The virtues and benefits of ‘salat’ and ‘salam’ – Part 1

Last year I delivered a short presentation on this topic. I decided to type up some notes based upon that presentation so other people can also benefit. Below is part 1:

Salat and salam – A Quranic command

Allah Most High has informed us in His Book that He sends prayers and peace (salat and salam) upon His beloved Prophet Muhammad (prayers and peace be upon him). The scholars (ulema) say that the use of the present/future tense verb (yusaluna) signifies that this act is constant and unending. In other words, Allah is always sending prayers and peace upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). In the same verse The Lord Most High informs us that His angels also send prayers upon the Prophet and He follows it up by commanding the believers to do the same in abundance. It is this verse which is the basis for the concept of ‘salat and salam’ or ‘salawat’ which many of us are familiar with.

Three of the things we learn from this verse:

1. Allah sends prayers (salawat) upon the Prophet ﷺ
2. The Angels send prayers (salawat) upon the Prophet ﷺ
3. Allah commands the believers to send prayers (salawat) and salutations (salams) upon the Prophet ﷺ in abundance.

It goes without saying that when Allah sends salawat upon His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) it is completely unlike the salawat of His angels or our salawat. Allah is completely unlike His creation and He is exalted above having actions which we can fully fathom yet alone emulate. There is therefore much discussion amongst the scholars as to what it means for Allah to send salawat upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Some of the interpretations include that it means Allah is raising his ranks, praising him and manifesting His mercy to him.

For us believers however the salat and salam we recite is an act of worship which Allah Most High has commanded us to perform. In reality we cannot benefit the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with our salawat since Allah is already sending His salawat upon him and he (peace and blessings be upon him) has no need for other than his Lord. Despite this however, Allah has commanded the believers to perform this act of worship in abundance in order that we can draw closer to Him through his beloved Prophet and gain immense rewards and benefits (some of which will be mentioned later if Allah wills).

Another significant point which the people of knowledge mention is that out of all the things that Allah Most High has commanded us to do, sending salawat upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is the only act which He Himself also performs. Despite the absolute dissimilarity between His salawat and our salawat, He has informed us that He performs this act and has then commanded us to do the same (in a way that befits us). Allah has commanded the believers to do many things such as pray, give charity, fast, perform the pilgrimage etc. However, it is inconceivable that Allah, Exalted be He, could ever perform these actions. Salawat therefore is unique, and the fact that we as believers have been given the honour to partake in this great act is no doubt an honour which Allah Most High has bestowed upon us.

Different terms for salawat

There are many terms which can be used for this same act so it is beneficial at this point to look at some of those. In Arabic ‘salat and salam’ can be referred to as:

• As-Salatu wa as-salam
• As-Salatu ala an-Nabi ﷺ
• As-Salawat ala an-Nabi ﷺ
• Salawat

In English there are a number of translations which you may come across of ‘salawat’ or ‘salat and salam’:

• Prayers and peace upon the Prophet ﷺ
• Blessings and peace upon the Prophet ﷺ
• Salutations and peace upon the Prophet ﷺ

Urdu/Farsi speakers and those from the Subcontinent will mostly likely refer to salawat as:

• Durood sharif
• Durood o Salaam

All of the above terms refer to the same practice.

How to perform salat and salam

Whenever a verse of Quran was revealed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the Sahaba (Companions) would come to him and ask the meanings of the verse or ask for clarification on those things they did not fully understand. When the verse of salawat (mentioned above) was revealed, many of the Sahaba came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and asked how they should send salawat upon him. The Sahaba as always were eager to act upon the Quran in the way Allah Almighty had intended so they rushed to His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to find out exactly how they should act upon this verse. In response, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) taught them how to perform salawat by teaching them the famous Ibrahimiya prayer (as-salatu l-ibrahimiya) which most of us are familiar with. There are a number of variations to this prayer but one of the most famous is below:

اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَىٰ مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَىٰ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ ❁ كَمَا صَلَّيْتَ عَلَىٰ اِبْرَاهِيْمَ وَعَلَىٰ آلِ اِبْرَاهِيْمَ ❁ إنَّكَ حَمِيْدٌ مَجِيْدٌ ❁ اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَىٰ مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَىٰ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ ❁ كَمَا بَارَكْتَ عَلَىٰ اِبْرَاهِيْمَ وَعَلَىٰ آلِ اِبْرَاهِيْمَ ❁ إنَّكَ حَمِيْدٌ مَجِيْدٌ

‘O Allah, send prayers upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad just as You have sent prayers upon Ibrahim and upon the family of Ibrahim, indeed You are the Praiseworthy, the Glorious. O Allah, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad just as You have blessed Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim, indeed You are the Praiseworthy, the Glorious.’

The Ibrahimiya prayer

This is the formula of salawat most of us recite during our daily prayers whilst in the sitting position.

Another common formula is:

صَلى اللهُ عَليهِ وسلمَ

‘Prayers and peace of Allah be upon him’

This is the formula commonly recited when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is mentioned.

In addition to the above, there are thousands of formulas of salawat which can be used. Some of these will be discussed later, if Allah wills.

Part 2