The Opening Supplication

1) Reported Abu Hurairah, "When the Prophet made the opening takbir, he would be quiet for a little while before his recitation. I asked him,  'O Messenger of Allah, may my father and mother be sacrificed for you, why are you quiet between the (opening) takbir and your recitation?  What do you say (at that time)?' He said, 'I say, “Allaahumma baa’id bayni wa bayna khataayaaya kamaa baa’adta bayn al-mashriqi wa’l-maghrib. Allaahumma naqqani min khataayaaya kamaa yunaqqaa al-thawb al-abyad min al-danas. Allaahumma’ghsilni min khataayaaya bi’l-maa’ wa’l-thalj wa’l-barad" [O Allah, make the distance between me and my sins as far as you have made the distance between the East and the West. O Allah, cleanse me of my sins as a white garment is cleansed of dirt. O Allah, purify me from my sins by snow, rain and hail.] (Related by al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah.)

2) Reported 'Ali, that when the Prophet   stood for prayer, he would make the takbir and then say, "I have turned my face to the one who created the heavens and the earth as a sincere submissive (person), and I am not one of the polytheists. My prayers, my sacrifice, my life and my death are all for Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. He has no partner. That is what I have been ordered and I am of those who submit. O Allah, you are the King and there is no Lord besides You. You are my Lord and I am Your slave. I have wronged my soul and You are aware of my sins, so forgive all of my sins. No one forgives sins save You. Guide me to the best character. No one can guide to the best of that save You. Turn me away from its evil, and no one can turn me from its evil save You. At your beck and call, all the good is in Your hands and evil is not to You. And I am for You and to You are the blessings and the exaltedness. I seek your forgiveness and return unto You." (Related by Ahmad, Muslim, at-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud and others.)

This hadeeth is related by Muslim with a broken chain. Ad-Daraqutni traces it back to the Prophet and back to 'Umar. Commenting on it, Ibn al-Qayyim says, "It has been authenticated that 'Umar began with that in the place (of the preceding prayer) of the Prophet, . He would recite it aloud and teach it to the people. And owing to that fact, it is considered to have its source with the Prophet, . For that reason, Imam Ahmad says, "I act by what has been related from 'Umar If a person begins with something that has been related, it is good." Speaking of it, Ibn al-Qayyim says, "The jurists differ over whether or not that is a time to say, 'I seek refuge...' But they agree that it is not a place to make the opening supplication. On the former point, there are two opinions, both of them related from Ahmad. Some of his companions concluded that either the prayer is only one recitation, so it is sufficient just to seek refuge once, or that each recital is a recital by itself that requires the seeking of refuge. They do not dispute the fact that the opening supplication is for the whole prayer. It is sufficient to seek refuge only once, as it is apparent from the authentic hadith." Then he mentions the preceding hadith of Abu Hurairah and says, "It is sufficient just to make one opening supplication, since there is no real break between the recital of the prayer. The only thing that is between them is the remembrance of Allah, and so on. Therefore, it will be considered as one recital. Ash Shaukani has the final word, and says, 'It is best just to do what has been related from the sunnah, and that is to seek refuge in the first rak'ah only."

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