's next. But that moment has its own well-documented set of remembrances, said before doing anything else. None of them take long. Together, they take under three minutes, and each one is sourced to a specific hadith rather than general custom.
When to say them
These are said immediately after the salam, while still seated, before moving on to anything else — including any voluntary prayer that might follow the obligatory one.
The complete list
1. Seeking forgiveness, then the salam dua
The first thing the Prophet ﷺ is reported to have done on finishing prayer.
أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ، أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ، أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ. اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ السَّلَامُ وَمِنْكَ السَّلَامُ تَبَارَكْتَ يَا ذَا الْجَلَالِ وَالْإِكْرَامِ
Astaghfirullah, astaghfirullah, astaghfirullah. Allahumma antas-salamu wa minkas-salam, tabarakta ya dhal-jalali wal-ikram.
I seek Allah's forgiveness (said three times). O Allah, You are Peace, and peace comes from You. Blessed are You, Possessor of majesty and honor.
Source: Sahih Muslim 591, narrated by Thawban.
2. Ayat al-Kursi (Qur'an 2:255)
One verse, recited once, right after the prayer ends.
اللَّهُ لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ ۚ لَا تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ ۚ لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ ۗ مَنْ ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِنْدَهُ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ ۚ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ ۖ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلَّا بِمَا شَاءَ ۚ وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ ۖ وَلَا يَئُودُهُ حِفْظُهُمَا ۚ وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ
Allahu la ilaha illa huwal-hayyul-qayyum, la ta'khudhuhu sinatun wa la nawm, lahu ma fis-samawati wa ma fil-ard, man dhal-ladhi yashfa'u 'indahu illa bi-idhnih, ya'lamu ma bayna aydihim wa ma khalfahum, wa la yuhituna bishay'im-min 'ilmihi illa bima sha', wasi'a kursiyyuhus-samawati wal-ard, wa la ya'uduhu hifzuhuma, wa huwal-'aliyyul-'azim.
Allah — there is no god but Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of all existence. Neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes Him. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth. Who can intercede with Him without His permission? He knows what is before and behind His creation, and they grasp nothing of His knowledge except what He wills. His throne extends over the heavens and the earth, and preserving them does not tire Him. He is the Most High, the Most Great.
Source: Qur'an 2:255; on its virtue after each obligatory prayer, Sunan an-Nasa'i al-Kubra 9848, narrated by Abu Umamah. A closer look at when and why this verse is recited three times a day is in our Ayat al-Kursi guide.
3. The tasbih: 33, 33, and 34
Said right after the previous two, before standing up.
سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ (×٣٣) الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ (×٣٣) اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ (×٣٤)
Subhanallah (33 times), Alhamdulillah (33 times), Allahu Akbar (34 times).
Glory be to Allah (33 times). Praise be to Allah (33 times). Allah is the Greatest (34 times).
Source: Sahih Muslim 596a, narrated by Ka'b ibn Ujrah — the Prophet ﷺ described this as a remembrance whose sayer "will never be disappointed." The full breakdown, including a common variant that completes the count to a hundred, is in our dedicated guide to the after-prayer tasbih.
4. The Three Quls
Al-Ikhlas, al-Falaq, and an-Nas, recited once each right after the tasbih.
قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ
Qul huwallahu ahad, Allahus-samad, lam yalid wa lam yulad, wa lam yakun lahu kufuwan ahad.
Say: He is Allah, the One. Allah, the Self-Sufficient Master. He begets not, nor was He begotten, and there is none comparable to Him.
قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَقِ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ وَمِنْ شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ إِذَا وَقَبَ وَمِنْ شَرِّ النَّفَّاثَاتِ فِي الْعُقَدِ وَمِنْ شَرِّ حَاسِدٍ إِذَا حَسَدَ
Qul a'udhu bi-Rabbil-falaq, min sharri ma khalaq, wa min sharri ghasiqin idha waqab, wa min sharrin-naffathati fil-'uqad, wa min sharri hasidin idha hasad.
Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of daybreak, from the evil of what He created, from the evil of darkness when it settles, from the evil of those who blow on knots, and from the evil of an envier when he envies.
قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ مَلِكِ النَّاسِ إِلٰهِ النَّاسِ مِنْ شَرِّ الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ الَّذِي يُوَسْوِسُ فِي صُدُورِ النَّاسِ مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ وَالنَّاسِ
Qul a'udhu bi-Rabbin-nas, Malikin-nas, Ilahin-nas, min sharril-waswasil-khannas, alladhi yuwaswisu fi sudurin-nas, minal-jinnati wan-nas.
Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind, the Sovereign of mankind, the God of mankind, from the evil of the retreating whisperer who whispers in the breasts of mankind, from among the jinn and mankind.
Source: Sunan Abi Dawud 1523, narrated by Uqbah ibn Amir, graded sahih by Al-Albani — the Prophet ﷺ commanded him to recite these three after every prayer. For the full text and other occasions to recite them, see our Three Quls guide.
A practical note
This is exactly the moment most people lose to their phone — salam finishes, and the hand that was raised in dua reaches sideways for a screen instead. Pray auto-blocks the apps most likely to interrupt this window, calculated on your device, so the three minutes above have a real chance of happening before anything else competes for your attention.
Building it up
Start with the istighfar and salam dua — it's the shortest and the one said after every single prayer regardless of what else you add. Bring in Ayat al-Kursi next, then the tasbih, then the Quls, each once the previous one feels automatic rather than effortful.