Dua after tashahhud, before the salam

In the last sitting, after Attahiyat and Durood Ibrahim, you make a short dua before the salam. The Prophet ﷺ taught Abu Bakr Allahumma inni zalamtu nafsi zulman kathira for exactly this place, and told the Companions to seek refuge from four things after the tashahhud.¹

Dua 1: Taught to Abu Bakr

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي ظَلَمْتُ نَفْسِي ظُلْمًا كَثِيرًا، وَلَا يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ، فَاغْفِرْ لِي مَغْفِرَةً مِنْ عِنْدِكَ، وَارْحَمْنِي، إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

Allāhumma innī ẓalamtu nafsī ẓulman kathīrā, wa lā yaghfirudh-dhunūba illā ant, faghfir lī maghfiratam-min ʿindik, warḥamnī, innaka antal-Ghafūrur-Raḥīm

O Allah, I have wronged myself greatly, and none forgives sins but You. So forgive me with forgiveness from You, and have mercy on me. You are the Forgiving, the Merciful.

Sahih al-Bukhari 834; Sahih Muslim 2705

Dua 2: The four refuges

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ عَذَابِ جَهَنَّمَ، وَمِنْ عَذَابِ الْقَبْرِ، وَمِنْ فِتْنَةِ الْمَحْيَا وَالْمَمَاتِ، وَمِنْ شَرِّ فِتْنَةِ الْمَسِيحِ الدَّجَّالِ

Allāhumma innī aʿūdhu bika min ʿadhābi jahannam, wa min ʿadhābil-qabr, wa min fitnatil-maḥyā wal-mamāt, wa min sharri fitnatil-masīḥid-dajjāl

O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the punishment of Hell, from the punishment of the grave, from the trials of life and death, and from the evil of the trial of the False Messiah.

Sahih Muslim 588

Dua 3: Rabbij'alni

رَبِّ ٱجْعَلْنِى مُقِيمَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِى ۚ رَبَّنَا وَتَقَبَّلْ دُعَآءِ ۝ رَبَّنَا ٱغْفِرْ لِى وَلِوَٰلِدَىَّ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَوْمَ يَقُومُ ٱلْحِسَابُ

Rabbij-ʿalnī muqīmaṣ-ṣalāti wa min dhurriyyatī, rabbanā wa taqabbal duʿāʾ. Rabbanagh-fir lī wa li-wālidayya wa lil-muʾminīna yawma yaqūmul-ḥisāb

My Lord, make me an establisher of prayer, and [many] from my descendants. Our Lord, and accept my supplication. Our Lord, forgive me and my parents and the believers the Day the account is established.

Quran 14:40-41, translation by Sahih International

Our teachers will check the Arabic and transliteration on this page before launch.

Guide

When and how to say it

The order of the last sitting

Attahiyat (the tashahhud).
Durood Ibrahim.
A dua, such as one of the three above.
The salam: as-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah, turning to the right, then to the left.

Hanafi position

The dua after the durood is sunnah. It should be in Arabic and close to the wording of the Quran and Sunnah, like the duas on this page. Asking for worldly things in everyday words, such as 'O Allah, give me a new phone', is not done inside the prayer: keep those for after the salam.

Other madhhabs

Hanbali: Close to the Hanafi view: use duas from the Quran and Sunnah, or duas about the Hereafter.
Shafi'i, Maliki: Any good dua, for this life or the next, may be made here in Arabic. The four refuges (Dua 2) are strongly recommended.

Which dua should I learn first?

All three are from the Quran or the Sunnah. Many Hanafi teachers teach Rabbij'alni (Dua 3) to children first because it is Quranic and easy to learn. Dua 1 is the one the Prophet ﷺ chose for Abu Bakr, and Dua 2 is the one he told everyone to say. Once you know them, you can say more than one before the salam.

Sahih al-Bukhari 834; Sahih Muslim 588.
Al-Haskafi, al-Durr al-Mukhtar, on the dua in the last sitting. The other madhhabs' positions are summarised from their standard manuals.
Sahih al-Bukhari 834; Sahih Muslim 2705
Sahih Muslim 588
Quran 14:40-41, translation by Sahih International

The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.

Questions

Good to know

What dua do you read after Attahiyat and Durood?

Allahumma inni zalamtu nafsi zulman kathira (Bukhari 834), the four refuges (Muslim 588), or Rabbij'alni muqimas-salah (Quran 14:40-41).

Can I make my own dua before the salam?

In the Hanafi school, use duas from the Quran and Sunnah in Arabic inside the prayer, and make your own personal duas after the salam.

What is Allahumma inni zalamtu nafsi?

The dua the Prophet ﷺ taught Abu Bakr to say in his prayer: "O Allah, I have wronged myself greatly, and none forgives sins but You..." (Bukhari 834).