Bismillāhir Raḥmānir Raḥīm
Sending ṣalāt and salām upon our beloved Nabī ﷺ is a command from Allāh Taʿālā. Allāh Taʿālā mentions that He (Taʿālā) and the angels send ṣalāt upon the Nabī ﷺ and thereafter, Allah Taʿālā commands us to join Him (Taʿālā) and the angels in sending ṣalāt and salām upon the Nabī ﷺ. Allāh Taʿālā says in the Glorious Qurʾān:
إِنَّ اللّٰهَ وَ مَلٰٓئِكَتَهٗ يُصَلُّوْنَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ﴿
﴾يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا صَلُّوْا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوْا تَسْلِيْمًا
Indeed, Allāh confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so].
O you who have believed, ask [Allāh to confer] blessing upon him and ask [Allāh to grant him] peace.[1]
There is consensus that in this verse, the honour and praise for Nabī ﷺ is incomparable to the honour and praise for him in any other verse.[2]
:إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ
- Allāh Taʿālā bestows mercy on His Nabī ﷺ and magnifies his status and elevates his station.
- The angels supplicate to Allāh Taʿālā for the Nabī ﷺ and ask for him to be forgiven.
:يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا
This means that Allāh Taʿālā is commanding us to ask our Rabb (Sustainer) to send ṣalāt upon the Nabī ﷺ and ask Him to increasingly honour and praise the Nabī ﷺ.
Allāh Taʿālā’s command for us to send ṣalāt and salām on Nabī ﷺ indicates that we have been granted the honour to do so because we are following Him Taʿālā in sending ṣalāt upon Nabī ﷺ and honouring him.
It is a right of Nabī ﷺ upon the ʾummah to send ṣalawāt and salām upon him because he is the one who brought us out from misguidance to guidance and from darkness to light.
Additionally, it is a compensation and fulfilment of some of his ﷺ ‘s rights over the creation because he ﷺ is the greatest means of every blessing which they have attained. When a person attains a blessing from someone, a right is due upon him to repay it. However, since the creation is incapable of repaying him ﷺ, they request the All-Powerful King Taʿālā to repay him on their behalf. And this is the secret in the statement, “Allāhumma ṣalli ʿalā Muḥammad”.[3]
The Objective
Ḥalīmī رحمه الله mentioned: “The objective of ṣalāt upon Nabī ﷺ is to gain closeness to Allāh Taʿālā by complying to His Taʿālā’s command and fulfilling the right of Nabī ﷺ upon us.”
Ibn ʿAbd as-Salām رحمه الله stated: “Our ṣalāt upon Nabī ﷺ is not an intercession for him. People like us cannot intercede for someone of his calibre. However, Allāh Taʿālā has commanded us to repay the one who did a favour for us. Since we are incapable of that, we repay him with duʿāʾ. So Allāh Taʿālā guided us towards sending ṣalāt upon him [i.e., asking Allāh Taʿālā to send ṣalāt upon him] as He is aware that we are incapable of repaying our Nabī ﷺ.”
Ibn ʿArabī رحمه الله commented: “The benefit of ṣalāt upon him is that it returns to the One (Taʿālā) who sends ṣalāt upon him so that it indicates to the brightness of our belief, sincerity of intention and expression of love and steadfastness upon obedience and respect through the most noble (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam).” [4]
What does ṣalāt and salām mean?
- Ṣalāt
Since the verse mentions three sources of the ṣalāt: Allāh Taʿālā, the angels and the ʾummah, the ṣalāt from each source has a distinct meaning as the commentators have outlined.
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar رحمه الله mentioned that ṣalāt in the verse “yuṣallūna” can either mean mercy, duʿāʾ (a supplication) or honour. Below, the opinions of the varying meanings of ṣalāt will be outlined.
- Ṣalāt from Allāh Taʿālā means:
- His Taʿālā’s mercy.
(Opinion of: Sayyidunā Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما, ʾImām Qurṭubī رحمه الله, Ḍaḥ-ḥāk رحمه الله, Mubarrad رحمه الله.)
Note: ʾImām Qurṭubī رحمه الله also included Allāh Taʿālā’s pleasure within the meaning of ṣalāt.[5]
- His Taʿālā’s forgiveness.
(Opinion of: Ibn ʾAbī Ḥātim رحمه الله from Muqātil رحمه الله , Ḍaḥ-ḥāk رحمه الله in one narration.)[6]
- Praising and honouring Nabī ﷺ.
(Opinion of: ʾAbul ʿĀliyyah رحمه الله, Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ رحمه الله from Qushayrī رحمه الله, Ḥalīmī رحمه الله.)
(Preferred opinion -Ibn Ḥajar رحمه الله)[7]
2. Ṣalāt from the angels means:
- A duʿāʾ (supplication).
(Opinion of: ʾAbul ʿĀliyyah رحمه الله, ʾImām Qurṭubī رحمه الله, Ḍaḥ-ḥāk رحمه الله , Mubarrad رحمه الله.)
Note:Ḍaḥ-ḥāk رحمه الله specified that it possibly means a supplication for forgiveness.
Mubarrad رحمه الله specified that it means compassion and supplication for Allāh’s Taʿālā’s mercy.[8]
- Seeking forgiveness (istighfār).
(Opinion of: Sayyidunā Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما, ʾImām Qurṭubī رحمه الله, Ibn ʾAbī Ḥātim رحمه الله from Muqātil رحمه الله, , Ḍaḥ-ḥāk رحمه الله.)[9]
Note: The two interpretations of ṣalāt from the angels can be combined as seeking forgiveness is also a duʿāʾ.
3. Ṣalāt from the ʾUmmah means:
- A duʿāʾ (supplication) for Nabī ﷺ and honouring his commands.[10]
Analysing & Reconciling The Varying Meanings of Ṣalāt:
Ibn Ḥajar رحمه الله thereafter commented that ṣalāt cannot merely mean mercy because Allāh Taʿālā differentiated between the two in verse 157 of Sūrah Baqarah.
.أُولَٰئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَاتٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ
“Those are the ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy.”
Similarly, from the verse, “yuṣallū ʿalayhi wa yusallimu,” the Ṣaḥābah رضي الله عنهم understood that ṣalāt had a deeper meaning other than mercy because they asked regarding how to send ṣalāt although mercy was previously mentioned when salām was previously taught with the words: “ʾAssalāmu ʿalayka ʾayyuhan nabiy-yu wa raḥmatullāhi wa barakatuhu.”
This was supported by Nabī’s ﷺ response because if ṣalāt meant mercy, [instead of teaching them the way and wordings of ṣalāt,] he would have said to them: “You have already learnt it in salām.”
Ibn Ḥajar رحمه الله thereafter highlighted that ṣalāt from Allāh Taʿālā also has a distinct meaning depending on who the receiver of the ṣalāt is. Hence, ṣalāt from Allāh Taʿālā means mercy to anyone other than the Prophets. However, ṣalāt from Allāh Taʿālā to the Prophets عليهم السلام means praise and honour. He also mentioned that there is a difference between ṣalāt on the Nabī ﷺ and ṣalāt on others. The ṣalāt bestowed upon Nabī ﷺ is of greater quality than the ṣalāt anyone else will receive.
He considered ʾAbūl ʿĀliyyah’s opinion regarding the meaning of ṣalāt to be the most correct.
Therefore, he concluded that:
- Ṣalāt from Allāh Taʿālā for the Nabī ﷺ: Praise and honour of the Nabī ﷺ.
- Ṣalāt from the angels and others (the ʾummah) for the Nabī ﷺ: A duʿāʾ (supplication) requesting Allāh Taʾālā to bless the Nabī ﷺ by increasing in honouring and praising him.[11]
- Salām
Allāh Taʿālā also instructs us to send salām (salutations of peace) on the Nabī ﷺ.
ʾImām Ṭabarī رحمه الله and ʿAllāmah ʿĀlūsī رحمه الله commented that this commands us to greet him (ﷺ) with the greeting of Islām by saying:
“ʾAssalāmu ʿalayka ʾayyuhan nabiyyu,” (May peace be upon you O Nabī),
and other phrases of greeting similar to it.[12]
When we send salām to the Nabī ﷺ, what does it really mean? The varying meanings are as follows.
- We are praying for his (ﷺ)’s safety from all defects and calamities.
- May safety and security from defects and calamities be with you (ﷺ).
- May you (ﷺ) be protected from defects and calamities.
2. We are affirming that: As-Salām [i.e, AllāhTaʿālā] will always protect, safeguard and take care of you (ﷺ).
3. It is a duʿāʾ (supplication) asking Allāh Taʿālā to protect the Nabī ﷺ from all adversities.
- You (ﷺ) will never be deprived of goodness and blessings and you (ﷺ) will be protected from every adversity.
4. Since salām means peace and security from any form of opposition, it is a duʿāʾ (supplication) to Allāh Taʿālā requesting Him to make His servants submit to and obey Nabī ﷺ and the Sharīʿah.
5. We are asking Allāh Taʿālā to bestow His quality of As-Salām upon Nabī (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) .[13]
[1] {Sūrah Al-ʾAḥzāb:56}
[2] [See: Fatḥul Bārī 14/373]
[3] [See: Ṣafwatut Tafāsīr 2/536]
[4] [See: Fatḥul Bārī 14/392]
[5] [See: Tafsīr Qurṭubī 17/213-14, Fatḥul Bārī 14/372-73]
[6] [See: Fatḥul Bārī 14/372-73]
[7] [See: Fatḥul Bārī 14/373]
[8] [See: Tafsīr Qurṭubī 17/213-14, Fatḥul Bārī 14/372-73]
[9] [See: Tafsīr Qurṭubī 17/213-14, Fatḥul Bārī 14/372-73]
[10] [See: Tafsīr Ṭabarī 19/175, Tafsīr Qurṭubī 17/213-14]
[11] [See: Fatḥul Bārī 14/373]
[12] [See: Tafsīr Ṭabarī 19/175, Rūḥul Maʿānī 21/442]
[13] [See: Rūḥul Maʿānī 10/56, Fatḥul Bārī 21/442-43]