Ala-Maududi
(33:56) Allah and His angels bless the Prophet.[106] Believers, invoke blessings andpeace 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 onhim. Blessings of the angels, means: They love the Prophet (peace be upon him) most dearly andpray to Allah to bless him with the highest ranks, cause his religion and Shariah to flourishand exalt him to the laudable position. One can clearly see from the context, why this thing hasbeen said here. This was the time when the enemies of Islam were making all sorts of falseallegations against the Prophet (peace be upon him) in order to satisfy their jealousy on thesuccess of faith. By sullying him, they thought they would destroy his moral influence throughwhich Islam and the Muslims were gaining more and more ground every day. Such were theconditions when Allah sent down this verse, as if warn the people: “However hard thedisbelievers 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 disgraceand humiliation in the end, for I am kind to him, and the angels, who are administering theentire universe, are his supporters and admirers. His enemies cannot gain anything by theircondemnation 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 Myangels pray for him day and night to the effect: “O Lord of the worlds, raise Muhammad (peace beupon 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 gratefulto him for his great favors to you. You were lost in the darkness of ignorance, he afforded youthe light of knowledge. You had become morally bankrupt, he raised you high on the moral levelso that the people now feel envious of you. You had sunk to barbarism and savagery, he adornedyou with the most refined human civilization. The disbelievers everywhere have turned hisenemies only because he has done you these favors; otherwise personally he has not done any harmto anyone. Therefore, the inevitable demand of your gratitude to him is that you should regardhim with an equal, or even greater love than the malice and grudge these people display againsthim; that you should show a greater attachment to him than the hatred these people show towardshim; that you should praise and adore him even more fervently than they condemn him; that youshould wish him well even more heartily than they wish him ill, and pray for him just as theangels do day and night, saying: “O Lord of the worlds: Just as Your Prophet has done uscountless and endless favors, so do You also show him endless and limitless mercy, raise him tothe highest ranks in the world and bless him with the greatest nearness to Yourself in thehereafter.”
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 beinclined 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 bein 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 loveas well as praise and prayer for mercy. Therefore, the meaning of giving the command of sallualaihi to the believers for the Prophet (peace be upon him) is: “Be attached to him, praise andadore him and pray for him.”
The word salam also has two meanings: (1) To be secure from every kind of affliction and faultand defect; and (2) to be at peace and refrain from opposing the other person. Therefore, onemeaning of sallimu taslima in regard to the Prophet (peace be upon him) is: “You should pray forhis well-being and security,” and another meaning is: “Cooperate with him with all your heartand 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 uponhim), “O Messenger of Allah, you have taught us the method of pronouncing salam i.e. of sayingas-salamu alaika ayyuhannabiyyu wa rahmatullahi wa barakat-u-hu in the Prayer, and as-salamualaika ya Rasul-Allah as a greeting, but what is the method of sending Salat on you?” Inresponse to this, the methods of pronouncing Salat and darud that the Prophet (peace be uponhim) 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 alaIbrahima wa ala al-i Ibrahima irmaka Hamidum-Majid, wa barik ala Muhammad-in wa ala al-iMuhammad-in kama barakta ala Ibrahima wa ala al-i Ibrahima innaka Hamid-um-Majid. This darudwith 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 theauthority of Kaab bin Ujrah.
Ibn Abbas: From him also the same darud as given above has been reported with a slightdifference. (Ibn Jarir).
Abu Humaid Saidi: Allahumma salli ala Muhammad-in wa azwaji-hi wa dhurriyati-hi kama sallaita alaIbrahima wa ala al-i Ibrhima wa barik ala Muhammad-in wa azwaji-hi wa dhurriyat-hi kama baraktaala al-i Ibrahima irmaka Hamidum- Majid. (Malik, Ahmad, Bukhari, Muslim, Nasai, Abu Daud, IbnMajah).
Abu Masud Badri: Allahumma salli ala Muhammad-in wa ala al-i Muhammad-in kama sallaita alaIbrahima wa ala al-i Ibrahima wa barik ala Muhammad-in wa ala al-i Muhammad-in kama barakta ‘alaIbrahima fil- alamin innaka Hamid-um-Majid (Malik, Muslim, Abu Daud, Tirmidhi, Nasai Ahmad, IbnJarir, Ibn Habban, Hakim).
Abu Said Khudri: Allahumma salli ala Muhammad-in abdika wa rasuli-ka kama sallaita ‘ala Ibrahimawa 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 alaal-i Muhammad-in kama Ja altaha ala Ibrahima innaka Hamid-um-Majid. (Ahmad, Abd bin Humaid, IbnMarduyah).
Abu Hurairah: Allahumma salli ala Muhammad-in wa ala al-i Muhammad-in wa barik ala Muhammad-in waala al-i Muhammad-in kama sallaita wa barakta ala Ibrahima wa ala al-i Ibrahim fil-alamin innakaHammid-um-Majid. (Nasai).
Talhah: Allahumma salli ala Muhammad-in wa ala al-i Muhammad-in kama sallaita ala Ibrahima innakaHamidum- Majid wa barik ala Muhammad-in wa ala al-i Muhammad-in kama barakta ala Ibrahima innakaHamidum- Majid. (Ibn Jarir).
All these daruds agree in meaning despite the difference in wording. A few points concerning themshould be understood clearly:
First, in all these the Prophet (peace be upon him) tells the Muslims that the best way ofsending darud and Salat on him is that they should pray to Allah, saying, “O God: send darud onMuhanunad.” Ignorant people who do not possess full understanding of the meaning intermediatelyraise the objection: “How strange that Allah commands us to send darud on His Prophet (peace beupon him), but we, in return, implore Allah that He should send it.” The fact, however, is thatthe Prophet (peace be upon him) has instructed the people, as if to say, “You cannot do fulljustice to sending of darud and Salat on me even if you want to. Therefore, pray only to Allahto bless me with Salat.” Evidently, the Muslims cannot raise the ranks of the Prophet (peace beupon 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 cannotattain any success in exalting the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) name and promoting the cause ofreligion unless Allah favors them with His help and succor. So much so that the Prophet’s (peacebe upon him) love can be impressed in our hearts only by Allah’s help; otherwise Satan can turnus away from him by every kind of evil suggestions and suspicions. May Allah protect us fromthis! Therefore, there is no other way of doing full justice to sending of darud and salat onthe Prophet (peace be upon him) than that we should supplicate Allah to send salat on him. Theperson 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 itshould be sent. I, therefore, implore You to send it on my behalf and take from me whateverservice You will in this regard.”
Secondly, the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not want to have this prayer reserved for onlyhimself but included his followers and his wives and offspring also. The meaning of the wivesand offspring is obvious. As for the word al it does not merely denote the people of theProphet’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 areunderstood all those people who are his companions, helpers and followers, whether they arerelated to him or not, and his ahl are those who are related to him, whether or not they are hiscompanions and followers. The Quran has used the word aal-Firaun at fourteen places but nowherehas it been used to mean the people of Pharaoh’s household only; everywhere it implies all thosewho 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, fromaal- Muhammad is excluded every such person who is not on the way of Muhammad (peace be uponhim), whether he be a member of his household, and in it is included every such person, who isfollowing 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 hisfollowers 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 thathe may be blessed with the same kindness with which Abraham (peace be upon him) and thefollowers 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 myopinion the correct interpretation is this (though the real knowledge is with Allah): Allahblessed the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) in particular with something with which He hasblessed no one else in the world, and it is this: All those human beings who regard theProphethood and the revelation and the Book as the source of guidance are agreed on theleadership of the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him), whether they are Muslims or Christians orJews. Therefore, what the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) means to say is this: “O Allah, justas You have made the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) the refuge of the followers of all theProphets, so You make me also the refuge, so that no one who is a believer in Prophethood, mayremain 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 iscommendable to pronounce it when the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) name is mentioned, that it isa Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to recite it in the Prayer in particular, is agreedupon by all the scholars. There is also a consensus that it is obligatory to pronounce the darudon the Prophet (peace be upon him) at least once in a lifetime, because Allah has clearlycommanded 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 tashahhudin 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, ImamMuhammad bin Baqir, Muhammad bin Kab al-Qurzi and Muqatil bin Hayyan from among the immediatefollowers of the companions, and Ishaq bin Rahwayah from among the jurists also held the sameopinion, 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 theSalat is obligatory only once in a life time. It is just like the Kalimah: whoever affirmed thedivinity of Allah and the Prophethood of the Messenger of Allah once in a lifetime carried outhis duty. Likewise, the one who pronounced the darud and salat once in his lifetime would bedeemed to have done his duty of pronouncing the darud on the Prophet (peace be upon him). Afterit, 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 inthe 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) nameis mentioned, and according to another group recitation of the darud is wajib only once in anassembly or sitting no matter how often the name of the Prophet (peace be upon him) is mentionedduring it.
These differences only pertain to the darud’s being obligatory in status or otherwise. As for itsmerit and excellence, its being conducive to high spiritual rewards and its being a greatrighteous act, there is complete unanimity among the Ummah. No one who is a believer in anydegree can have any different opinion about it. The darud is the natural supplication of theheart of every Muslim, who realizes that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the Ummah’sgreatest benefactor after Allah. The greater one’s appreciation of Islam and the faith, thegreater will one be appreciative of the favors of the Prophet (peace be upon him) himself; andthe greater one’s appreciation of the favors of the Prophet (peace be upon him), the more oftenwill he pronounce the darud and salat on him. Thus, in fact, the frequency with which a personpronounces 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. Onthis very basis the Prophet (peace be upon him) has said: “The angels send darud on him whosends 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 oftenwill deserve to remain close to me on the Day of Resurrection” (Tirmidhi). “Niggardly is theperson 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 sallallahualaihi wa sallam, or similar other words for others than the Prophet (peace be upon him), it isdisputed. One group of the scholars of whom Qadi Iyad is most prominent holds it as absolutelypermissible. Their argument is this: Allah Himself has used the word salat in respect of thosewho 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 wordsalat) on several occasions. For example, he prayed for a companion, thus: Allahumma salli alaal Abi Aufa; on the request of Jabir bin Abdullah’s wife, he said: Sallallahu alaihi wa alazaujiki. Then concerning those who came with the Zakat money, he would say: Allahumma sallialaihim. Praying for Saad bin Ubadah he said: Allahumma ajal salataka wa rahmataka ala al-i Saadbin Ubadah. And about the soul of the believer the Prophet (peace be upon him) gave the newsthat the angels prayed for him, thus: Sallallahu alaika wa ala jasadika. However, the majorityof the Muslim scholars opine that it was correct for Allah and His Messenger but not so for theUmmah. They say that it has become a convention with the Muslims to use salat-o-salamexclusively 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 thatsome preachers have started using the word salat in respect of their patrons and supporters inthe manner of salat alan-Nabi. As soon as you receive this letter, stop them from this practiceand command them to use salat exclusively for the Prophets and remain content with the prayerfor the other Muslims.” (Ruh al-Maeni). Most scholars also hold that using the words sallallahualaihi wa sallam for any other Prophet than the Prophet (peace be upon him) is not correct.