Du`aa’ Al-Istiftah means the opening supplication. It is recommended (Sunnah) act of prayer and it is said after takbirat Al-Ihram (saying “Allahu Akbar at the beginning of prayer). It is recited only in the first rak`ah of the prayer.
There are two supplications that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to say:
ِAbu Hurairah narrated that Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) 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 (peace be upon him) said, “I say, ‘Allahumma, baa`id baini wa baina khatayaya kama baa`adta baina l-mashriqi wa l-maghrib. Allahumma, naqqini min khatayaya kama yunaqqa th-thawbu l-abyadu mina d-danas. Allahumma, ighsil khatayaya bi l-maa’i wa th-thalji wa l-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.)” (Al-Bukhari)
It was also narrated from Abu Sa`id that when the Prophet (peace be upon him) started to pray he would say: “Subhanakallahumma, wa bihamdika tabarakasmuka wa ta’ala jadduka wa la ilaha ghairuk (Glory and praise be to You, O Allah. Blessed be Your name and exalted be Your majesty, there is none worthy of worship except You.)” Ibn Majah)
Watch this short video to get more information about the opening supplication with Dr. Muhammad Salah.
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Source: Huda Youtube Channel.