Adhkar for Prayer, Travel, and Life Events

The chapters of al-Adhkar on prayer-related remembrance, travel, and the major events of life provide Muslims with authenticated prophetic guidance for some of the most spiritually significant moments in the practice of their religion.

The prayer-related adhkar in al-Adhkar are extensive and cover every transition in the prayer: the opening takbir and the supplications that follow it, the recitations of the bowing and prostration positions, the supplications between the two prostrations, the final tashahhud, and the various supplications to be made after the prayer concludes. Al-Nawawi presents the most authenticated versions of each formula, often noting multiple acceptable variants where several are well documented.

The chapters on the adhan (call to prayer) and its response are among the most practically relevant in the work. The hadiths establishing the response to the adhan — repeating its words and then adding the specific supplication praising the Prophet and asking for intercession — are documented with strong chains. The supplication to be said between the adhan and iqamah (which is a particularly meritorious moment for dua) is presented with the narrations attesting its virtue.

For travel, Al-Nawawi assembled the authenticated supplications for beginning a journey, riding a vehicle, entering a town or city, and arriving safely at one's destination. The famous supplication recited upon mounting a conveyance — Subhana alladhi sakhkhara lana hadha (Glory be to the One who has made this subservient to us) — appears with its Quranic reference and its authenticated transmission as a prophetic practice.

Life events are systematically covered in al-Adhkar: the birth of a child and the prayers to say then, the marriage ceremony and the wedding supplication, the adhan in the ear of a newborn, and the supplications for illness and recovery. Al-Nawawi also addresses the adhkar related to death and dying — the instructions for a dying person, the supplication at the moment of death, and the prayers said over the deceased.