Du`a Istiftaah (Ahadith 710-711)

Salam,
Bismillah.

Ahadith 708 and 709 are repeats. They talk about one of the miracles of the Prophet (SAW). Read here.

Volume 1, Book 12, Number 710:

Narrated Anas bin Malik:

The Prophet, Abu Bakr and ‘Umar used to start the prayer with “Al-hamdu lil-lahi Rabbil-‘ala-min (All praises are for Allah the Lord of the Worlds).”

They used to start reciting Surah Al-Fatihah aloud. Between Takbeer and al-Fatihah is a du`a called Istiftaah. Read Hadith below.

Volume 1, Book 12, Number 711:

Narrated Abu Huraira:

Allah’s Apostle used to keep silent between the Takbir and the recitation of Qur’an and that interval of silence used to be a short one. I said to the Prophet “May my parents be sacrificed for you! What do you say in the pause between Takbir and recitation?” The Prophet said, “I say, ‘Allahumma, ba’id baini wa baina khatayaya kama ba’adta baina-l-mashriqi wa-l-maghrib. Allahumma, naqqini min khatayaya kama yunaqqa-ththawbu-l-abyadu mina-ddanas. Allahumma, ighsil khatayaya bil-ma’i wa-th-thalji wal-barad (O Allah! Set me apart from my sins (faults) as the East and West are set apart from each other and clean me from sins as a white garment is cleaned of dirt (after thorough washing). O Allah! Wash off my sins with water, snow and hail.)”

It’s a beautiful du`a. If you truly ask this of Allah in every prayer, do you think there’ll be any sin left on your ‘cloth’?
May Allah accept all our prayers and forgive all our sins.

Do memorize this du`a, if you haven’t already. And make it a habit to recite it after Takbeer Tahreemah (the first Takbeer of the prayer).

Wassalam.