The most severely tested people on the planet are all the Prophets.

They went against the accepted conventional wisdom of the time and spoke honestly to try and help guide their respective communities to the right path.

Often their advances were rejected and the Prophets were ostracized and ridiculed for their beliefs. Just imagine the mental torment of being disrespected by your closest colleagues and family. Their sacrifice and suffering was not done in vain, it was so that you and me be guided and so that we would be saved in the afterlife.

In Surah Imran, Allah’s says to Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) in ayat 184:

“Then if they deny you, [O Muhammad] – so were messengers denied before you, who brought clear proofs and written ordinances and the enlightening Scripture.”

We should be thankful to all of Allah’s Prophets and send our salutations their way. Doing so is among the most virtuous acts and inshallah our status will be elevated as a result.

In this article, we’ll explore the popular allahumma salli ala dua which the Prophet Muhammad (may peace be upon him) himself recommended to send blessings towards him.

allahumma salli ala muhammad arabic text

In arabic text this dua is written:

ٱللَّٰهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَىٰ مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَىٰ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ كَمَا صَلَّيْتَ عَلَىٰ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَعَلَىٰ آلِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ إِنَّكَ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ ٱللَّٰهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَىٰ مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَىٰ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ كَمَا بَارَكْتَ عَلَىٰ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَعَلَىٰ آلِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ إِنَّكَ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ

Transliteration to help with the pronunciation of this dua:
Allahumma Salli ‘ala Muhammadin wa ‘ala aali Muhammadin, kama sallaita ‘ala Ibrahima wa ‘ala aali Ibrahima innaka Hamidum-Majeed. Allahumma barik ‘ala Muhammadin wa ‘ala aali Muhammadin kama barakta ‘ala Ibrahima wa ‘ala aali Ibrahima innaka Hameedum-Majeed.

There are slightly different versions of this dua depending on the hadith narration read, this variation is from Sahih al-Bukhari 635:

“Narrated Abdur-Rahman bin Abi Laila: Ka`b bin ‘Ujra met me and said, “Shall I give you a present? Once the Prophet (ﷺ) came to us and we said, ‘O Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) ! We know how to greet you; but how to send ‘Salat’ upon you? He said, ‘Say…” and he repeated the salawat we provided above.

Allahumma Salli Ala dua in english

The translation of this dua is “O Allah, send your grace, honour and mercy upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent Your grace, honour and mercy upon Ibrahim, You are indeed Praiseworthy, Most Glorious. O Allah, send Your blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You sent Your blessings upon Ibrahim, You are indeed Praiseworthy, Most Glorious”

What Surah can this dua be found in?

A common question is where in the Qur’an can you find the salawat to be recited? There is no mention of this dua in the Quran. This is strictly a dua which is mentioned in numerous different authentic hadith. The one we provide here in this article is the most widely accepted one.

Importance of sending Blessings to the Prophet

In Surah Ahzab ayat 56 Allah says,

“Indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [ Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [ Allah to grant him] peace.

In this verse Allah directly send a message to all his believers to make prayer to Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wasallam).

People sometimes question why we often praise the Prophet during salat, this is not in the sense of worship as that is reserved for Allah alone but we mention Muhammad in prayer as to send your love, prayer, and ask for mercy for the Prophet Muhammad (saws).

This is no different then asking for forgiveness for someone you love or deeply care about like your parent, wife, or children in your du’as. You would constantly ask Allah for his mercy for them, the love for the Prophet should be reciprocated in the same manner.

In the Tafheem ul Quran it is said regarding Surah Ahzab ayat 56,

Allah’s sending His blessings on His Prophet, means this: Allah is very kind to His Prophet (peace be upon him): He praises him, blesses his work, exalts his name, and showers His mercy on him. Blessings of the angels, means: They love the Prophet (peace be upon him) most dearly and pray to Allah to bless him with the highest ranks, cause his religion and Shariah to flourish and exalt him to the laudable position. One can clearly see from the context, why this thing has been said here. This was the time when the enemies of Islam were making all sorts of false allegations against the Prophet (peace be upon him) in order to satisfy their jealousy on the success of faith. By sullying him, they thought they would destroy his moral influence through which Islam and the Muslims were gaining more and more ground every day. Such were the conditions when Allah sent down this verse, as if warn the people: “However hard the disbelievers and the hypocrites and the polytheists might try to vilify and slander My Prophet (peace be upon him) with a view to frustrating his mission, they are bound to suffer disgrace and humiliation in the end, for I am kind to him, and the angels, who are administering the entire universe, are his supporters and admirers.

We will continue to support the Messenger of Allah and stay spreading his message. Our support is shown through our actions and words and the recitation of the allahumma salli ala dua is a sign of our dedication and commitment to this religion.