The virtues and benefits of ‘salat’ and ‘salam’ – Part 6

How to make salat and salam part of your life

It is important to regularly send salat and salam on the Prophet in order that we can attain the benefits. Consistency is vital. Everyone should aim to:

1. Have a daily wird/wazifa (litany) of salat and salam. We should dedicate a portion of our day to this and never miss it.
2. We should utilise other times of the day and recite salat and salam as much as possible even whilst doing other tasks. There is no harm in reciting whilst walking, driving, working, cooking, cleaning etc.

In terms of how much to recite each day then what is important is to choose a number we can stick to. However some Ulema said we should aim for 300 per day as this is what is considered ‘abundant’. If one is capable, they can increase to 500, 700 or 1,000.

Even 100 a day is excellent. But the least we should aim for is 10 in the morning and 10 in the evening and then slowly we can increase.

A closing story

If a person wants to see marvels and live a wonderous life full of closeness to Allah Most High and His Messenger ﷺ then reciting salawat must become as natural to them as breathing. We will end with a story about a young man who saw first-hand the amazing effects of reciting salawat. This story has been mentioned in a number of books by scholars including Sheikh Abdullah Sirajudin¹:

It is narrated that there was a young man who would circle the Kaaba whilst constantly reciting salawat upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He was asked if there was a reason he would do this and he replied that there was.

He said “Myself and my father once went to perform Hajj together but on the way my father became ill and died. When he had died, his face became black, his eyes became bloodshot and his stomach swelled up. I began to cry and said ‘Indeed we belong to Allah and indeed to Him we will return! My father has died so far away from home and in such a bad way!’.

When night time came I was overcome by sleep and I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and he was wearing white garments and smelt of fine fragrance. He came close to my father and wiped his face such that it became whiter than milk. Then he wiped his hand over my fathers stomach until it became normal again.

Then when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ wanted to leave he said to me ‘Your father used to sin a lot but he also used to send a lot of salawat upon me. So when this situation afflicted him he sought my help so I came to his aid. And I am the helper (giyaath) of the one who sends frequent salawat upon me in this worldly life!'”

May Allah Most High send prayers and salutations upon his Messenger and his family and companions. And all praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

Footnotes

1. Sheikh Abdullah Sirajudeen, as-Salatu ala an-Nabi (page 238)