This hadeeth is mawdoo’ (fabricated). It was narrated by Abu Na’eem in al-Hilyah and by others. Its isnaad includes Yahyaa ibn Haashim al-Simsaar.

Imaam al-Nasaa’i said concerning him: “His hadeeth is to be rejected.”

Yahyaa ibn Ma’een said: “He is a liar.”

Ibn ‘Adiyy said: “He used to fabricate and plagiarize hadeeth.”

Du’aa’ upon completing the Qur’aan may be said in either of two situations:

1. During prayer, which is bid’ah (a reprehensible innovation). Acts of worship are based on what is prescribed in Islam (shar’) and on following (the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)). No one has the right to worship Allaah except in the manner that He has prescribed or according to the Sunnah of our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

Anything other than that is an innovation in the religion. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever innovates anything in this matter of ours (Islam) that is not a part of it will have it rejected.” (Agreed upon, from the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah).

Al-Shaatibi mentioned in al-I’tisaam and Shaykh al-Islam [Ibn Taymiyah] mentioned in al-Iqtidaa’ an important guideline for telling bid’ah from other things. This is: if the reason and motive for doing a thing existed at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the time of the Sahaabah, and they did not do it, although there was nothing to stop them from doing it, then it is bid’ah – such as giving the adhaan for Eid prayers and for prayers for rain (salaat al-istisqaa’), and so on.

Making du’aa’ for completing the Qur’aan during prayer comes under this heading. In Ramadaan, the Sahaabah would stand in prayer for a long time, leaning on sticks because it was so long. In this manner they would complete the Qur’aan more than once, but it was not narrated that any of them made du’aa’ after completing it.

Imaam Maalik (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: I did not hear that he made du’aa’ upon completing the Qur’aan, or any of the other things that people do. This was quoted from him by Ibn al-Haaj in al-Madkhal.

2. The second case is when du’aa’ is made straight after completing the Qur’aan, not during prayer. This was narrated from Anas ibn Maalik with a saheeh isnaad, and it is narrated from a group of scholars, but I do not know of any proven marfoo’ report [i.e., one which goes back to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)] concerning that.

And Allaah knows best.