The Call to the Believers in the

Allah and His angels

shower blessings on the Prophet.

inna 'llaha wa mala'ikata-hu yusalluna `ala 'n-Nabiyy

O you who truly believe,

invoke blessings upon him

ya ayyuha 'lladhina amanu sallu 'alai-hi

and salute him with a salutation [of peace].

wa sallimu taslima. (33:56)

إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا

Allah and His angels shower blessings on the Prophet. inna 'llaha wa mala'ikata-hu yusalluna `ala'n-Nabiyy:

When Allah commanded the believers to request permission [to enter the presence of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace)], and not to look at the faces of his womenfolk, as a mark of reverent respect, He completed the explanation of his sanctity. That is because there are two aspects to his situation:

l. His state of privacy. Allah has indicated the reverence he deserves while in that situation, by His saying:

Do not enter the dwellings of the Prophet. la tadkhulu buyuta'n-Nabiyyi. (33:53)

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَدْخُلُوا بُيُوتَ النَّبِيِّ

2. His situation in council [mala']. The council may be either the Highest Council or the lower council. As for the Highest Council, it is sanctified, for Allah and His angels shower blessings upon him [while it is in session]. As for the lower council, that must also be treated with the utmost respect, because of His saying (Exalted is He):

O you who truly believe, invoke blessings upon him

ya ayyuha 'lladhina amanu sallu ‘alai-hi

and salute him with a salutation [of peace].

wa sallimu taslima.¹⁰⁶⁵

This signifies that Allah (Glorious and Exalted is He) bestows His mercy on His Prophet, magnifies his dignity, and exalts his station, and that His righteous angels pray for the Prophet and seek forgiveness on his behalf. They entreat Allah to venerate His servant and His Messenger, and to endow him with the highest of all degrees. ¹⁰⁶⁶The blessing comes from Allah, as do His mercy and His good pleasure, while from the angels come the prayer of supplication and the plea for forgiveness, and from the Community come the prayer of supplication and the veneration of his authority. ¹⁰⁶⁷This Qur'anic verse is the most compelling proof that he is the receptacle of mercies, and the most excellent of the first and the last. This is true absolutely, since the blessing and mercy from Allah to His Prophet are combined with veneration, whereas it is mercy pure and simple that Allah confers on anyone other than the Prophet. As He has said (Exalted is He):

He is the One who blesses you, as do His angels. Huwa'lladhi yusalli `alai-kum wa mala'ikatu-hu. (33:43)

هُوَ الَّذِي يُصَلِّي عَلَيْكُمْ وَمَلَائِكَتُهُ

Notice the distinction between the two blessings, and the relative excellence of the two stations. That is how he became the fountain of mercies and the fountain of manifestations. ¹⁰⁶⁸

O you who truly believe, invoke blessings upon him

ya ayyuha 'lladhina amanu sallu 'alai-hi

and salute him with a salutation [of peace].

wa sallimu taslima.

That is to say: "You must make it your frequent practice, O believers, to invoke blessings upon him and salute him with the greeting of peace." His claim on you is enormous, for he has been the one to deliver you from error into right guidance, and to bring you out of the darkness into the light. Whenever his noble name is mentioned, you must therefore say: `O Allah, bless our master Muhammad and his family, and salute them often with the greeting of peace."'

As reported by Ka`b ibn `Ujra: "We once said: `O Messenger of Allah, we know how to salute you with the greeting of peace, but how should blessings be invoked upon you?' He replied: `Say: "O Allah, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You blessed Abraham.”” ¹⁰⁶⁹

The angels and the believers have good reason to invoke blessings on the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), for they honour themselves thereby, since they are following the example of Allah (Glorious and Exalted is He) in blessing and venerating him. It is also a recompense for some of his claims on his fellow creatures, because he is the supreme channel for every benefit that has reached them, and it is a duty, for anyone who receives a benefit, to recompense the person through whom it reaches him. Since mere creatures are incapable of recompensing the Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace), they must entreat Allah, the Omnipotent Sovereign, to recompense him. This is the secret meaning implicit in their saying: "O Allah, bless our master Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace)."¹⁰⁷⁰

This Qur'anic verse gives rise to several intricate points of discussion:

1. Allah (Exalted is He) has commanded His servants to invoke blessings on His Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace), rather than on all His Prophets, as a way of honouring him. There is no disagreement over the fact that invoking blessings on him is an obligatory religious duty [fard], once in a lifetime. At all other times, it is one of the necessary duties, as strictly required as all those firmly established customs [sunan] that no one abandons or neglects, unless he is devoid of all goodness.

It was az-Zamakhshari who said: "If you ask me whether the invocation of blessings on Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) is strictly necessary, or simply recommended, I shall say: `It is strictly necessary, of that I am certain."'

The experts have disagreed over the extent to which it is necessary. Some maintain that it is strictly required whenever the Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) is mentioned. This view is supported by the Prophetic tradition [hadith]:

If I am mentioned in someone's presence, and he fails to invoke blessings on me, may Allah banish him!

It is reported that he was once asked: "O Messenger of Allah, how do you understand the words of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He):

Allah and His angels shower blessings on the Prophet?"

inna'llaha wa mala'ikata-hu yusalluna `ala 'n-Nabiyy:

To this the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) replied:

That is an item of hidden knowledge. Even if you asked me -,about it, I could not tell you anything. Allah (Exalted is He) has appointed two angels in charge of me, so that, whenever I am mentioned in the presence of a Muslim, and he invokes blessings upon me, those two angels will say: `May Allah forgive you your sins!' In response to those two angels, Allah and His other angels will then say: 'A min.' But whenever I am mentioned in the presence of a Muslim servant [of the Lord], and he fails to invoke blessings upon me, those two angels will say: `May Allah not forgive you!' Allah and His other angels will then say `Amin' to those two angels.

According to one of the experts: "It is strictly necessary in every session, though only once, even if he is mentioned repeatedly. This is in keeping with what he himself said, concerning the Qur'anic verse of prostration [ayat as-sajda] and the expression of sympathy for the sneezer. It is likewise required in every prayer of supplication [du'a'], once at the beginning and once at the end."

Another maintained that it is strictly required only once in a lifetime. He held a similar view concerning the declaration of the two testimonies of belief [shahadatain], and he said: "Caution must be exercised when it comes to the invocation of blessings at every mention [of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace)], because of all the reports that have been transmitted on that subject."

2. Concerning the merit of invoking blessings on the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), he himself said (Allah bless him and give him peace), according to a well-attested report:

If someone pronounces a single invocation of blessing upon me, Allah will bless him for it, ten times over.¹⁰⁷¹

It was Sahl ibn `Abdi'llah who said: "The invocation of blessings on our master Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) is the most meritorious of all forms of worshipful service, because Allah (Exalted is He) made a practice of it, He and His angels, then He enjoined it on the believers. The other forms of worship are not like that."

According to Abu Sulaiman ad-Darani: "If someone intends to ask Allah to satisfy a need, he should begin by invoking blessings on the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). He should then present his need to Allah, then conclude his plea with the invocation of blessings on the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). Allah (Exalted is He) will surely accept those two invocations, and He is far too Noble and Generous to reject what is between them."

As reported by Sa`id ibn al-Musayyib, `Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be well pleased with him) once said: "The supplication [du'a'] is prevented from reaching heaven, until the supplicant invokes blessings on the Prophet (blessing and peace be upon him). Then, as soon as the invocation of blessings on the Prophet (blessing and peace be upon him) arrives, the supplication is raised aloft."

The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) once said:

If someone invokes blessings upon me in a book, the angels will not cease invoking blessings upon him, as long as my name is still in that book.

3. The religious scholars have held differing views concerning the invocation of blessings on the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) in the ritual prayer [salat]. According to the great majority, however, that is one of the customary elements [sunan] of the ritual prayer, and one of the most highly recommended. Ibn al-Mundhir said: "It is recommended that no one should perform a ritual prayer, without including in it the invocation of blessings on Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace)."

4. Concerning His words (Exalted is He):

and salute him with a salutation [of peace].

wa sallimu taslima.

-it was al-Qadi Abu Bakr ibn Bukair who said: "This Qur'anic verse was revealed to the Prophet (blessing and peace be upon him), so he instructed his Companions to salute him with the greeting of peace. Those who came after them were likewise commanded to salute him with the greeting of peace, when they were in the presence of his tomb, and whenever he was mentioned."

As related by an-Nasa'i, `Abdu'llah ibn Abi Talha reported that his father had told him: "Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) came along one day, and joy was showing in his face, so I said: `We can see the good news in your face!' He responded by saying:

`The angel came to me and said: "O Muhammad, your Lord is saying: 'It will surely please you to know, that if someone invokes blessings upon you, I shall bless him ten times, and if someone salutes you, I shall salute him ten times.""

According to an-Nasa'i, `Abdu'llah said that Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) once said:

Allah has angels travelling about in the land, to bring me the greeting of peace from my Community.

It was al-Qushairi who said: "The salutation [taslim] is your greeting: Peace be upon you! [salamun `alaik] .” ¹⁰⁷²

These are my own comments:

It well befits you never to forsake the invocation of blessings on the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). You must try hard to make a constant practice of invoking blessings upon him (Allah bless him and give him peace), a thousand times by day and by night, for he (Allah bless him and give him peace) is:

closer to the believers than their own selves.

awla bi'l-mu'minina min anfusi-him (33:6)

النَّبِيُّ أَوْلَى بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ

He is fully entitled (Allah bless him and give him peace) to expect this of us, because, through frequent invocation of blessings and peace upon him, combined with being completely present with him (Allah bless him and give him peace), we can grasp something from His words:

Say: "If you love Allah, follow me;

qul in kuntum tuhibbuna 'llaha fa-'ttabi`u-ni

Allah will love you and forgive you your sins."

yuhbib-kumu'llahu wa yaghfir la-kum dhunuba-kum. (3:31)

قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَاللّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

This is quite miraculous, that Allah (Exalted is He) should make His love for His servants dependent on following one man, he being Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace), and that He should make following him a proof of the genuineness of the servant's love for Allah. If following him (Allah bless him and give him peace) is not practiced by the servants, they will have deprived themselves of the love of Allah (Exalted is He). They will have been false in claiming to love Allah (Exalted is He), and likewise in claiming to love Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace).

We beg Allah, through His gracious favour and His noble generosity, to bestow much blessing and peace upon Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace), and to enable us to follow him at heart, in spirit, in private, and both outwardly and inwardly. Allah is indeed Capable of whatever He wills. Peace be upon the Messengers, and praise be to Allah, the Lord of All the Worlds. There is no might nor any power, except with Allah, the All-High, the Almighty. May Allah bless our master Muhammad, his family and his Companions, and may He grant them peace.

Notes: The Sixty-fourth Call

1065 ar-Razi

1066 Safwat at-tafasir

1067 al-Qurtubi

1068 as-Sawi

1069 Safwat at-tafasir (Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim).

1070 as-Sawi

1071 Muslim and at-Tirmidhi

1072 al-Qurtubi