Ala-Maududi
(33:56) Allah and His angels bless the Prophet.[106] Believers, invoke blessings and
peace on him.[107]
106. 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. His enemies cannot gain anything by their
condemnation of him because I am exalting his name and My angels are adoring him constantly.
They cannot harm him by their mean machinations when My mercy and blessings are with him, and My
angels pray for him day and night to the effect: “O Lord of the worlds, raise Muhammad (peace be
upon him) to even higher ranks and make his religion flourish and prosper.”
107. In other words, it means this: O people, who have found the right path through Muhammad
(peace be upon him), the Messenger of Allah, you should recognize his true worth and be grateful
to him for his great favors to you. You were lost in the darkness of ignorance, he afforded you
the light of knowledge. You had become morally bankrupt, he raised you high on the moral level
so that the people now feel envious of you. You had sunk to barbarism and savagery, he adorned
you with the most refined human civilization. The disbelievers everywhere have turned his
enemies only because he has done you these favors; otherwise personally he has not done any harm
to anyone. Therefore, the inevitable demand of your gratitude to him is that you should regard
him with an equal, or even greater love than the malice and grudge these people display against
him; that you should show a greater attachment to him than the hatred these people show towards
him; that you should praise and adore him even more fervently than they condemn him; that you
should wish him well even more heartily than they wish him ill, and pray for him just as the
angels do day and night, saying: “O Lord of the worlds: Just as Your Prophet has done us
countless and endless favors, so do You also show him endless and limitless mercy, raise him to
the highest ranks in the world and bless him with the greatest nearness to Yourself in the
hereafter.”
In this verse, Muslims have been commanded two things: (1) Sallu alaihi; and (2) sallimu taslima.
The word Salat when used with the associating panicle ala gives three meanings: (1) To be
inclined to some body, to attend to him with love, and to bend over him; (2) to praise somebody;
and (3) to pray for somebody. Obviously, when the word is used in regard to Allah, it cannot be
in the third meaning, for it is absolutely inconceivable that Allah should pray to someone else;
it can only be used in the first two meanings. But when this word is used for the servants,
whether angels or men, it will be in all the three meanings. It will contain the sense of love
as well as praise and prayer for mercy. Therefore, the meaning of giving the command of sallu
alaihi to the believers for the Prophet (peace be upon him) is: “Be attached to him, praise and
adore him and pray for him.”
The word salam also has two meanings: (1) To be secure from every kind of affliction and fault
and defect; and (2) to be at peace and refrain from opposing the other person. Therefore, one
meaning of sallimu taslima in regard to the Prophet (peace be upon him) is: “You should pray for
his well-being and security,” and another meaning is: “Cooperate with him with all your heart
and mind; refrain from opposing him and obey him most faithfully and sincerely.”
When this command was sent down, several of the companions said to the Prophet (peace be upon
him), “O Messenger of Allah, you have taught us the method of pronouncing salam i.e. of saying
as-salamu alaika ayyuhannabiyyu wa rahmatullahi wa barakat-u-hu in the Prayer, and as-salamu
alaika ya Rasul-Allah as a greeting, but what is the method of sending Salat on you?” In
response to this, the methods of pronouncing Salat and darud that the Prophet (peace be upon
him) taught to many people on different occasions are as follows:
Kaab bin Ujrah: Allahumma salli ala Muhammad-in wa ala al-i Muhammad-in kama sallaita ala
Ibrahima wa ala al-i Ibrahima irmaka Hamidum-Majid, wa barik ala Muhammad-in wa ala al-i
Muhammad-in kama barakta ala Ibrahima wa ala al-i Ibrahima innaka Hamid-um-Majid. This darud
with a little difference in wording has been reported by Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Daud, Tirmidhi,
Nasai, Ibn Majah, Imam Ahmad, Ibn Abi Shaibah, Abdur Razzaq, Ibn Abi Hatim and Ibn Jarir on the
authority of Kaab bin Ujrah.
Ibn Abbas: From him also the same darud as given above has been reported with a slight
difference. (Ibn Jarir).
Abu Humaid Saidi: Allahumma salli ala Muhammad-in wa azwaji-hi wa dhurriyati-hi kama sallaita ala
Ibrahima wa ala al-i Ibrhima wa barik ala Muhammad-in wa azwaji-hi wa dhurriyat-hi kama barakta
ala al-i Ibrahima irmaka Hamidum- Majid. (Malik, Ahmad, Bukhari, Muslim, Nasai, Abu Daud, Ibn
Majah).
Abu Masud Badri: Allahumma salli ala Muhammad-in wa ala al-i Muhammad-in kama sallaita ala
Ibrahima wa ala al-i Ibrahima wa barik ala Muhammad-in wa ala al-i Muhammad-in kama barakta ‘ala
Ibrahima fil- alamin innaka Hamid-um-Majid (Malik, Muslim, Abu Daud, Tirmidhi, Nasai Ahmad, Ibn
Jarir, Ibn Habban, Hakim).
Abu Said Khudri: Allahumma salli ala Muhammad-in abdika wa rasuli-ka kama sallaita ‘ala Ibrahima
wa barik ‘ala Mahammad-in wa ala al-i Muhammad-in kama ba rakta ala Ibrahim. (Ahmad, Bukhari,
Nasai, Ibn Majah).
Buraidah al-Khuzai: Allahumm-ajal Salataka wa rahmataka wa barakati-ka ala Muhammad-in wa ala
al-i Muhammad-in kama Ja altaha ala Ibrahima innaka Hamid-um-Majid. (Ahmad, Abd bin Humaid, Ibn
Marduyah).
Abu Hurairah: Allahumma salli ala Muhammad-in wa ala al-i Muhammad-in wa barik ala Muhammad-in wa
ala al-i Muhammad-in kama sallaita wa barakta ala Ibrahima wa ala al-i Ibrahim fil-alamin innaka
Hammid-um-Majid. (Nasai).
Talhah: Allahumma salli ala Muhammad-in wa ala al-i Muhammad-in kama sallaita ala Ibrahima innaka
Hamidum- Majid wa barik ala Muhammad-in wa ala al-i Muhammad-in kama barakta ala Ibrahima innaka
Hamidum- Majid. (Ibn Jarir).
All these daruds agree in meaning despite the difference in wording. A few points concerning them
should be understood clearly:
First, in all these the Prophet (peace be upon him) tells the Muslims that the best way of
sending darud and Salat on him is that they should pray to Allah, saying, “O God: send darud on
Muhanunad.” Ignorant people who do not possess full understanding of the meaning intermediately
raise the objection: “How strange that Allah commands us to send darud on His Prophet (peace be
upon him), but we, in return, implore Allah that He should send it.” The fact, however, is that
the Prophet (peace be upon him) has instructed the people, as if to say, “You cannot do full
justice to sending of darud and Salat on me even if you want to. Therefore, pray only to Allah
to bless me with Salat.” Evidently, the Muslims cannot raise the ranks of the Prophet (peace be
upon him), Allah only can raise them; the Muslims cannot repay the Prophet (peace be upon him)
for his favors and kindness, Allah only can adequately reward him for this; the Muslims cannot
attain any success in exalting the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) name and promoting the cause of
religion unless Allah favors them with His help and succor. So much so that the Prophet’s (peace
be upon him) love can be impressed in our hearts only by Allah’s help; otherwise Satan can turn
us away from him by every kind of evil suggestions and suspicions. May Allah protect us from
this! Therefore, there is no other way of doing full justice to sending of darud and salat on
the Prophet (peace be upon him) than that we should supplicate Allah to send salat on him. The
person who says: Allahumma salli ala Muhammad-in, in fact, admits his helplessness before Allah,
and says: “O God: it is not in my power to send salat on Your Prophet (peace be upon him) as it
should be sent. I, therefore, implore You to send it on my behalf and take from me whatever
service You will in this regard.”
Secondly, the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not want to have this prayer reserved for only
himself but included his followers and his wives and offspring also. The meaning of the wives
and offspring is obvious. As for the word al it does not merely denote the people of the
Prophet’s household, but it applies to all those people who follow him and adopt his way.
Lexically, there is a difference between the words aal and ahl. By the aal of a person are
understood all those people who are his companions, helpers and followers, whether they are
related to him or not, and his ahl are those who are related to him, whether or not they are his
companions and followers. The Quran has used the word aal-Firaun at fourteen places but nowhere
has it been used to mean the people of Pharaoh’s household only; everywhere it implies all those
who sided with him in the conflict against the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him). For example,
see (Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayat 49-50), (Surah Aal-Imran, Ayat 11), (Surah Al-Aaraf, Ayat 130), (Surah Al-Mumin, Ayat 46). Thus, from
aal- Muhammad is excluded every such person who is not on the way of Muhammad (peace be upon
him), whether he be a member of his household, and in it is included every such person, who is
following in his footsteps, whether he is not even distantly related to him by blood. However,
those members of the Prophet’s household who are related to him by blood and are also his
followers are most worthy to be regarded as aal-Muhammad.
Thirdly, the same thing found in all the daruds taught by the Prophet (peace be upon him) is that
he may be blessed with the same kindness with which Abraham (peace be upon him) and the
followers of Abraham have been blessed. The people have found it difficult to understand this.
The scholars have given different interpretations of it but none of them is appealing. In my
opinion the correct interpretation is this (though the real knowledge is with Allah): Allah
blessed the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) in particular with something with which He has
blessed no one else in the world, and it is this: All those human beings who regard the
Prophethood and the revelation and the Book as the source of guidance are agreed on the
leadership of the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him), whether they are Muslims or Christians or
Jews. Therefore, what the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) means to say is this: “O Allah, just
as You have made the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) the refuge of the followers of all the
Prophets, so You make me also the refuge, so that no one who is a believer in Prophethood, may
remain deprived of the grace of believing in my Prophethood.”
That it is an Islamic practice to send darud on the Prophet (peace be upon him), that it is
commendable to pronounce it when the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) name is mentioned, that it is
a Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to recite it in the Prayer in particular, is agreed
upon by all the scholars. There is also a consensus that it is obligatory to pronounce the darud
on the Prophet (peace be upon him) at least once in a lifetime, because Allah has clearly
commanded it, but apart from this there are differences among the scholars regarding it.
Imam Shafei holds the view that it is obligatory to recite salat on the Prophet during tashahhud
in the final sitting of the Prayer, for without it the Prayer would be void. Ibn Masud,
Abu-Masud Ansari, Ibn Umar and Jabir bin Abdullah from among the companions, Shabi, Imam
Muhammad bin Baqir, Muhammad bin Kab al-Qurzi and Muqatil bin Hayyan from among the immediate
followers of the companions, and Ishaq bin Rahwayah from among the jurists also held the same
opinion, and Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal also had adopted the same in the end.
Imam Abu Hanifah, Imam Malik and the majority of the scholars hold that the pronouncing of the
Salat is obligatory only once in a life time. It is just like the Kalimah: whoever affirmed the
divinity of Allah and the Prophethood of the Messenger of Allah once in a lifetime carried out
his duty. Likewise, the one who pronounced the darud and salat once in his lifetime would be
deemed to have done his duty of pronouncing the darud on the Prophet (peace be upon him). After
it, it is neither obligatory (fird) to recite the Kalimah nor the darud.
Another group holds that it is absolutely wajib to recite it in the Prayer but not necessarily in
the tashahhud.
Still another group holds the view that it is wajib to pronounce the darud in every supplication.
Some others say that it is wajib to pronounce it whenever the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) name
is mentioned, and according to another group recitation of the darud is wajib only once in an
assembly or sitting no matter how often the name of the Prophet (peace be upon him) is mentioned
during it.
These differences only pertain to the darud’s being obligatory in status or otherwise. As for its
merit and excellence, its being conducive to high spiritual rewards and its being a great
righteous act, there is complete unanimity among the Ummah. No one who is a believer in any
degree can have any different opinion about it. The darud is the natural supplication of the
heart of every Muslim, who realizes that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the Ummah’s
greatest benefactor after Allah. The greater one’s appreciation of Islam and the faith, the
greater will one be appreciative of the favors of the Prophet (peace be upon him) himself; and
the greater one’s appreciation of the favors of the Prophet (peace be upon him), the more often
will he pronounce the darud and salat on him. Thus, in fact, the frequency with which a person
pronounces the darud is the measure which shows the depth of his relationship with the Prophet’s
(peace be upon him) religion and the extent of his appreciation of the blessing of the faith. On
this very basis the Prophet (peace be upon him) has said: “The angels send darud on him who
sends darud on me, as long as he does so.” (Ahmad, Ibn Majah). “He who sends darud on me once,
Allah sends darud on him ten times over.” (Muslim) “The one who sends darud on me most often
will deserve to remain close to me on the Day of Resurrection” (Tirmidhi). “Niggardly is the
person who does not send darud on me when I am mentioned before him” (Tirmidhi).
As to whether it is permissible to use the words Allahumma salli ala so and so, or sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam, or similar other words for others than the Prophet (peace be upon him), it is
disputed. One group of the scholars of whom Qadi Iyad is most prominent holds it as absolutely
permissible. Their argument is this: Allah Himself has used the word salat in respect of those
who were not prophets at several places in the Quran, e.g. in (Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayat 157), (Surah At-Taubah, Ayat 103), (Surah Al-Ahzab, Ayat 43). Similarly,
the Prophet (peace be upon him) also prayed for those who were not prophets using the word
salat) on several occasions. For example, he prayed for a companion, thus: Allahumma salli ala
al Abi Aufa; on the request of Jabir bin Abdullah’s wife, he said: Sallallahu alaihi wa ala
zaujiki. Then concerning those who came with the Zakat money, he would say: Allahumma salli
alaihim. Praying for Saad bin Ubadah he said: Allahumma ajal salataka wa rahmataka ala al-i Saad
bin Ubadah. And about the soul of the believer the Prophet (peace be upon him) gave the news
that the angels prayed for him, thus: Sallallahu alaika wa ala jasadika. However, the majority
of the Muslim scholars opine that it was correct for Allah and His Messenger but not so for the
Ummah. They say that it has become a convention with the Muslims to use salat-o-salam
exclusively for the Prophets. Therefore, it should not be used for those who are not prophets.
On this very basis Umar bin Abdul Aziz once wrote to one of his governors, saying: “I hear that
some preachers have started using the word salat in respect of their patrons and supporters in
the manner of salat alan-Nabi. As soon as you receive this letter, stop them from this practice
and command them to use salat exclusively for the Prophets and remain content with the prayer
for the other Muslims.” (Ruh al-Maeni). Most scholars also hold that using the words sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam for any other Prophet than the Prophet (peace be upon him) is not correct.