The Importance Of Saying Salawat.

It is one of our most important duties to recite salawât-i sherîfa on Hadrat Muhammad “alaihis-sallam” as an expression of respect whenever his name is heard or written. The 56th âyat-i karîma of the Ahzab Sûra of the Qur’ân al-karîm purports, “Verily Allahu ta’âlâ and His angels say salât for the Prophet (They exalt his glory). O the believers! You too say salât to him and submit yourself to him with sincerity.”
The scholars of tafsîr (science of interpretation of the Qur’ân al-karîm) have informed that the word “salât”, mentioned in the above âyat-i karîma, means rahmat (compassion) from Allahu ta’âlâ, istighfâr (praying for forgiveness) from the angels and duâ (prayer) from the Muslims. All Islamic scholars have unanimously said that it is wâjib to say the (certain prayer) Salawât (pronounced as a benediction over our Prophet’s soul) each time one says, hears, reads or writes (one of his blessed names) for the first time, and it is mustahâb to pronounce this blessed benediction whenever the blessed name (of the Prophet) is repeated. He who wants something from Allahu ta’âlâ should first start by making hamd-uthanâ (laud, praise and gratitude) to Allahu ta’âlâ and then say salât for our Master Rasûlullah. Such a prayer is worthy of being accepted. The prayer with two salâts (at the beginning and in the end of the prayer) is not rejected.
Hadrat Abû Talha said, “Once when I was in the presence of Rasûlullah, I noticed that he was more glad and pleased than I had ever seen him before. When I asked the reason for it, he said, “How could I not be happy? A short while ago Jabrâil (’alaihi’s-salâm) brought glad tidings. Allahu ta’âlâ decreed, ‘When one of your Community recites one salawât on you; Allahu ta’âlâ recites ten salawât in return’. of the hadîth-i sherîfs about this are as below:
“May the nose of he, who does not recite salât-u-salâm on me when my name is mentioned near him, be rubbed into the ground. May the nose of he, who fails to attain the mercy of Allahu ta’âlâ as the month of Ramadan comes and goes, be rubbed into the ground too. And the nose of he, who reaches the time of his parents’ old age and cannot deserve entering Paradise by gaining their consent, be rubbed into the ground.”
“The one, who does not recite salât-u-salâm on me when my name is mentioned near him, is the stingiest one among the most stingy.” Hadrat Abû Humaid as-Saidi says, “Some of the Sahâba-i kirâm asked to our Master, Rasûlullah and said, “O Rasûlullah! How shall we recite salât-u-salâm on you?” Hadrat Muhammad said, “Allâhumma salli alâ Muhammadin wa azwâjihi wa zurriyatihi kemâ sallayta alâ Ibrâhîma wa bârik alâ Muhammadin wa azwâjihi wa zurriyatihi kemâ bârakta alâ Ibrâhîma innaka hamîdun majîd.” Some of the salawât-i sherîfas are as below:
“’alaihi’s-salâm”, “Sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam”, “Allâhumma salli ’alâ Sayyidinâ Muhammad”, “Allâhumma salli ’alâ Muhammadin wa ’alâ âli Muhammad, kemâ sallayta ’alâ Ibrâhîma wa ’alâ âli Ibrâhîm…”, “Allâhumma salli ’alâ Muhammadin wa ’alâ Âlihî wa Sahbihî ajma’în”, “Alaihissalâtu wassalâmu wattahiyya” “’alaihi wa ’alâ jami’i minassalawâti atammuhâ wa minattahiyyati aymanuha.”
Someone related as follows: One of my friends had written “sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam tasliman kathiran kathira” in every place where the blessed name of Rasûlullah is mentioned in the letter he sent. When I saw him and asked why he did so, he said, “I wrote hadîth books when I was young. I would not write salawât after writing the blessed name of Rasûlullah. I saw the Master of the worlds in my dream and went to him. However he turned his face away from me. As I moved to the other side, he again turned his face away. When I stood in front of him and said, ‘O Rasûlullah! Why are you turning your face away from me?’ he replied, ‘Because you did not write salât when you wrote my name in your book!’ Since then I have been writing his blessed name always with salât.”
It was declared in hadîth-i sherîfs; “If someone sends one salât to me, Allahu ta’âlâ sends ten salâts (compassion) to him, forgives ten sins of his and promotes his rank ten fold” On the Day of Judgment, “The one who will be the closest to me and will deserve my intercession the most; is the one who has recited the most salât on me.” Haqq ta’âlâ said to Hadrat Mûsâ (Moses) ’alaihi’s-salâm, “O Mûsâ, do you want Me to be closer to your tongue than your words, closer to your heart than your thoughts, closer to your body than your soul and closer to your eyes than their light?” When he said, “Yes, O my Rabb!” Allahu ta’âlâ decreed, “Then recite many salawât on  Muhammad (Sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam).” Allahu ta’âlâ said, “O Mûsâ, do you want to not suffer thirst on the Day of Judgment?” When he said, “Yes, O my Rabb!” Allahu ta’âlâ decreed, “Then recite many salawât on Muhammad (sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam).” Our Prophet (sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam) said; “Those who will be the closest ones to me in every rank on the Day of Judgment will be the ones who have recited many salawâts on me in the world. Whomever recites one hundred salawâts on me on Friday and Friday evening, Allahu ta’âlâ satisfies one hundred needs. Of these needs, seventy belong to the Hereafter and thirty to the world. Then Allahu ta’âlâ sends those salâts to my grave by means of an angel. They are like gifts that you receive. That angel informs me of the name, descent and tribe of the sender and records it on a white sheet which is with me. My knowing after my death is like my knowing while I am alive.” “On Thursdays, Allahu ta’âlâ sends angels having silver books and golden pens with them. They record those who recite many salât on the Prophet (sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam) on the day of Thursday and Friday evening (the night between Thursday and Friday).” “When two Muslims meet each other, if they make musâfaha (shake hands in a manner prescribed by Islam) and recite salawât on the Prophet (sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam), their previous and future sins are forgiven.” “When one of you enters the masjid, let him say salâm to the Prophet and say, O my Rabb! Protect me from Satan!” According to another narration, “When he goes out, let him say, Allahumma innî as’aluka min fadlika.” If there is no thanâ (praise) to Allahu ta’âlâ and no salawât to Rasûlullah at the beginning of the duâ (prayer), the duâ stays behind a curtain. Duâ with praise and salawât at its beginning is accepted. Unless salawât is recited on Rasûlullah and his family, there is a curtain between the prayer and the sky. When salawât is recited, that curtain is torn and the prayer ascends to the sky. In case the salawât is not recited, the prayer comes back. If the name of Allahu ta’âlâ is not mentioned and no salât is recited on Rasûlullah in a gathering, a whip stands ready over the attendants and it either torments or forgives them. When you have ringing in you ears, remember me and recite salât on me.
He who intends to start a task should consult regarding that matter. Allahu ta’âlâ will grant him discretion in his task. In case one wants to say a word but forgets it, let him recite salât on me In case a beneficial action is started without mentioning the name of Allahu ta’âlâ and reciting salât on me, it is interrupted and its benediction will be removed. After the demise of Hadrat Abû Hafs Kaghidî, one of the notables in Islam, someone saw him in his dream and asked, “How did Allahu ta’âlâ treat you?” He said, “He showed mercy, forgave me and put me in Paradise.” The man asked, “What was the reason?” He replied, “He stopped me among the angels. They counted my sins and my salawâts on Rasûlullah and found my salawâts more than my sins. Then Allahu ta’âlâ decreed to His angels: O My angels! Your task is over. Do not ask anything else. Take him to My Paradise!”
Someone from Salaf (as-Sâlihîn) relates: One of my friends, with whom I was learning hadîth, died. In my dream, I saw him wearing green garments of Paradise. When I asked its reason, he said, “I would write ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ near Rasûlullah’s name that I saw in every hadîth. Allahu ta’âlâ rewarded that deed of mine with this.” Again someone from Salaf (as-Sâlihîn) relates: One of my neighbors, who was a clerk, died. I saw him in my dream and asked him how Allahu ta’âlâ had treated him. He told me that Allahu ta’âlâ had forgiven him. When I asked its reason he said, “For, every time when I wrote Rasûlullah’s name, I wrote the words ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ next to it.” Abû Sulaiman Dârâni relates: When I was writing hadîth, I would write “sall-Allâhu ’alaih,” however I wouldn’t write “wa sallam” after stating the blessed name of our Prophet. I saw him in my dream. He asked, “O Abâ Sulaiman! When you write my name in hadîth, write also “wa sallam” with the salât. It consists of four letters.
There are ten rewards for each letter. If you don’t write, it means that you give up forty rewards.” There was another person having the same habit. Rasûlullah said to him in his dream, “What happened to you that you do not completely write the salât on me?”
Abû Bakr-i Siddiq said, “Let those who fear losing their memory recite many salawâts on Rasûlullah.” Muhammad bin Said Mutarrif, one of the notables of devoted Muslims relates: I would recite a certain amount of salawâts when I was going to bed every night. One night, I saw Rasûlullah in my dream. He came in. My room was filled with nûr. Then he approached me and said, “Let me kiss your mouth with which you recite many salawâts on me.” However I felt ashamed to extend my mouth. Then I extended my cheek. He kissed with his blessed mouth. I awoke with dread. My room was filled with the smell of musk. The scent on my cheek did not remove for eight days. When Hallad bin Kathîr, one of the prominent Salaf (as-Sâlihîn), passed away; a piece of paper was found under his head. Written on the paper was, “It is Hallad bin Kathîr’s warrant of salvation from Hell.” Then they asked his relatives what his deed was. They said, “He used to recite salawât every Friday.” In Sheikh Aynî’s book Zaynu’l-Majalis, it is written: “On the Day of Judgment, except for three groups of people, there will be no shade under the Arsh.” When he was asked who they are, our Prophet “sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam” said, “Those who resolve the problems of my Community, those who revive my sunnat and those who recite many salawâts on me.”
Sheikh Abû Mûsâ relates: We had been caught by a hurricane at sea. Everybody was crying with the fear of death. At that time I fell asleep. I saw Rasûl-i akram in my dream. He ordered me to inform those with me in the ship to recite, one thousand times, “Allâhumma salli ’alâ sayyidinâ Muhammadin wa ’alâ âli sayyidinâ Muhammad, salâtan tunjînâ bihâ min jamî’il ahwâli wal-âfât wa takdî lanâ bihâ jamî’al hâjât wa tutahhirunâ bihâ min jamî’is-sayyiât wa tarfa’unâ bihâ indaka a’lad-darajât wa tuballigunâ bihâ aksal-gâyât min jamî’il hayrâtî fil-hayâti wa ba’dal mamât.” We hadn’t even finished three hundred, when the storm began to calm down and finally we were out of danger. It was recommended that this salât should be recited during every important action and for every trouble, in calamities and earthquakes. There are more than forty hadîths in reliable books about how the salât should be. Some of them are as follows:
Allâhumma salli ’alâ Muhammadin wa ’alâ âli Muhammad, kemâ sallayta ’alâ Ibrâhîma wa ’alâ âli Ibrâhîm, wa bârik alâ Muhammadin wa alâ âli Muhammad, kemâ bârakta alâ Ibrâhîma wa ’alâ âli Ibrâhîm, innaka hamîdun majîd. Allâhumma salli wa sallim wa bârik warham alâ sayyidinâ Muhammadin huwa sayyid-ul Arabi wal Ajam wa imâmi Makkat-il mukarramati wal Madînat-il munawwarati wal haram. Allam-al insâne mâlam ya’lam. Asluhu nûrun wa nasluhu Âdam. Ba’suhu muahharun wa halkuhu mukaddam. Ismuh-ush sharîfu maktûbun alal Lawh-il mahfûzi biyâkût-il kalam. Wa jismuh-ush sharîfu madfûnun fil Madînat-il munawwarati wal haram. Yâ layta aktahilu turâballazî taht-al qadam. Fa tûbâ summa tûbâ liman daâ wa tabiahu wa liman aslama sahib-ash shafâati lil âlamîn. Kâilan yâ Rabbî! Sallim ummatî, ummatî wâ ummatâ yâz al lutfi wal karam. Fa yunâd-il munâdî min kibal-ir Rahmân, kâbiltu shafâataka yâ Nabiyyal muhtaram. Udhul-ul Jannata lâ hawfun alaikum walâ huznun walâ alam.Thumma Radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ an Abî Bakrin wa ’Umara wa ’Uthmâna wa Aliyyin zil-Karam. Wa sallallahu alâ sayyidinâ Muhammadin wal hamdu laka yâ Rabb-al âlamîn. Bi hurmeti Sayyid-il mursalîn.

He would sit on the ground, either on both his knees or with his one knee upright, That source of generosity was full of respectfulness, secretly or openly. He would eat by using his three fingers and lick them appetizingly, That source of generosity would drink water in three breathes thirstily. He would like eating honey, squash, vinegar and tirit food; but, That source of generosity never ate barley bread until he was filled. Sometimes he would tie a stone on his abdomen when he was hungry, That source of generosity didn’t want his heart to be shaky. They could not light a fire for cooking in his home of bliss for many months, That source of generosity would eat date and pomegranate contentedly.

Published on: Sep 5, 2018