Conferring Blessings upon the Prophet

Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {Indeed, Allaah confers
blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you
who have believed, ask [Allaah to confer] blessing upon him and ask
[Allaah to grant him]peace.} [Quran 33:56].
Ibn Katheer commented that, in this verse, Allaah The Almighty informs
His servants of the elevated status of the Prophet which is such that
Hepraises him in the exalted assembly of the angels who are near Him,
and they, in turn, ask Him to send His blessings on him . Then, Allaah
The Almighty orders the people of the earth to ask Him to confer
blessings upon the Prophet so that he would be praised by the dwellers
of both worlds – heavenly and terrestrial.
In his book Jalaa' Al-Afhaam, Ibn Ul-Qayyim said that the implication
here, is that if Allaah The Almighty sends blessings on the Prophet
and His angels request the same from Him, then so should people. They
are more duty-bound to do this, because they are the ones who have
been blessed by the message of the Prophet through which they shall
receive honor in this worldlylife and the Hereafter.
The meaning of "[conferring] blessings upon the Prophet ",was expanded
on, by a number of scholars; according to Abu Al-'Aaaliyah Allaah The
Almighty conferring blessings, refers to Him praising the Prophet in
the presence of angels, whereas angels conferring blessings means that
they supplicate Allaah The Almighty to do so.
Ibn Ul-Qayyim said that the injunction to send blessings, which is
cited in the verse above, signifies imploring Allaah The Almighty to
praise the Prophet show him His grace and drawhim closer to Him,
which, in itself, indicates the honor he has with Him.
As for the virtues of this act, 'Abdul-Rahmaan ibn 'Awf narrates:
"Once, I came to the Prophet while he was in prostration for a long
time. [When he got up], he said: 'Jibreel (Gabriel) came to me and
said, 'I will confer blessing upon the one who confers blessings upon
you and I will ask Allaah to grant peace to the one who asks Him to
grant you peace'; so, I prostrated to thank Allaah The Almighty.'"
[Ahmad]
It was also reported by Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said: "If a
person asks Allaah to send blessings on me once, Allaah will send
blessings on him ten times over." [Al-Haakim and Ahmad]
Likewise, Ya'qoob ibn Zayd ibn Talhah At-Taymi narrates thatthe
Prophet said that "a messenger from Allaah came to me and said [the
same thing cited above]." So, a man came to the Prophet and asked: "O
Messenger of Allaah, may I devotehalf of my supplications to you?" The
Prophet said: "As you like!" Then, the man asked: "Shall I devote two
thirds of my supplications to you?" The Prophet replied: "If you so
desire." The man then asked: "Shall I devote all of my supplications
to you?" The Prophet said: "Then Allaah The Almighty will protect you
against the distress of the worldly life and the Hereafter." [Muslim]
'Abdullaah ibn 'Amr also narrates that the Prophet gave good tidings,
saying: "The one who invokes blessing on me or asks that I be given
Al-Waseelah (a rank in Paradise which is fitting for only one of the
Servants of Allaah, and the Prophet wishes to be this servant) will be
assured of my intercession." [Muslim]
On the other hand, he said, asnarrated by Abu Hurayrah : "May he be a
loser; he who does not ask Allaah to confer blessingson me when I am
mentioned in front of him! May he be disgraced, whose parents attain
old age in his lifetime and they are not a cause for him to enter
Paradise [because of his dutifulness to them]! May his nose be rubbed
in dust [i.e., may he be humiliated]; he who witnesses Ramadhaan, but
it ends before he is forgiven!" [At-Tirmithi]
Muhammad ibn 'Ali also reports that the Prophet oncemade a similar
remark, when he said: "A person in whose presence my name is
mentioned, but he [or she] does not ask for the blessings of Allaah to
be sent on me, loses the way to Paradise." [Al-Jahdhami, Mursal –
Albaani]
In fact, as Al-Hasan relates, the Prophet described a man as "miserly;
in whose presence my name is mentioned while he does not pray for
blessings to be sent on me!" [Al-Haakim and At-Tirmithi. At-Tirmithi:
(Hasan Ghareeb Saheeh), Al-Albaani: (Mursal yet Saheeh)]
He cautions, as Abu Hurayrah narrates: "If people sit in a gathering
in which they do not remember Allaah or ask for blessings to be
conferred upon me, [that sitting of theirs] will be a cause of grief
and regret for them o¬n the Day of Judgment. Allaah may then forgive
or punishthem, as He sees fit." [At-Tirmithi,Saheeh – Albaani]
Why not, when this act itself is soeasy? 'Ali ibn Al-Husayn relates:
"My father told me that my grandfather said, 'The Prophet said: 'Do
not [come to and] make my grave a place of festivity; but ask Allaah
to confer blessings and peace upon me, foryour prayers and salutations
reach me wherever you may be.''" [Abu Daawood and Ahmad]
Similarly, 'Abdullaah ibn Mas'ood narrated that the Prophet said:
"Allaah The Almighty hasroaming angels who convey to me the blessings
which my Ummah ask Allaah The Almighty to confer upon me." [An-Nasaa'i
and Al-Haakim, Saheeh – Albaani]
The best supplication with which to ask Allaah The Almighty to confer
blessings upon the Prophet
Abu Mas'ood Al-Ansaari tells us: "We were sitting in the company of
Sa'd ibn 'Ubaadah when the Messenger of Allaah came to us. Bishr ibn
Sa'd asked: 'Allaah has commanded us to ask for blessings to be sent
upon you, O Messenger of Allaah. But, how exactly should we do that?'
The Prophet did not respond, and we became so perturbed over
hissilence that we wished we had not asked him. Then, he said: 'Say: O
Allaah, confer Your blessings upon Muhammad and the members of his
household asyou have conferred blessings upon the members of
Ibraaheem's (Abraham) household. Grant favors to Muhammad and his
family, as youhave granted favors to the family of Ibraaheem,
[wherever they are] in the worlds. Indeed, You are Praiseworthy and
Glorious'. As for the invocation for the salutation of peace, it is as
you know [from what I have previously told you]." [Muslim]
Benefits of invoking Allaah The Almighty to send blessings on the Prophet
1. It demonstrates obedience to the Command of Allaah The Almighty and
it is an angelic trait,as they, too, ask Him to confer blessings upon
the Prophet .
2. A person gains blessings tenfold, for every time he or she invokes
blessings upon the Prophet .
3. If a person does this, perhaps adding a prayer for the Prophet to
reach the station of Al-Waseelah, he or she gains his intercession.
4. It removes the distress of a person in this life and the next, as
the aforementioned Hadeeth narrated by Ya'qoob ibn Zayd ibn Talhah
proves.
5. A person who observes the practice of sending peace and blessings
on the Prophet is guided by it to Paradise, and one who does not, is
led away from it.
6. Allaah The Almighty praises and mentions a person in good terms, if
he or she asks Him to confer blessings upon the Prophet which is
tantamount to invoking Him to praise the Prophet and honor and bless
him and his household. Since such an invocation is certain to be
answered by Allaah The Almighty, the one who supplicated will be also
rewardedin kind for his act, as the reward is of the same kind as the
deed.
7. It encourages a person to love the Prophet perpetually and
increasingly; and, as it is a basic tenet of faith, there can be no
faith without it. Furthermore, theProphet loves a person whosename is
cited to him, as asking for blessings to be sent on him . Truly, what
a great honor it is for a person's name to be mentioned before the
Prophet .
When to invoke blessings upon the Prophet
1. It is vital that this be done after the Tashahhud (final sitting)in
prayer. It is sanctioned, according to the consensus of Muslims, but
there is a disagreement over its obligation.
2. It is to be uttered after the second Takbeer (utterance of Allaahu
Akbar, i.e., Allaah is Great)of the funeral prayer. Az-Zuhari, relates
that he heard Abu 'Umaamah ibn Sahl ibn Haneef saying to Sa'eed ibn
Al-Musayyib : "The Sunnah in the funeralprayer is to recite the [first
Quranic] chapter of Al-Faatihah (The Opening); then to confer
blessings upon the Prophet and then, to supplicate sincerely for the
deceased until [the one offering prayer] concludes. He should recite
this only once and then perform Tasleem (salutation) quietly."
[An-Nasaa'i and Al-Haakim, Saheeh – Albaani]
3. When the name of the Prophet is mentioned, scholars differ on
whether it is mandatory to invoke the peace and blessings ofAllaah The
Almighty on him. At-Tahaawi and Al-Haleemi concur on its obligation,
while other scholars state that it is a favorable act, not a required
one, in which case, not doing it, would not result in a sin.
4. It should be done upon entering and leaving the mosque.Faatimah
narrated that the Prophet told her: "When you enter the mosque, say:
'Bismillaah, wassalaamu 'ala Rasoolillaah. Allaahumma salli 'ala
Muhammad wa 'ala aali Muhammad, waghfir lana wassahhil lanaa abwaaba
rahmatik (In the name of Allaah; and may peace be upon His Messenger .
O Allaah, confer Your blessings upon Muhammad and his household; and,
forgive us and facilitate for us the doors of Your Mercy)'. When you
have finished [your prayers] and are exiting, repeat this again, and
add: 'Wa sahhil lanaa abwaaba fadhlik (and ease for us the doorsof
Your grace)'.'' [Ibn Maajah and At-Tirmithi, Saheeh-Albaani]
5. It is also urged to be said after hearing the Athaan (call for
prayer), as the Prophet instructed: "When you hear the Athaan, say the
same as the callersays, then invoke blessings upon me; the one who
[does that] once will be rewarded by Allaah blessing him ten times.
Then, askAllaah to grant me Al-Waseelah, which is a rank in Paradise,
designated for only one of the servants of Allaah, and I hope to be
him. So, who prays for Al-Waseelah for me will be assured of my
intercession." [Muslim]
6. One should utter it while supplicating to Allaah The Almighty, as
Fudhaalah ibn 'Ubayd recounts "that the Prophet heard a man
supplicating to Allaah in prayer without praising Him or invoking His
blessings upon the Prophet . So, he said: 'This man has hastened.'
Then, the Prophet called the man and, addressing all the attendants,
said: "When any one of you prays,he should start by glorifying Allaah
The Almighty and praising Him; he should then invoke blessings upon
the Prophet ; after that, he may supplicate for whatever he wants."
[At-Tirmithi and Ahmad]
7. Friday is also a special day for it, as Aws ibn Aws narrates that
the Prophet said: "The best of your days is Friday. On that day, Aadam
(Adam) wascreated and his life was taken away; on that day, the
trumpet will be blown and on it, all of the creation will lose
consciousness [as signs of the Hour]. So, ask Allaah The Almighty,
frequently, to confer a great deal of blessings upon me, for [your
invocations] will be shown to me." The Companions asked: "O Messenger
of Allaah, how will our prayers be presented to you when you will have
turned to dust?" He replied: "Allaah has forbidden the earth to
consume the bodies of the Prophets."
8. It should also be said during allsermons, including the one with
the Friday prayer, on the days of Eid and when offering the prayer for
rain.
9. It is recommended to be uttered when getting up after gathering.
10. It is also Sunnah to ask Allaah to confer blessings on the Prophet
when concluding a marriage contract.