So it is an act of worship, and what is required of the Muslim is to comply with the command of Allah, and not to object to His command.

 

2. The virtue of sending blessings upon the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) does not benefit the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) only; rather it also benefits the one who sends blessings on him. The virtue mentioned in the hadiths quoted above and in other hadiths benefits the one who sends blessings upon the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).

 

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said, in his commentary on the hadith: The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever sends blessings upon me once, Allah will send blessings upon him tenfold” means: If you say “Allahumma salli ‘ala Muhammad (O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad)”, Allah will send upon you a tenfold blessing in return, and Allah will praise you before those on high ten times. Riyaadh as-Saaliheen.

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 3. The rights of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) are the greatest rights after those of Allah. Through him, Allah saved many people from the depths of darkness and brought them into the light. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“It is He Who sends down manifest Ayât (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) to His slave (Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) that He may bring you out from darkness into light. And verily, Allah is to you full of kindness, Most Merciful”

[al-Hadeed 57:9]

 

“(This is) a Book which We have revealed unto you (O Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) in order that you might lead mankind out of darkness (of disbelief and polytheism) into light (of belief in the Oneness of Allâh and Islâmic Monotheism) by their Lord’s Leave”

[Ibraaheem 14:1].

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 It is one of the rights of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) over his ummah that they should send a lot of blessings upon him in response to that favour and in fulfilment of some of his rights (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).

 

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Allah, may He be glorified, enjoined sending blessings upon him straight after telling us that He and His angels send blessings upon him. What is meant is that if Allah and His angels send blessings upon His Messenger, then you should send blessings upon him, for it is more appropriate that you should send blessings upon him and greet him with salaam, because of what you have received of the blessing of his message.

 

“O you who believe! Send your Salât on (ask Allah to bless) him (Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)), and (you should) greet (salute) him with the Islamic way of greeting (salutation i.e. As¬Salâmu ‘Alaikum)”

[al-Ahzaab 33:56],

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 So blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, constantly, until the Day of Judgement, so long as night and day follow one another. Blessings and peace of Allah be upon him so long as righteous people remember him.

 

Do not deprive yourself of that virtue. May Allah help us and you to make the most of acts of obedience, and protect us from the evil of our own selves, for He is Most Munificent, Most Generous.

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 Sending blessings upon the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is one of the greatest acts of worship encouraged in Islam, and it is one of the most beneficial supplications for a person in this world and the hereafter, and it is one of the requirements of loving, venerating and respecting the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and giving him his rights. 

 

With regard to the ideal way of sending blessings upon the master of mankind (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), there are a number of ways of doing that. Among the soundest and most well-known of these ways are the two ways that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) taught his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) when they asked him how they should send blessings upon him (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). These two ways are as follows: 

 

~1~ “Allaahumma salli ‘ala Muhammad wa ‘ala aali Muhammad kama salayta ‘ala Ibraaheem wa ‘ala aali Ibraaheem, innaka hameedun majeed. Allaahumma baarik ‘ala Muhammad wa ‘ala aali Muhammad kama baarakta ‘ala Ibraaheem wa ‘ala aali Ibraaheem, innaka hameedun majeed.

 

(O Allaah, send prayers upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent prayers upon Ibraaheem and upon the family of Ibraaheem; You are indeed Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory. O Allaah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad as You sent blessings upon Ibraaheem and upon the family of Ibraaheem; You are indeed Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory).”

Narrated by al-Bukhaari (3700) and Muslim (406) from the hadeeth of Ka‘b ibn ‘Ajrah (may Allah be pleased with him). 

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 ~2~ “Allaahumma salli ‘ala Muhammadin wa ‘ala azwaajihi wa dhurriyyatihi kama salayta ‘ala Ibraaheem, wa baarik ‘ala Muhammadin wa ‘ala azwaajihi wa dhurriyyatihi kama baarakta ‘ala aali Ibraaheem, innaka hameedun majeed.

 

(O Allaah, send Your salaah (grace, honour and mercy) upon Muhammad and upon his wives and offspring, as You sent Your salaah upon Ibraaheem, and send Your blessings upon Muhammad and upon his wives and offspring, as You sent Your blessings upon the family of Ibraaheem. You are indeed Praiseworthy, Most Glorious).” 

Narrated by al-Bukhaari (3369) and Muslim (407) from the hadeeth of Abu Humayd as-Saa‘idi (may Allah be pleased with him). 

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 WHAT IS THE MEANING OF BEING THANKFUL TO ALLAH?

Thanks or gratitude means reciprocating kindness and giving praise to the one who has done good and kind things. The one who is most deserving of thanks and praise from people is Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, because of the great favours and blessings that He has bestowed upon His slaves in both spiritual and worldly terms. Allah has commanded us to give thanks to Him for those blessings, and not to deny them. He says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Therefore remember Me (by praying, glorifying). I will remember you, and be grateful to Me (for My countless favours on you) and never be ungrateful to Me” [Quran 2:152] 

 

THE PROPHETS AND MESSENGERS

The greatest ones who obeyed this command, and gave thanks to their Lord until they deserved to be described as shaakir and shakoor (thankful) are the Prophets and Messengers (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). 

 

Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“Verily, Ibrahim was an Ummah (a leader having all the good righteous qualities), or a nation, obedient to Allah, Haneef (i.e. to worship none but Allah), and he was not one of those who were Al‑Mushrikoon (polytheists, idolaters, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah, and those who joined partners with Allah).

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