Dhikr after salah: the full sequence and the hadith behind each step

What do you say after every fard prayer?

After the salam you say Astaghfirullah 3 times, then the salam formula once. Then SubhanAllah 33, Alhamdulillah 33 and Allahu Akbar 33, and one tahlil to complete 100. Ayat al-Kursi and the three Quls come after that. Sahih Muslim 591 and Sahih Muslim 597a carry the sequence.

The order matters more than most people expect. Two adhkar come before the counting starts, and both sit in the same narration. The tasbihat then run to 100, and 2 Quranic steps follow.

Steps 3 and 4 are where the 5 narrated forms differ from each other, and most of this page is about them.

• Astaghfirullah, 3 times. Sahih Muslim 591, from Thawban.
• The salam formula, once. Sahih Muslim 591.
• SubhanAllah 33, Alhamdulillah 33, Allahu Akbar 33. Sahih Muslim 597a, from Abu Hurayrah.
• The closing tahlil, once, to complete 100. Sahih Muslim 597a for the sequence, Sahih al-Bukhari 844 and Sahih Muslim 593 for the wording.
• Ayat al-Kursi, once. Al-Nasa'i, 'Amal al-Yawm wa'l-Laylah no. 100. Not in Bukhari or Muslim, and the section below says why that matters.
• The three Quls, once after each fard prayer. Sunan Abi Dawud 1523. The 3-times form is a separate narration, Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3575, which puts it after Fajr and Maghrib.

The 2 adhkar before the counting starts

A counter that opens on SubhanAllah has already skipped 2 steps. After the tasleem the Prophet said Astaghfirullah 3 times, then the salam formula once. Thawban narrated both, and they sit together in one hadith, Sahih Muslim 591.

The salam formula is the step most apps drop entirely. It's one line, it's in Sahih Muslim, and it belongs before the 33s.

The 3 here is specific to this moment, right after the salam. The 100 a day in Sahih Muslim 2702 and the "more than 70" in Sahih al-Bukhari 6307 are 2 different narrations with different wordings. Neither is this step.

• أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ. Astaghfirullah, 3 times. I seek Allah's forgiveness.
• اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ السَّلاَمُ، وَمِنْكَ السَّلاَمُ، تَبَارَكْتَ ذَا الْجَلاَلِ وَالإِكْرَامِ. Allahumma anta as-Salam, wa minka as-salam, tabarakta dha'l-jalali wa'l-ikram. Once. O Allah, You are Peace, and from You comes peace. Blessed are You, Possessor of majesty and honour.

Why do some say 33-33-33 and some say 33-33-34?

The 2 counts are 2 different narrations. The 33-33-33 form with a closing tahlil is from Abu Hurayrah in Sahih Muslim 597a. The 33-33-34 form, with no tahlil because it already reaches 100, is from Ka'b ibn 'Ujrah in Sahih Muslim 596a. Both sit in Sahih Muslim.

Both numbers sit in the same collection, in 2 separate reports, so neither one corrects the other. Abu Hurayrah's narration, at Sahih Muslim 597a, Book 5, Hadith 188, counts 33 and 33 and 33 to 99, then adds the tahlil to complete the hundred. It says the sins of whoever says it are forgiven, even if like the foam of the sea.

Ka'b ibn 'Ujrah's narration, at Sahih Muslim 596a, Book 5, Hadith 186, uses the word مُعَقِّبَات, mu'aqqibat, those that follow on: 33 tasbih, 33 tahmid and 34 takbir. There's no tahlil at the end, because 33 and 33 and 34 already make 100.

Now the correction. Most of what's written online attributes the 33-33-34 form to Abu Hurayrah. The narrator is Ka'b ibn 'Ujrah. Abu Hurayrah's is the 33-33-33 form with the closing tahlil, and most blog posts merge the 2 into one hadith.

All 5 narrated forms of the tasbihat

Shaykh al-Munajjid's IslamQA counts 5 forms in answer 228520, and Abu Khadeejah sets out the same list. Each is separately narrated, with its own reference and its own count.

The first 3 sit in Bukhari or Muslim, so the collection's own standard carries them and sunnah.com prints no separate grade line. The last 2 sit outside the 2 Sahihs and carry printed gradings, which is why a grading appears next to them only.

• 33 tasbih, 33 tahmid, 33 takbir, then the closing tahlil to reach 100. Sahih Muslim 597a, from Abu Hurayrah.
• 33 tasbih, 33 tahmid, 34 takbir, reaching 100 with no tahlil. Sahih Muslim 596a, from Ka'b ibn 'Ujrah.
• The combined form: SubhanAllah, walhamdulillah, wallahu akbar said together as one unit until all of them together reach 33. Sahih al-Bukhari 843.
• The four-part phrase, 25 times, reaching 100. Sunan an-Nasa'i 1350. Sunnah.com prints Hasan (Darussalam) on it; al-Albani graded it sahih in Sahih an-Nasa'i, which IslamQA cites in answer 228520. Both gradings, because both exist.
• 10 tasbih, 10 tahmid, 10 takbir, which is 30 after each prayer and 150 across the day. Sunan Abi Dawud 5065, graded sahih by al-Albani.

The combined form in Sahih al-Bukhari 843, and why the 33 or 34 question exists at all

This is the form almost nobody ships, and it explains the other 2. The poor Muhajirun came to the Prophet complaining that the wealthy were outstripping them in reward. He taught them tasbih, tahmid and takbir 33 times each after every prayer.

Abu Hurayrah then reports that the companions differed among themselves, some saying it should be SubhanAllah 33, Alhamdulillah 33 and Allahu Akbar 34. He went back to the Prophet, whose answer was: تَقُولُ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ، وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ، وَاللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ، حَتَّى يَكُونَ مِنْهُنَّ كُلِّهِنَّ ثَلاَثًا وَثَلاَثِينَ. Say SubhanAllah, walhamdulillah and wallahu akbar until all of them together reach 33.

The reference is Sahih al-Bukhari 843, Book 10, Hadith 235. So the 33-or-34 question is as old as the hadith itself. The companions raised it in front of the Prophet, and what came back was a third form rather than a ruling for one of the first 2.

The four-part phrase, the 10-10-10 form, and 2 gradings on one hadith

The four-part phrase is said 25 times: سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَلاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَاللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ, SubhanAllah, walhamdulillah, wa la ilaha illallah, wallahu akbar. 4 phrases at 25 each makes 100.

Its reference is Sunan an-Nasa'i 1350, and it carries 2 gradings that don't agree. Sunnah.com prints Hasan (Darussalam). Al-Albani graded it sahih in Sahih an-Nasa'i, and IslamQA quotes that grading in answer 228520. Both are printed here. Sending you to sunnah.com and then quoting only the more favourable grade would defeat the point of sending you.

The shortest form is 10 tasbih, 10 tahmid and 10 takbir after each prayer, at Sunan Abi Dawud 5065, graded sahih by al-Albani. That's 30 after each prayer and 150 across the 5.

Is it better to keep to one form or to vary between them?

Varying is better than locking to one, and both IslamQA and Abu Khadeejah say so. Each of the 5 forms is separately narrated, so a person who only ever uses 33-33-33 leaves 4 established forms unused. That's the argument for a form switcher rather than a fixed default.

Both sources sit in the same methodological direction, so read it as one camp's position rather than two camps converging. What it settles is that moving between the forms follows the narrations.

The closing tahlil, and where its wording comes from

The hundredth phrase is the tahlil: لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لاَ شَرِيكَ لَهُ، لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ. La ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lah, lahul-mulku wa lahul-hamdu wa huwa 'ala kulli shay'in qadir. There is no god but Allah alone, with no partner. His is the dominion and His is the praise, and He has power over everything.

Sahih Muslim 597a places it at the end of the sequence. For the wording itself, the reference to open is Sahih al-Bukhari 844, Book 10, Hadith 236, narrated by Warrad from al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah, with its parallel at Sahih Muslim 593.

One detail to keep straight. Bukhari 844's own continuation is a different text again, beginning Allahumma la mani'a lima a'tayta. Citing 844 for the tahlil doesn't make the whole of 844 the post-salah wording.

The same phrase has a second life as a daily dhikr said 100 times, at Sahih al-Bukhari 6403 and Sahih Muslim 2691. That's a separate narration with a separate count. Here it's said once, as the hundredth of the sequence.

Is Ayat al-Kursi after salah in Sahih al-Bukhari?

No. The narration is from Abu Umamah and it isn't in Bukhari or Muslim. It's in al-Nasa'i's 'Amal al-Yawm wa'l-Laylah no. 100. Al-Tabarani's al-Mu'jam al-Awsat 8068 carries a parallel. Ibn Hibban graded it sahih and al-Albani agreed, so it's sahih but not from the 2 Sahihs.

The wording is that whoever recites Ayat al-Kursi after every prescribed prayer, nothing stands between him and entering Paradise except death: مَنْ قَرَأَ آيَةَ الْكُرْسِيِّ دُبُرَ كُلِّ صَلَاةٍ مَكْتُوبَةٍ لَمْ يَمْنَعْهُ مِنْ دُخُولِ الْجَنَّةِ إِلَّا أَنْ يَمُوتَ.

Al-Albani's grading is in Sahih al-Targhib wa'l-Tarhib, and IslamWeb treats the narration as established in fatwa 220777. None of that turns it into a hadith of Bukhari or Muslim, and it gets labelled "Sahih Bukhari" online constantly. The accurate line is sahih per al-Albani, not in the 2 Sahihs.

There's a named classical critic too, on the same page most people cite for the grading. The Arabic footnote at Bulugh al-Maram 2/220 ends with al-Albani noting his refutation of Ibn al-Jawzi, مع الرد على ابن الجوزي. So Ibn al-Jawzi criticised the narration and al-Albani answered him. Saying nobody ever questioned the chain would be wrong.

One more thing gets flattened. The narration exists in more than one transmission. Some end إِلَّا أَنْ يَمُوتَ, and the text printed at Bulugh al-Maram 2/220 ends إلا الموت. The meaning is the same; the letters aren't. This site ships neither wording yet, for the reason in the last section. When it does, the transmission it ships gets named next to it.

Ayat al-Kursi itself is Quran 2:255. Its Arabic isn't printed here; the last section says why.

The three Quls, and a word that's plural in Arabic and dual in English

The last step is Surah al-Ikhlas, Surah al-Falaq and Surah an-Nas: once after each fard prayer, and 3 times each after Fajr and Maghrib. The post-salah instruction is Sunan Abi Dawud 1523, from Uqbah ibn Amir. He said the Messenger of Allah commanded him to recite the Mu'awwidhat after every prayer: أَمَرَنِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَنْ أَقْرَأَ بِالْمُعَوِّذَاتِ دُبُرَ كُلِّ صَلاَةٍ. Sunnah.com prints Sahih (al-Albani) on it.

The word in the Arabic is المعوذات, al-Mu'awwidhat, which is plural and covers all 3 surahs. المعوذتان, al-Mu'awwidhatan, is the dual, and it covers only al-Falaq and an-Nas. The 2 get swapped constantly, and swapping them changes how many surahs you're told to read.

The conflation is visible on the reference site itself. The Arabic at Abu Dawud 1523 carries the plural, while sunnah.com's English transliterates the dual, "Mu'awwidhatan", then glosses it as the 3 surahs. That's said here rather than smoothed over, because anyone who opens the link sees it.

Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3575 is the useful contrast. There the dual, "Al-Mu'awwidhatain", appears with Surah al-Ikhlas named separately, which is how the dual should read. That's also the reference for the 3-times form, which belongs to the morning and evening and so attaches to Fajr and Maghrib. Sunnah.com prints Hasan (Darussalam) on it. The "hasan sahih" grading often attached to this hadith couldn't be verified on that page, so it isn't printed here.

Should the tasbihat be said aloud or silently?

Scholars differ, and this page gives both positions. Ibn Abbas said he knew the congregational prayer had ended by hearing the dhikr, at Sahih al-Bukhari 841 and Sahih Muslim 583. Al-Tabari, Ibn Hazm, Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn 'Uthaymin held raising the voice to be sunnah. Al-Shafi'i held it was for teaching only.

Al-Shafi'i's position cites Quran 7:205 and treats the raised voice as instruction rather than standing practice, so doing it habitually is disliked on that view. Ibn 'Abidin, from the Hanafi school, permits raising the voice.

Egypt's Dar al-Ifta says both are permissible and quotes al-Tahawi: silent is better where there's fear of showing off or disturbing others, audible is recommended otherwise, and the matter of dhikr is capacious.

This page doesn't rule between them. The app's default sidesteps the question, counting silently with a vibration rather than a sound, which is also the polite setting in a masjid.

Fingers, beads or a counter

Counting on the fingers has explicit evidence behind it. Abdullah ibn Amr said he saw the Messenger of Allah counting the tasbih on his fingers, at Sunan Abi Dawud 1502, graded Sahih by al-Albani. Ibn Qudamah's version adds "with his right hand". Sunan Abi Dawud 1501 has women told to count on their fingertips, graded hasan by al-Albani. The right hand is the sunnah and the more rewarded; the left isn't prohibited.

Beads split 4 ways. Egypt's Dar al-Ifta calls the subha recommended because it aids tasbih, citing Ibn Hajar al-Haytami and Ibn 'Abidin, and adds that using it during salah is disliked. IslamWeb, Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn 'Uthaymin call it permissible while holding fingers better. Al-Albani and Bakr Abu Zayd call it an innovation because it wasn't known in the Prophet's time. Al-Suyuti and al-Laknawi wrote treatises defending it. All of them condemn using beads to be seen or wearing them as jewellery.

On digital counters, 2 fatwa bodies from opposite camps land in the same place. Shaykh al-Munajjid's IslamQA, answer 128914, argues that if beads are permitted then a counting program is more so, because it involves no public display. The Hanafi answer at IslamQA.org 81370, from Askimam, classes a digital counter with stones and beads as mubah. IslamQA's conditions: the heart present, and no invented counts for adhkar with no narrated count. Askimam's: the tool isn't compulsory in the deen and isn't a sunnah in itself.

That first condition is the one this page runs on. Every number above is narrated, and printed with the reference that narrates it.

What this counter ships today, and the remaining gap

The post-salah program in the app runs 9 steps. Astaghfirullah 3 times, the salam formula once, SubhanAllah 33, Alhamdulillah 33, Allahu Akbar 33, the closing tahlil to complete the hundred, then al-Ikhlas, al-Falaq and an-Nas once each. The takbir entry carries a note about the 34 form and its narration, so both numbers are visible while you count.

The three Quls now close the sequence. Ayat al-Kursi is available as a verified preset but is not a guided step, because its post-salah narration is outside the source collections this site can link to directly. The app prints that remaining gap on screen instead of quietly implying the sequence includes it.

That's also why no Quranic Arabic appears on this page while every hadith phrase above carries its Arabic. The hadith Arabic was copied from a primary source page. The Quranic text hasn't been.