Surah Al-Ahzab Ayat 56 (33:56 Quran) With Tafsir

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.

Ibn-Kathir

56. Allah sends His Salah on the Prophet, and also His angels (do so). O you who believe! Send your Salah on him, and greet him with Taslim.

Al-Bukhari said: “Abu Al-`Aliyah said: “Allah’s Salah is His praising him before the angels, and the Salah of the angels is their supplication.” Ibn `Abbas said: “They send blessings.” Abu `Isa At-Tirmidhi said: “This was narrated from Sufyan Ath-Thawri and other scholars, who said: `The Salah of the Lord is mercy, and the Salah of the angels is their seeking forgiveness. There are Mutawatir Hadiths narrated from the Messenger of Allah commanding us to send blessings on him and how we should say Salah upon him. We will mention as many of them as we can, if Allah wills, and Allah is the One Whose help we seek. In his Tafsir of this Ayah, Al-Bukhari recorded that Ka`b bin `Ujrah said, “It was said, `O Messenger of Allah, with regard to sending Salam upon you, we know about this, but how about Salah’ He said:

(Say: “O Allah, send Your Salah upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent Your Salah upon the family of Ibrahim, verily You are the Most Praiseworthy, Most Glorious. O Allah, send Your blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent Your blessings upon the family of Ibrahim, verily You are Most Praiseworthy, Most Glorious.”)” Imam Ahmad recorded that Ibn Abi Layla said that Ka`b bin `Ujrah met him and said, “Shall I not give you a gift The Messenger of Allah came out to us and we said, `O Messenger of Allah! We know how to send Salam upon you, but how can we send Salah’ He said:

(Say: “O Allah, send Your Salah upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent Your Salah upon the family of Ibrahim, verily You are the Most Praiseworthy, Most Glorious. O Allah, send Your blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent Your blessings upon the family of Ibrahim, verily You are Most Praiseworthy, Most Glorious.”)” This Hadith has been recorded by the Group in their books with different chains of narration.

Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “We said, `O Messenger of Allah, this is the Salam upon you, but how do we send Salah upon you’ He said:

(Say: “O Allah, send Your Salah upon Muhammad, Your servant and Messenger, as You sent Your Salah upon the family of Ibrahim, and send Your blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent Your blessings upon the family of Ibrahim.”)” Abu Salih narrated that Layth said:

(Upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad as You sent Your blessings upon the family of Ibrahim.) Ibrahim bin Hamzah told that, Ibn Abi Hazim and Ad-Darawardi told, that Yazid, i.e., Ibn Al-Had said:

(As You sent Your Salah upon Ibrahim, and send Your blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You sent Your blessings upon Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim.) This was also recorded by An-Nasa’i and Ibn Majah.

Imam Ahmad recorded from Abu Humayd As-Sa`idi that they said: “O Messenger of Allah, how can we send Salah upon you” He said,

(Say: “O Allah, send Your Salah upon Muhammad and his wives and offspring, as You sent Your Salah upon Ibrahim, and send Your blessings upon Muhammad and his wives and offspring, as You sent Your blessings upon the family of Ibrahim, verily You are Most Praiseworthy, Most Glorious.”)” It was also recorded by the rest of the Group, apart from At-Tirmidhi.

Muslim recorded that Abu Mas`ud Al-Ansari said: “We came to the Messenger of Allah and we were with Sa`d bin `Ubadah. Bashir bin Sa`d said to him, `Allah has commanded us to send Salah upon you, O Messenger of Allah. How can we send Salah upon you’ The Messenger of Allah remained quiet for so long that we wished that he had not asked him, then the Messenger of Allah said:

(Say: “O Allah, send Your Salah upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent Your Salah upon the family of Ibrahim, and send Your blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent Your blessings upon the family of Ibrahim among all people, verily You are Most Praiseworthy, Most Glorious.” And the Salam is as you know.)” This was also recorded by Abu Dawud, An-Nasa’i, At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Jarir. At-Tirmidhi said, “It is Hasan Sahih.”

Imam Ahmad, Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi reported the following Hadith and graded it Sahih; An-Nasa’i, Ibn Khuzaymah and Ibn Hibban recorded in their Sahihs that Fadalah bin `Ubayd, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “The Messenger of Allah heard a man making supplication in his prayer when he had not praised Allah or said Salah upon the Prophet . The Messenger of Allah said:

(This man is rushing.) Then he called him over and said, to him or to someone else,

(When any one of you supplicates, let him start by praising and glorifying Allah, may He be exalted, then let him send Salah upon the Prophet, and after that let him make supplication as he wishes.)”

Another Hadith At-Tirmidhi recorded that Ubayy bin Ka`b said: “When two thirds of the night had passed, the Messenger of Allah would get up and say,

(O people, remember Allah, remember Allah, the first blast of the Trumpet has come and will be followed by the second blast, death has come with all its horrors, death has come with all its horrors.)” Ubayy said, “I said, `O Messenger of Allah, I send a lot of Salah upon you, how much of my prayer should be Salah upon you’ He said,

(Whatever you want.) I said, `A quarter’ He said,

(Whatever you want, but if you increase it, it will be better for you.) I said, `Half’ He said,

(Whatever you want, but if you increase it, it will be better for you.) I said, `Two thirds’ He said,

(Whatever you want, but if you increase it, it will be better for you.) I said, `Should I make my whole prayer for you’ He said,

(This would be sufficient to relieve your distress and earn you forgiveness of your sins.)” Then he said: “This is a Hasan Hadith.”

Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Talhah said that the Messenger of Allah came one day looking happy. They said, “O Messenger of Allah, we see that you look happy.” He said,

(The angel came to me and told me, “O Muhammad, would it not please you if your Lord, may He be glorified, says: `No member of your Ummah sends Salah upon you but I send Salah upon him tenfold, and no member of your Ummah sends greetings of Salam upon you but I send greetings of Salam upon him tenfold”’ I said, “Of course.”) This was also recorded by An-Nasa’i.

Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Talhah Al-Ansari said: “One morning the Messenger of Allah was in a cheerful mood and looked happy. They said, `O Messenger of Allah, this morning you are in a cheerful mood and look happy.’ He said,

(Of course just now someone ﴿an angel﴾ came to me from my Lord and said, “Whoever among your Ummah sends Salah upon you, Allah will record for him ten good deeds and will erase for him ten evil deeds, and will raise his status by ten degrees, and will return his greeting with something similar to it.”)” This is also a good chain, although they (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) did not report it.

Muslim, Abu Dawud, At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa’i recorded that Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “The Messenger of Allah said:

(Whoever sends one Salah upon me, Allah will send ten upon him.) At-Tirmidhi said: “This is a Sahih Hasan Hadith. On the same topic, narrations come from `Abdur-Rahman bin `Awf, `Amir bin Rabi`ah, `Ammar, Abu Talhah, Anas and Ubayy bin Ka`b.”

Imam Ahmad recorded from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said:

(Send Salah upon me, for this is Zakah for you, and ask Allah to grant me Al-Wasilah, for it is a position in the highest part of Paradise which only one man will attain, and I hope that I will be the one.) This was recorded only by Ahmad.

Imam Ahmad recorded that Al-Husayn bin `Ali said that the Messenger of Allah said:

(The miser is the one in whose presence I am mentioned, then he does not send Salah upon me.) Abu Sa`id said:

(…and he does not send Salah upon me.) This was also recorded by At-Tirmidhi, who then said: “This Hadith is Hasan Gharib, Sahih.”

At-Tirmidhi recorded that Abu Hurayrah said: “The Messenger of Allah said:

(May he be humiliated, the man in whose presence I am mentioned and he does not send Salah upon me; may he be humiliated, the man who sees the month of Ramadan come and go, and he is not forgiven; may he be humiliated, the man whose parents live to old age and they do not cause him to be granted admittance to Paradise.)” Then he (At-Tirmidhi) said: “Hasan Gharib.”

It is reported that we should send blessings upon him on many occasions, such as following the call to prayer, as in the Hadith recorded by Imam Ahmad from `Abdullah bin `Amr bin Al-`As, who said that he heard the Messenger of Allah say:

(When you hear the Mu’adhdhin, repeat what he says, then send Salah upon me, for whoever sends Salah upon me, Allah will send Salah upon him tenfold. Then ask Allah to grant me Al-Wasilah, which is a status in Paradise to which only one of the servants of Allah will be entitled, and I hope that I will be the one. Whoever asks Allah for Al-Wasilah for me, it will be permitted for me to intercede for him.) This was recorded by Muslim, Abu Dawud, At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa’i. Other occasions when we should send Salah upon the Prophet include when entering or exiting the Masjid, because of the Hadith recorded by Imam Ahmad from Fatimah, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah who said: “When the Messenger of Allah entered the Masjid, he would send Salah and Salam upon Muhammad, and say,

(O Allah, forgive me my sins and open for me the gates of Your mercy) When he exited, he would send Salah and Salam upon Muhammad, and say,

(O Allah, forgive me my sins and open for me the gates of Your bounty.)” We should also send Salah upon him during the Funeral prayer. The Sunnah is to recite Surat Al-Fatihah following the first Takbir, to send Salah upon the Prophet during the second Takbir, to make supplication for the deceased during the third Takbir, and in the fourth Takbir to say, “O Allah, do not deprive us of his reward, and do not test us after him.” Ash-Shafi`i, may Allah have mercy on him, recorded that Abu Umamah bin Sahl bin Hunayf was told by one of the Companions of the Prophet that the Sunnah in the funeral prayer is for the Imam to pronounce the Takbir, then to recite Surat Al-Fatihah silently after the first Takbir, then to send Salah upon the Prophet then to offer sincere supplication for the deceased, but not to recite any Qur’an in any of the Takbirs, then to conclude by saying Salam silently. An-Nasa’i also recorded this from Abu Umamah, who said, “This is from the Sunnah,” and he mentioned it. According to the correct view, such a statement reported from a Companion carries the ruling of Marfu`

At-Tirmidhi recorded that `Umar bin Al-Khattab said: “A supplication remains suspended between heaven and earth and does not ascend any further until you send Salah upon your Prophet.” This was also narrated by Mu`adh bin Al-Harith from Abu Qurrah from Sa`id bin Al-Musayyib from `Umar, as a saying of the Prophet . It was also recorded by Razin bin Mu`awiyah in his book, where he also attributed it to the Prophet reporting that he said:

(A supplication remains suspended between heaven and earth and does not ascend any further until a person sends Salah on me. Do not treat me like a spare water container, send Salah upon me at the beginning of your supplication, at the end and in the middle.) hSending Salah upon the Prophet is even more strongly encouraged in the Qunut supplication. Ahmad, the Sunan compilers, Ibn Khuzaymah, Ibn Hibban and Al-Hakim recorded that Al-Hasan bin `Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “The Messenger of Allah taught me some words to say during Al-Witr:

(“O Allah, guide me along with those whom You have guided, grant me health along with those to whom You have granted health, be an ally to me along with those to whom You are an ally, and bless me for that which You have bestowed. Protect me from the evil You have decreed, for verily You decree and none can decree over You. Verily, he whom You show allegiance to is never abased and he whom You take as an enemy is never honored and mighty, O our Lord, blessed and Exalted are You.”)” In his Sunan, An-Nasa’i has the addition,

(“and may Allah bless Muhammad.”) at the end of this Qunut. It is also recommended to say plenty of Salah upon him on Friday and on the eve of Friday. Imam Ahmad recorded that Aws bin Aws Ath-Thaqafi, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “The Messenger of Allah said:

(One of the best of your days is Friday; on this day Adam was created and died, on this day the Trumpet (Sur) will be blown and all will have swoon away. So on this day send plenty of Salah upon me, for your Salah will be presented to me.) They said, `O Messenger of Allah, how will they be shown to you after your body has dispersed into the earth’ He said,

(Allah has forbidden the earth to consume the bodies of the Prophets. )” This was also recorded by Abu Dawud, An-Nasa’i and Ibn Majah, and it was graded Sahih by Ibn Khuzaymah, Ibn Hibban, Ad-Daraqutni and An-Nawawi in Al-Adhkar.