Forty Salawaat wa Salaam

Compiled by Moulana Zakariyyah

Kandhelawi
• Virtues of Salawat/Durood
• Khutbah al-Jumu`ah, Masjid at-Tawhid
• by Abdur-Rahim Rydhan
• Allah (swt) says in the Holy Qur’an:
• "Verily Allah and His angels shower blessings on the Prophet (s). O,
Believer! Send blessings upon him and salute him with a worthy
salutation."
• In the Holy Qur’an Allah (swt) has described the good qualities and praises
of a number of Prophets; for instance, when Adam (as) was created all the
angels were ordered to prostrate before him. Ibrahim (as) is described as
Khalilullah. Friend of Allah. Various other Prophets have been mentioned
with praises. However, our Prophet (s) has been given a distinguished
place by Almighty Allah in the Holy Qur’an, as evidenced by this verse:
• Allah has asked the believers to honor His Messenger (s), because He
Himself is honoring the Prophet (s). This is the utmost honor to our
Messenger (s), whose status is that of Leader of Apostles.
• This verse of the Qur’an starts with the word "inna," which lays down
more stress and emphasis. Whenever a sentence starts with the word
‘inna,’ it implies the continuity and perpetuity of an act. Therefore Allah
and the angels perpetually shower blessings upon the Prophet (s).
• It is written in the book Ruhul Bayan, "To shower blessings upon the
Prophet (s) by Allah means to honor him for the praised station: ... which
is the Office of Intercession ... . And to send blessings by the angels upon
the Prophet (s) means to pray for the raising of his position and to pray for
pardon from Allah (swt) for his followers; and to ask blessings upon
Prophet (s) by us is actually to praise him with his good qualities and to
follow his ways with love and sincerity."
• It is mentioned in the same book Ruhul Bayan that the honor given to the
Prophet (s) is more than what was given to Adam (as) when the angels
were ordered to respect him; whereas in the case of Rasulallah (s), Allah
Himself is honoring him. In the above verse, the Prophet (s) has been
addressed as the Prophet (s) and not Muhammad (s), unlike the other
Prophets, who have been addressed so frequently with their names. It is
due to his magnificence, nobility and utmost respect. A similar case could
be cited in the following verse of the Holy Qur’an, where Prophet (s) is
mentioned with Ibrahim (as): "Lo! Those of mankind who have the best
claim to Ibrahim are those who followed him, and this Prophet ...."
• Here too, he has been called "this Prophet" (s) rather than as Muhammad
(s). The point is: Prophet (s) is addressed by his name in the Holy Qur’an,
only a few times, and that is also due to some special reasons... [It is
important to note that the word salat which in this verse refers to Allah,
His angels and to the believers, is a common word which is used for
several meanings and purposes at various places in the Holy Qur’an. The
scholars give a number of explanations to the word salat used in this
verse. These explanations have been given according to the positions of
the personage referred to in the verse. According to some scholars "Salah
ala Nabi (s)" means: To praise and respect him in order to show favor.
And the praise and the respect for the Prophet (s) will differ according to
the personality who sends salat (blessings). A similar difference may be
noted in the meaning of the word ‘kindness.’ For instance, the kindness of
a father toward his son means his affection and love for his son, while the
kindness of a son toward his father reflects his respect and favor for his
father. So the salat of Allah upon the Prophet (s) would mean his praise
and regard for Prophet (s) with kindness and mercy; and the salat of
angels would mean their praises and respect for the Prophet (s) with
favor, love, sincerity, obedience and submission. Imam Bukhari narrates
from Abu Aliah: "The blessings of Allah upon the Prophet (s) means His
praises for the Prophet (s) before the angels; and the blessings of the
angels upon the Prophet (s) means their benedictions and prayers for
him." Ibn Abbas (r) said: "Yusalluna (the angels send blessings), means
Yubarrikuna (the angels pray for abundance in the eminence and status of
Prophet (s)"....
• It is narrated in a hadith that when this verse of the Holy Qur’an was
revealed, the companions of the Prophet (s) asked, ‘O Prophet of Allah!
The way to offer salaams upon you has been known to us, i.e. the salaam
which is recited in the attahiyat. Teach us the way to send salat. The
Prophet (s) asked them to recite the following salat: "O Allah! Shower
your blessings upon our master Muhammad and his descendants as you
showered your blessings upon Ibrahim and his descendants: Verily you are
the Praiseworthy and Glorious. O Allah! Give prosperity to our Master
Muhammad (s) and his descendants as you gave prosperity to Ibrahim and
his descendants; verily You are the Praiseworthy, the Glorious.
• Imam Sakhawi (r) writes in his book Qaul-i-Badi’: "One of the reasons of
saying ‘O Allah! Send blessings upon Muhammad (s),’ instead of saying ‘I
send blessings upon Muhammad (s)’ is: we are full of sins, imperfect, but
the personality of the Holy Prophet (s) is perfect and faultless. The
blessings and praises of a sinner are blemished, thus have us wait for a
personality who is perfect. The only possible way, therefore, is to request
Allah to shower His choicest and eternal Blessings upon the Holy Prophet
(s). This is a request for the blessings from the one who is the Pure for
such a person who is Virtuous and Modest."
• Allamah Heishafsuni (r), while reasoning about the above issue, writes in
his book, Lata’if O Hikm - "A person should not say in his salat that he
sends blessings upon Prophet Muhammad (s), because one does not enjoy
a befitting position for such an expression. Almighty Allah, being the only
reality, could be requested to do it."
• Although Allah ordered us to send blessings upon the Holy Prophet (s)
because our blessings can not touch the height of the Prophet’s (s) place.
• At one place, Prophet (s) praised Allah (swt) in the following way: "O
Allah! I cannot enumerate the praises due to you; you enjoy the same
praises as you have praised yourself." Taking this prayer as an example,
Imam Sakhawi (r) mentioned, "The Prophet (s) praised Allah just as he
himself praised Him and we should ask such blessings upon Prophet which
were regarded most suitable by Allah (swt)."
• For this reason, we ask Allah to send His choicest blessings upon the Holy
Prophet (s).
• This prayer for the blessings will be credited to us for securing higher
positions in Paradise. We should practice this in abundance. Make a habit
of reciting darud frequently. To ask blessings upon the Holy Prophet (s) is
a sign of love for him. One of the features to be amongst the Ahle-Sunnah
is to send blessings upon the Holy Prophet (s) abundantly. Imam Zarqani
(r) writes in his book, Sharh-i-Mawahib, "The purpose of asking blessings"
is to obtain admittance to Allah by following his commandments and to
repay some of the rights of the Holy Prophet (s) which are due upon us."
• Our blessings are not a recommendation for the Holy Prophet (s), because
it is not proper for sinners like us to recommend anything for that Holy
Soul. Allah has given us the order to be thankful for the blessing of having
a Prophet (s), but we were unable to show our due obligation to him.
Therefore, Allah Himself guided us towards the right way and that is to
request that Allah shower His everlasting blessings upon His beloved
Prophet (s). Scholars say that to ask blessings upon the Holy Prophet is
obligatory (at least once in a lifetime) on the basis of the verse that is the
subject of today’s Khutbah.
• Abu Hurairah (r) reports that the Prophet of Allah (s) said, "Allah sends ten
blessings upon the person who sends one blessing upon me." Only one
blessing by Almighty Allah is sufficient, but here we are being told by
Rasulullah (s) that sending one salat (blessing) to him entitles us to ten
blessings from Allah (swt). As a matter of fact, this is the greatest virtue of
Durud (or salawat ) on Rasulullah (s).
• Imam Sakhawi (ra) quotes Amir bin Rabi (ra), that he heard the Holy
Prophet (s) saying: "Allah sends ten blessings upon the person who asks
one blessing upon me. It is up to you how many blessings you ask."
• This hadith has been supported by the narration of Abdullah bin Amr (ra),
in which it is added, "Allah and His angels both send ten blessings on the
person asking one blessing upon the Holy Prophet (s)." Similar contents
are narrated by a number of companions of the Holy Prophet (s), which
are quoted by Imam Sakhawi (ra). He writes, "Allah has linked His
Blessings with the Blessings asked for the Prophet (s) in the same way He
has included the name of the Prophet (s) with His name in the Kalimah-i-
Shahadah; he has linked obedience to Himself with obedience to the
Prophet (s); he has linked love for Himself with the love of the Prophet (s).
• Brothers and sisters in Islam: virtues of Durud (salawat ) are too
numerous to cover in a short time. I have only touched upon a few; just as
a reminder to myself and to you. Allah’s Prophet (s) is in no need of our
blessings. The situation is, of course, quite the opposite. We are in need.
And as I have attempted to present to you, by sending salawat to the
Prophet (s); we are the ones who actually benefit. Let us make a habit of
reciting salawat to Prophet (s) in abundance. And reciting salawat is
especially virtuous on Friday. This is supported by the hadith that reward
for virtues is increased on Fridays.