Some moments in worship are made for asking. The Prophet ﷺ said that the servant is nearest to his Lord in prostration, and told us to make much supplication there. The night prayer is another such moment, and so is the completion of the Qur'an. Most of us reach those moments and find our words have run out.
Selected Invocations is the small book that fixes that. Shaykh Muhammad bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Musnad gathered authentic supplications for exactly these three occasions and set them out in a booklet slim enough to sit on a prayer mat.
The Three Occasions
- In sujood — supplications for the position in which the servant is closest to his Lord
- In the Qunoot of Witr — the supplication of the night prayer, whether recited alone or led before a congregation
- On completing the Qur'an — the dua of khatm, in Ramadan or at any time of year
Compiled With the Imam in Mind
An imam leading Taraweeh, Qiyaam and Witr in Ramadan supplicates aloud in front of a congregation, sometimes for a long time, and needs words that are established rather than improvised. This collection was assembled for that need in particular. It serves the individual worshipper just as well — the difference is only that one recites quietly and the other aloud.
Format
A slim pocket-size paperback. It fits in a thobe pocket, a handbag, a Qur'an sleeve or the shelf beside a prayer mat, which is what a book like this needs to do. Left at home in a drawer, it will not be there when the moment comes.
About the Compiler
Shaykh Muhammad bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Musnad is best known for compiling Fatawa Islamiyah (Islamic Verdicts), the eight-volume collection of rulings from senior scholars of Ahlus-Sunnah — among them Shaykh Ibn Baz, Shaykh Ibn Al-'Uthaimin and Shaykh Ibn Jibreen, together with the Permanent Committee. The same insistence on sourced material governs this smaller work.
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