Ta'qibat

Ta'qībāt (Arabic:تعقیبات) (lit. Follow-ups) is a collection of supplications, dhikrs and some verses of the Qur'an which are recommended after daily prayers.

In addition to common ta'qibat which are recited after all daily prayers, there are supplications and dhikrs which are recommended after each of the prayers as well.

Tasbih of Lady Fatima (a), Ayat al-Kursi and prostration of thankfulness are among the most famous common ta'qibat.

Lexical and Jurisprudential Meanings

The lexical meaning of ta'qib is following, following someone's order or following up after. In fiqh, they refer to a set of recommended acts which follow acts of worship. They also may refer to dhikrs and supplications recited after the prayer.

The word "ta'qibat" has been mentioned in hadiths received from Imam al-Sadiq (a) and has been commonly used.

In Qur'an

Some scholars considered two verses of the Sura Inshirah, about ta'qibat :

“

"So when you are done, appoint * and turn eagerly to your Lord" (Qur'an 94:7-8)

”

Some commentators of the Qur'an including Ibn 'Abbas have referred the verse:

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"and glorify Him through part of the night and after the prostrations." (Qur'an 50:40)

”

However, some Sunni commentators have interpreted this verse as daily nafila after daily prayers. It is to say that the same meaning of recommended prayer following other prayers is among the most important usages ta'qib in Sunni references in fiqh.

In some hadith references, reciting some suras and verses of the Qur'an including suras of al-Nas, al-Falaq, Yasin and Ayat al-Kursi are recommended.

Regarding the merits of ta'qibat, it has been said that if after the prayer, a believer engages in performing ta'qibat as long as the time of the next prayer comes, he will be the guest of God and his right is upon God to honor His guest.

Dhikrs in Ta'qibat of Prayers

Saying frequent dhikrs after the prayer has been recommended in different ways, but the most famous and most recommended one among them after every prayer is tasbihat of Lady Fatima (a) which contains 34 Allah Akbar (أالله اکبر) and 33 Alhamd li-llah (أالحمدلله) and 33 Subhan-Allah (سبحان الله). However generally, different dhikrs including praise, tasbih, saying La ilah-a ill Allah (لا أله الا الله) and Salawat upon the Prophet (s) have been recommended.

In traditions and books on fiqh, supplication and dhikr after prayer have been recommended. Accordingly, different supplications are narrated, the most famous among which in Twelver Shia references is (لا اله الا الله وحده وحده...). Also, the supplication of (اللهم انی اسألک من کلِ خیرٍ احاط بِه علمک...) has been famously recommended in hadiths.

In addition to common supplications, for any of the daily prayers, a specific supplication has been recommended. In some other sources, it is mentioned that the prayer needs to ask God and supplicate to Him about anything he needs.

It is mentioned in hadiths that making supplication after daily prayers is more recommended than nafila prayer. According to hadiths, supplication after daily prayers, especially Fajr prayer, Zuhr prayer and Maghrib prayer is answered. Some fiqh references stress on this issue that influential dhikrs and supplications have a higher merit over uninfluential ones.

Prostration for Gratitude

One of the manners recommended in hadiths is prostration for gratitude (sajda al-shukr) and the dhikr for it is a hundred times saying expression of gratitude or asking for forgiveness. In some sources, the prostration of gratitude is considered among features of Twelver Shia.

While prostration of gratitude is common between Twelver Shia and Sunni schools, performing it after the prayer has been considered disliked by some Sunni scholars in fiqh due to the fear for development of a Bid'a (illegitimate innovation) and its addition to the traditions following the prayer.

Ta'fir and Ta'qib after Prayer

One of recommended practices after ta'qibat is ta'fir (تعفير), in which the one who performs prayer would rub his cheeks against the earth. It is also recommended that the one who performs prayer would put his forearms, chest and stomach on the ground while making ta'fir.

Recommended Practices after Congregational Prayer

Regarding congregational prayer, it has been recommended that the Imam of prayer says tasbih after finishing his prayer until those followers who joined the prayer later, would finish their prayer, but at the same time, it has been recommended that he shortens ta'qib. However, in Sunni traditions, it is said that ta'qib after prayers in the month of Ramadan is a disliked action due to the exhaustion of people; and even sometimes, lengthening the sitting for the Imam of prayer has also been considered a disliked action.

In Fiqh References

In fiqh references, sometimes the discussion about ta'qibat has been mentioned very briefly; while, in some texts which care more about traditions in prayer, ta'qibat have been discussed more extensively.

In Twelver Shia references, have discussed dhikrs and supplications more than Sunni references. In their works, some influential supplications and even some uninfluential ones have been considered recommended after prayer; while, some of their references have considered sitting after prayer and saying dhikr and supplication disliked due to the fear for development of a Bid'a (illegitimate innovation) and its addition to the traditions following the prayer.

Related Written Works

Ta'qibat has been the subject of some single works in fiqh as well; such as a treatise titled as al-Ta'qib wa al-ta'fir written by Ibn Nuh al-Sirafi, a treatise written by Ibn Fahd al-Hilli titled as al-Fusul fi da'awat a'qab al-fara'id and a treatise written by al-Muhaqqiq al-Karaki.

References

The material for this article is mainly taken from تعقیبات in Farsi Wikishia.