The etiquettes of prayer require praise and glorification of God before the start of the actual prayer. The prayers are more likely to be accepted if offered after reciting Surah al-Fatihah [the opening chapter of the Holy Qur’an] and Durud Sharif [invoking blessings upon the Holy Prophet (sa)].
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) taught his companions the manner of praying. Once he went to visit an ill person who had become very weak. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa), realising his condition asked him if he had offered some special prayers, he replied that he prayed to God that if he was liable for punishment, God gives him this punishment in this life, rather than in the life hereafter. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) replied, ‘God is Holy, you don’t have the strength to bear His punishment. You should pray:
رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا فِي ٱلدُّنۡيَا حَسَنَةٗ وَفِي ٱلۡأٓخِرَةِ حَسَنَةٗ وَقِنَا عَذَابَ ٱلنَّارِ [1]
“O Allah grant us the good of this world as well as the good in the life hereafter, and save us from the punishment of fire.”’
Then the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) prayed for this person and he recovered with Allah’s blessing.
Muhammad (sa) – The Perfect Man (Qadian, India: Nazarat Isha’at, 2015), 144-145.
ENDNOTE
[1] The Holy Qur’an, 2:202.
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