What is the opening Du'aa of salat?

Question

What should I say immediately after starting any salat? i.e, after Takbeer (saying Allahu Akbar الله أكبر) and before beginning recitation of surah Fatiha.

Answer 1

Right after starting salat, i.e, after Niah (intention) and Takbeer (saying Allahu Akbar الله أكبر), you can say The Opening Du'aa, which is Sunnah, i.e, it's not obligatory, but is recommended to say. I.e, if you don't say it then your salat is still correct and there's nothing wrong.

However, scholars differ in what the Opening Du'aa is:

• Shafei Mathhab scholars say that the Opening Du'aa is the following:

  وَجَّهْتُ وَجْهِيَ لِلَّذِي فَطَرَ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ حَنِيفًا وَمَا أَنَا مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ، إِنَّ صَلاَتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَاىَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ، لاَ شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَبِذَلِكَ أُمِرْتُ، وَأَنَا مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ، اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ الْمَلِكُ، لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ، أَنْتَ رَبِّي، وَأَنَا عَبْدُكَ، ظَلَمْتُ نَفْسِي، وَاعْتَرَفْتُ بِذَنْبِي، فَاغْفِرْ لِي ذُنُوبِي جَمِيعًا، إِنَّهُ لاَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ، وَاهْدِنِي لأَحْسَنِ الأَخْلاَقِ، لاَ يَهْدِي لأَحْسَنِهَا إِلاَّ أَنْتَ، وَاصْرِفْ عَنِّي سَيِّئَهَا، لاَ يَصْرِفُ عَنِّي سَيِّئَهَا إِلاَّ أَنْتَ، لَبَّيْكَ وَسَعْدَيْكَ، وَالْخَيْرُ كُلُّهُ فِي يَدَيْكَ، وَالشَّرُّ لَيْسَ إِلَيْكَ، أَنَا بِكَ وَإِلَيْكَ، تَبَارَكْتَ وَتَعَالَيْتَ، أَسْتَغْفِرُكَ وَأَتُوبُ إِلَيْكَ.

  I turn my face in complete devotion to One Who is the Originator of the heaven and the earth and I am not of the polytheists. Verily my prayer, my sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, the Lord of the worlds; There is no partner with Him and this is what I have been commanded (to profess and believe) and I am of the believers. O Allah, Thou art the King, there is no god but Thee, Thou art my Lord, and I am Thy bondman. I wronged myself and make a confession of my Sin. Forgive all my sins, for no one forgives the sins but Thee, and guide me in the best of conduct for none but Thee guideth anyone (in) good conduct. Remove sins from me, for none else but Thou can remove sins from me. Here I am at Thy service, and Grace is to Thee and the whole of good is in Thine hand, and one cannot get nearneststo Thee through evil. My (power as well as existence) is due to Thee (Thine grace) and I turn to Thee (for supplication). Thou art blessed and Thou art exalted. I seek forgiveness from Thee and turn to Thee in repentance.

  [Sahih Muslim], [Sunan an-Nasa'i], and also [Sunan Abu Dawud]

• Hanafi Mathhab scholars say that the Opening Du'aa is the following:

  سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ وَتَبَارَكَ اسْمُكَ وَتَعَالَى جَدُّكَ وَلاَ إِلَهَ غَيْرُكَ

  Subhanakallahumma, wa bihamdika tabarakasmuka wa ta'ala jadduka wa la ilaha ghairuk (Glory and praise be to You, O Allah. Blessed be Your name and exalted be Your majesty, there is none worthy of worship except You.

  [Sunan an-Nasa'i], also in [Jami` at-Tirmidhi] and others.

  And in nafilat salat you should add after "and exalted be Your majesty" (وَتَعَالَى جَدُّكَ) the following:

  وجل ثناؤك

  And honored be your tribute and thankfulness (weak translation)

  But this has no reference in famous Hadiths.

The Du'aa should be said right after Takbeer and before even Isti'athan (الاستعاذة), if you begun saying Isti'athan and forgot to say it, then you shouldn't say it anymore because it's right place is passed, yet (as mentioned above) that doesn't affect your salat correctness at all.

Reference: Islamic Fiqh (Book), part 1: Prayer rules, version 8, Pages 230-231. By Dr.Ibraheem Muhammad Salqini.

Answer 2

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) opened the prayer with many duas (at different occasions) Praising Allah, and thanking Him and admiring Him and so on. This is very important that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said in regards to the one who prays badly/improperly:

لا تتم صلاة لأحد من الناس حتى يكبر ويحمد الله جل وعز ويثني عليه ويقرأ بما تيسر من القرآن

The prayer of anyone is not perfect unless he performs ablution perfectly; he should then utter the takbir, and praise Allah, the Exalted, and admire Him; he should then recite the Qur'an as much as he desires.

Abi Dawood

One May open his/her pray with:

سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ وَتَبَارَكَ اسْمُكَ وَتَعَالَى جَدُّكَ وَلاَ إِلَهَ غَيْرُكَ

Glory and praise be to You, O Allah. Blessed be Your name and exalted be Your majesty, there is none worthy of worship except You

Sunan Annasa'i

or

اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ كَبِيرًا وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ كَثِيرًا وَسُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيلاً

Allah is truly Great, praise be to Allah in abundance, Glory be to Allah in the morning and the evening

Muslim

or

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ حَمْدًا كَثِيرًا طَيِّبًا مُبَارَكًا فِيهِ

Praise be to Allah, much praised and blessed

Muslim

And there are others. If you wish to read further into this I suggest you read

Sifatu Salatannabi (صفة صلاة النبي) by Sheikh Nasiruddeen Al Albany Page 91 and onward.

Answer 3

There are hadiths about what to read after the start of salat. I listed the ones I know below. What we see from the hadiths in this topic, we deduce that there is no fixed dua to read (and of course, a dua cannot be fixed by definition, it must be natural, and should be stating our needs). It is prelude to salat, can be about asking forgiveness, staying clean of sins, praising Allah, giving thanks to Allah.

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Rasulullah was being silent for a while between takbir-ul iftidah and Fatiha. I asked:
"Ya Rasulullah, can you tell me what you are doing in that silent time?"
He said he was saying:
"O Allah, make me away from my sins, like you made East and West away from each other. O Allah, make me clean from my sins, like a clean cloth was cleaned from stains. O Allah, wash and clean me from my sins with snow, water, cold water."

Narrator  : Abu Hureyre
Listed in : Buhari 774
            Muslim 598
            Ebu Davud 781
            Nesei 2/129

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Rasulullah was saying after takbir-ul iftidah at the beginning of salat:
"O Allah, I verily absolve You from all evil. Your name is sacred, blessed. You are great above all. And there is no ilah/god besides You."

Narrator  : Aisha bint Abu Bakr
Listed in : Ebu Davud 776
            Tirmizi 243
            Nesei 2/132
            Ibnu Mace 804
            Ahmed 3/50
            Pare Kutni 1/112
            Hakim 1/235

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A person who was catching his breath (because of fast pace walking) came and joined to the salat with us. Then said:
"The praise is to Allah profusely, cleanly, and blessingly."
When the salat ended, rasulullah asked:
"Who was the one who say that words among you?"
People stay silent. Rasulullah asked again:
"Who did say those words? Those aren't bad words."
Then someone from the people said:
"I was catching my breath. I said those words because of joining the salat in time."
Rasulullah:
"I swear to Allah, I saw twelve angels, they were racing to rise those words to Allah.*"

Narrator  : Anas ibn Malik
Listed in : Muslim 600
            Abu Davud 763

Answer 4

There are so many duas, Mate. I'm Shafi'i from Indonesia and I read this:

الله اكبر كبيرا والحمدلله كثيرا و سبحانالله بكرة و أصيلا

Answer 5

Subhanaka Allahhumma wa tabarika ismuka wa ta ala jaduka wa lah elahee gharukka