Question # 214: Asalamualaikum; Can one make dua’a after the fard in every salah. When should one pray aayatul kursi after the farad of every salah or after completing salah. Can one make dua’a after completing salah in sajdah?

Bismi-llahi r-raḥmani r-raḥīm,

Assalamu ‘laikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

All praise and thanks are due to Allah (سبحانه و تعالى), and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger (صلى الله عليه و سلم).

Dear questioner,

First of all, we implore Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) to help us serve His cause and render our work for His sake.

Shorter Answer: As for the question pertaining to dua’a after fard salah and reciting aayatul kursi, the questioner can refer to answers to questions # 97 (https://goo.gl/EH8fL8) and # 181 (https://goo.gl/bGQotq).

Next, as for sajdah (prostration) outside of salah, there is nothing in shari’ah that allow such an act of worship, except for in the following two cases: a) sajdat tilaawah (prostration when reading Qur’an) and b) sajdat shukr (prostration of gratitude). Hence, it is considered bid’ah (innovation) to prostrate other than in cases evidenced in shari’ah, regardless of whether it is done after salah or in any other situation. 

Long Answer: The basic principle with regard to acts of worship is tawqeef (i.e., doing nothing except that which is prescribed in the Qur’an and Sunnah). So Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) should not be worshipped except in the ways that He has prescribed. There is nothing in shari’ah to suggest that He may be worshipped by prostrating only, unless it is sajdat tilaawah (prostration when reading Qur’an) or sajdat shukr (prostration of gratitude). Nothing else is prescribed. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said: “Whoever introduces anything into this matter of ours that is not part of it will have it rejected.” (Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim) According to a version narrated by Muslim: “Whoever does any action that is not part of this matter of ours will have it rejected.”

Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in al-Majmoo’: “If a person humbles himself before Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) and seeks to draw near to Him by doing a prostration for a reason that does not dictate doing the prostration of gratitude, there are two views that were narrated by Imam al-Haramayn and others. The first is that it is permissible, which is the view of the author of al-Taqreeb. But the more correct view is that it is not permissible. This was classed as the correct view by Imam al-Haramayn and others, and was regarded as definitively correct by Shaykh Abu Haamid. Imam al-Haramayn said: My Shaykh – i.e., Abu Muhammad – denounced this prostration sternly, and they quoted as evidence for that the analogy with bowing. If a person were to worship Allah by bowing only, that is haraam according to scholarly consensus, because it is bid’ah (an innovation), and every innovation is a going astray, except in cases where there is evidence to the contrary, regardless of whether it is done after prayer or in any other situation.”

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Worse than this is what some people do, when they do a single prostration after saying the salaam. This is an innovation and it was not narrated from any of the Imams that this is mustahabb. Acts of worship are based on shari’ah and following, not on whims and desires or innovations. Islam is based on two principles: that we do not worship anyone but Allah alone, and we worship Him in the way that He prescribed on the lips of His Messenger (صلى الله عليه و سلم), and we do not worship Him on the basis of whims and desires or innovations.” (al-Fataawa al-Kubra) 

(The above answer is based on answer provided by Shaykh Muhammad Saalih al-Munajjid on similar topic) 

Allahu A’lam (Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) knows best) and all Perfections belong to Allah, and all mistakes belong to me alone. May Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) forgive me, Ameen.

Wassalaam