The virtues and benefits of ‘salat’ and ‘salam’ – Part 4

The virtues and benefits of salat and salam (continued)

Enumerating the benefits of salawat is impossible since only Allah Most High knows the true extent of the rewards and benefits this noble act brings about for the reciter. Some of the famous benefits were mentioned in the previous post but now we will mention many more in summary form.

Responding to the order of Allah Almighty

Allah Most High has commanded us in the Quran to send abundant salat and salam upon the Prophet ﷺ. What greater benefit is there than knowing that you are directly responding to the order of our Lord each time you recite salat and salam?

It removes worries, anxieties, sadness and depression

This was already mentioned in the previous part when speaking about the Hadith of Sayiduna Ubay ibn Kab.

It compensates for giving charity for those who are too poor to give it

A Hadith mentions that it is the equivalent of giving charity.

Through it a person achieves his goals and Allah Almighty fulfills his needs and grants him what he asks for

This is something which has been confirmed by the awliya (friends of Allah) and anybody who acts upon this will see that it is true. The person who is abundant and consistent in reciting salat and salam will find Allah will always answer his prayers and Allah will assist him in reaching his goals in this life even before the next life.

Allah purifies and spiritually cleans the heart one who recites salawat

Purifying the heart from spiritual diseases such as jealousy, hatred and arrogance is an obligation for every Muslim. To do this takes striving and hard work yet there is a shortcut which can assist a person in the purification process. That shortcut is abundant salat and salam which is a proven remedy for the diseases of the heart.

It prevents people from backbiting him and him backbiting others

Part of the purification process is that Allah Most High makes sins and disobedience hateful to His servant. A person who takes the spiritual path will find himself being inclined towards acts of worship and guarding himself against sins. One of the specific sins which salawat assists a person in refraining from is backbiting (gheeba) which is considered a major sin (kabira) in Islam. Amazingly, the Ulema say that the blessings of salawat will even prevent the reciter from being backbitten by others! Once again, this is tried and tested and confirmed through experience.

It blesses gatherings and prevents the gatherings from losing blessings (barakah)

A famous Hadith tells us that any gathering in which Allah Most High is not mentioned and salawat is not sent upon His Messenger ﷺ will be cut off from blessings. We should therefore ensure that we do not fail to mention Allah and His Messenger ﷺ in any gathering we find ourselves in. If we are unable to do so out loud then we can do it under our breath or at the very least in our hearts. How beautiful is it for a Muslim to strive to ensure he does this in every gathering, intending to seek blessings through it for all those present, even if they all be heedless and unaware of Allah.

It saves a person from poverty

Anybody who is concerned about their financial situation should send much salat and salam upon the Prophet ﷺ. By virtue of the salat and salam, Allah Most High will bless them in their rizq (sustenance) and save them from poverty.

It prevents a person from being cursed and receiving the anger of Allah

There is a lengthy Hadith in which The Angel Jibril makes three duas and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ says ameen to them. One of the duas is that the one who hears the name of the Prophet ﷺ and fails to recite salawat be cursed.

The one who performs much salawat will stay firm on the path to paradise and he will remain guided

A person who is abundant in salawat will not be misguided easily and Allah Most High will ensure he stays guided on the right path.

It refines a person’s character and manners and assists him in taking on the beautiful characteristics and qualities of the Prophet ﷺ

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ has told us that those Muslims who have the best character will be the closest to him on the day of judgement. Good character includes politeness, cheerfulness, being approachable and affable and refraining from harming others with our words. In short, good character is the character of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Allah Most High has confirmed the greatness of his character in the Quran where He has said ‘Indeed you are upon an exalted character’. Good character is attained by learning about the characteristics of the Prophet ﷺ, keeping the company of the pious and striving to improve our interactions with others. There is however a shortcut which is to send abundant salawat upon the Messenger ﷺ. Anybody who regularly does this will find that their characteristics and behaviour will slowly start to be aligned with his ﷺ beautiful characteristics and behaviour.

Through it a person receives blessings in his life, family, wealth and work

Attaining his provision (rizq) becomes easy

It assists a person in the grave

It benefits their children, grandchildren and family and causes them to be blessed

The blessings of the salawat are so immense that they will reach the family, children and progeny of the reciter. Salawat upon the Messenger ﷺ is a type of dua for him and we know that when we make dua for another, the angels ask Allah to grant us the same. Therefore, when we say ‘O Allah send salat and salam upon our Master Muhammad and his family’ then it is inevitable that the benefit will return to us and our families.

It is a means of the Prophet ﷺ seeing the name of the reciter, the name of his father and of his tribe and his lineage

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ is living in the barzakh (intermediate realm) and he sees our deeds. He ﷺ knows every member of his Ummah and when we send salat and salam upon him, he receives it and he sees our names, fathers name and the tribe we are from as per the Hadiths. Some of the scholars said that the best gift a person can give to his father is to recite salawat upon the Messenger ﷺ and cause his father’s name to be presented in his ﷺ blessed presence!

It helps a person remember something which was forgotten

We learn through a famous Hadith that if we forget something, we should send salawat upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and we will remember whatever we have forgotten.

Allah loves the one who recites abundant salawat

The Prophet ﷺ loves the one who sends abundant salawat upon him

Allah will cause the people on the earth to love him

The one who is given the ability to recite salawat in abundance will become beloved to Allah and His Messenger ﷺ. The salawat will even attract the love of the people on earth to the extent that you will rarely find a person who is abundant in salat and salam other than that he or she is loved by those around them.

It makes passing over the bridge (sirat) on the day of judgment easy

In a Hadith reported by Imam at-Tabarani, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ describes an event which will take place on the day of judgement. In it, a man is struggling to cross the sirat (a bridge located over the hellfire which is thinner than a hair and sharper than a sword) and he almost falls off. Whilst barely hanging on, the salawat and salam he used to recite appear and help him back on to the bridge and then assist him in crossing it.

Reciting salawat combines remembrance of Allah (dhikr), mentioning of the Prophet ﷺ and supplication (dua)

It is one of the greatest acts of worship

Salawat is an act of worship which is always accepted

The Ulema say that salawat is unique due to it always being accepted by Allah Most High. He is already sending salawat upon His beloved ﷺ and He does not refuse our requests for salawat to reach him. Some of the scholars even said that salawat will be accepted even if a person recited it only to show off.

Salawat takes the place of a spiritual guide (Murshid/Sheikh) especially towards the end of time when real spiritual guides will be rare

The spiritual path in Islam is a well-trodden path, travelled by many since the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ till the present day. The Sahaba would take guidance directly from the Messenger ﷺ himself and they would then be trained to guide others. This continues till this day since we have been informed by the Prophet ﷺ that there would always be rightly guided scholars in every generation. He also however informed us that towards the end of time they would be much less in number. Many of the great scholars like Ahmed Zarruq said that towards the end of time, when true spiritual guides are rare, a person would have to take salat and salam as his spiritual guide. Through the salawat, Allah Most High will keep the person guided and he will find himself taking lessons, advice and admonition from the people and the events around him. In this way the salat and salam will help him just as a spiritual guide would. Others have said that the salawat won’t take the place of a guide but rather will slowly but surely lead him to his guide. According to this opinion, he will continue to be abundant in salawat until he eventually finds his guide, even if it be later in life. And Allah knows best.

The reciter is shown his place in paradise before he passes away

They will die upon la ilaha illallah

Allah Most High says in the Noble Quran ‘O you who believe, fear Allah, as He should be feared, and let not yourself die save as Muslims.’ (3:102). This is the ultimate goal and there is nothing more important than dying as a Muslim. Regular salawat is means to a good ending, an ending upon la ilaha illallah.

If Allah wills, in the next part we will discuss how to perform salat and salam and take a look at the various formulas of salat and salam including those which have reached us from the Prophet ﷺ himself, his Sahaba and from the scholars and saints (awliya) of Islam.

Part 5