“Allah and His angels call down blessings on the Prophet. O you who believe! Call down blessings on him and ask for complete peace and safety for him.” (Quran 33:56)
Al-Khalifa al-Akbar Sidi Ali Harazem Berrada (d. 1212/1797) says in his Epistle of Bounty and Gratitude to all the Tijani Companions and Confidants,
Sidi Abdellwahhab Shaarani (d. 905/1490) may Allah be pleased with him said in Kitab al-’uhud al-Mohammediya (The Mohammedian pacts), “The Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) has taken from us a pact that we are to increase the number of Prayers (Salawat) upon him on a daily and nightly basis and that we are to inform our brothers about the rewards expected from such worship, likewise Sidna Shykh has also taken a pact from us to increase the number of Prayers upon the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) on a daily and nightly basis.” The Shaykh has also said: “Be informed that the shortest road to the Divine presence passes through the Prayers on the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him), and any one lacking such attributes cannot enter the ‘Hadhra al-Ilahiya (Divine presence) in view of his ignorance towards the satisfying adab (courtesy).”
It is worth mentioning the great benefits regarding the Prayers upon the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) expecting from Almighty Allah to give us a special love to this Beloved Prophet and to present all the cumulating rewards of such Prayers to the Prophet’s (peace and blessing be upon him) pages in accordance to what had said “Ka’ab Ibn Adjra” to the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him): “I have made all my Prayers’ rewards to you O Prophet of Allah”. Then the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) replied: “May Allah prevent you the grief of this world and that of the hereafter”.
Ibn Ferhoun al-Kurtubi reported that the Prayers upon the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) have ten Miracles (karamat):
1. The first and the most important is the Blessing by the Exalted Allah;
2. The second the Prophet’s intercession;
3. The third the imitation of the sublime Angels;
4. The forth the opposition to the infidels and the hypocrites;
5. The fifth the erasure of all sins;
6. The sixth an assistance to the execution of one’s affairs;
7. The seventh the illumination of the inner and outer of the person;
8. The eighth the safety from this arrogant life;
9. The ninth the entry to the lasting house;
10. The tenth the Prayers from the all forgiver Allah.
Al-Hadhrami said about the Prayers upon the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) that is a ladder and behaviour towards Almighty Allah in the absence of a Shaykh. Al Hadhrami’s student, Shaykh Zarruq (d. 899/1484), said the Prayers upon the Prophet duly elevate the status of the worshipper even though he is in a mixture state. Ibn Abbad (d. 792/1377) said that the Prayers upon the Prophet influence on the powers of faith. Sanousi said in the absence of a spiritual living Shaykh the increase of the Prayers upon the Prophet is the genuine opening (fath). Some scholars have said that the Prayers upon the Prophet represent the real Holy Quran and therefore opened the gates of self soul and the realities of the attributes.
Al-Hafidh Ibn Hajar said that the Prayers upon the Prophet open a unique and wide gate of happiness that no one else can open it and abundant benefits are laid down for this worshipper and at reception of these benefits the Prayers’ reciter is made clear of his sins through a celestial forgiveness. In view of the great importance of the Prayers and spiritual Greetings upon the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him), it is an obligation for any wise Muslim to keep on this way and to continue this blessed manner of worship through the nights and days and to define this kind of worship as a clear and genuine love towards the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him).
Moreover, it is worth noting that some illusory persons may believe that the Prayers and Greetings upon the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) is a kind of a secure intercession from us to him beside Almighty Allah so as to raise his sublime rank in Allah’s realm, but the reality is that Almighty Allah has recommended us to thank and to be grateful to the one who had been kind and generous towards us, such are the great attributes of the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) towards his followers. Since we are unable to reward the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) on such infinite bounties, Allah the Exalted has ordered us to Salute and Greet the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) as a reward to him in view of his grace to us as there are no grace and kindness except that of Almighty Allah when he has sent this Blessed Messenger as a blessing and mercy to the whole Mankind.
Ibn Ata’Allah in his book Taj al-Arous (Crown of the bridegroom) has said that the one who had been lagging behind in terms of worship and has intended to rectify what has been gone before in his early life, no thing can make it for that except the Remembrance of Allah through the al-Adhkar al-Jami’a, and such spiritual cure is also valid for the one who had been unable to increase the number of night-prayers and fasting, as the Prayers upon the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) can outweigh the other ways of worship since one Prayer from you upon the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) equals ten from him as it is clearly stated in the Hadith, and how beautiful are your days if you are to salute and greet the Messenger of God through this kind of remembrance (dhikr).
Suhayli in his book, “Bughyat as-Ssalik” (the Desire of Walker) has indeed stressed on the great benefits behind the Prayers upon the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) which include the tranquilisation of the soul, also the habit and permanent continuation of these Prayers are to intimate and to make closer both the souls of the fervent disciple and that of the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him).
Imam Sidi Mohammed al-Jazouli, says in his introdcution of Dalail al-Khayrat,
It is related that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessing be upon him) came out one day and joy could be seen in his face. He said, “Jibril, peace be upon him, came to me and said, ‘Are you not pleased, O Mohammed, that none of your community blesses you but that I bless him ten times, and none of your community prays for peace on you, but that I pray it for him ten times.’”
The Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said, “The people most deserving of me are those who pray the most for blessing on me.” The Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said, “If someone blesses me, the angels bless him as long as he continues to bless me, so let him diminish that or increase it.” The Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said, “It is enough miserliness in a man that when I am mentioned in his presence, he does not call down blessing on me.
The Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said, “Pray for blessing for me a lot every Friday.” He (peace and blessing be upon him) said, “If anyone of my community says one prayer on me, ten good actions are written down for him and ten bad actions are effaced from him.”
The Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) “My intercession will be available on the Day of Rising to anyone who says, after hearing the adhan, ‘O Allah! Lord of this perfect call and established prayer, give Mohammed ‘al-wasila’ and superiority and raise him up to the praiseworthy station which You promised him.”
The Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said, “If someone blesses me in a book, the angels do not cease to bless him as long as my name is in that book.”
Abu Sulayman ad-Darani said, “If someone wants to ask Allah for a need, he should begin with the prayer on the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) then ask Allah for his need, and then seal it with the prayer on the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Allah will accept the two prayers, and is too generous to omit what is between the two.”
It is related that the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said, “If someone blesses me 100 times on Friday, he will be forgiven the mistakes of 80 years.”
Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessing be upon him) said, “The one who blesses me has a light on the Sirat, and whoever is among the people of light on the Sirat is not one of the people of the Fire.”
The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “Whoever forgets the prayer on me has missed the Path of the Garden.” By “forgetting”, he meant omission. As the omitter misses the Path of the Garden, the one who blesses him travels to the Garden.
It is related from Abdur-Rahman ibn ‘Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessing be upon him) said, “Jibril came to me, peace be upon him, and said, ‘O Mohammed! No one blesses you but that 70,000 angels bless him, and whomever the angels bless is among the people of the Garden.”
The Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said, “Those of you who do the most prayers on me will have the most wives in the Garden.”
It is related that the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said, “When someone blesses me greatly according to what is due me, Allah Most High creates from that word an angel with one wing in the east and one wing in the west with his feet resting in the lowest of the earth, and his neck bowed under the Throne. Allah Most High says to him, ‘Bless My slave as he blessed My Prophet,’ and he will continue to bless him until the Day of Resurrection.”
It is related that the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said, “People will come to the Water Basin on the Day of Resurrection whom I will only recognize by the great amount that they asked for blessings for me.”
It is related that the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said, “If someone blesses me once, Allah blesses him ten times; and if someone blesses me ten times, Allah blesses him one hundred times; and if someone blesses me one hundred times, Allah blesses one thousand times; and whoever blesses me one hundred times, Allah will forbid his body to the Fire, strengthen him with a firm word in the life of this world and in the Next in the questioning, and He will admit him to the Garden. His prayers on me will come to him as a light on the Day of Resurrection on the Sirat, visible at a distance of 500 years, and Allah will give him a castle in the Garden for every prayer that he prayed for me, whether there is little or a lot.”
The Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said, “There is no slave who prays for blessing for me but that the prayer issues quickly from his mouth, and there is no land or sea nor east nor west but that it passes by them and says, ‘I am the prayer of such-and-such a person, which he prayed for the Mohammed, the Chosen, the best of Allah’s creation,’ and there is nothing which does not bless him. From that prayer a bird is created for him which has 70,000 wings, and on every wing are 70,000 feathers, and in every feather are 70,000 faces, and in every face are 70,000 mouths, and in every mouth are 70,000 tongues, and every tongue glorifies Allah Most High in 70,000 languages, and Allah writes for him the reward of all of that.”
It is related from Sidna Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessing be upon him) said, “If someone asks for blessing on me 100 times on Friday, when the Day of Resurrection comes, he will come with a light, and had that light been divided among all of creation, it would have been enough for them.”
It is mentioned in some traditions that written on the leg of the Throne is, “If someone yearns for Me, I show mercy to him. If someone asks of Me, I give to him. If someone draws near to Me by the prayer on Mohammed, I forgive him his wrong actions, even if they were as much as the froth of the sea.”
It is related that one of the Companions, may Allah be pleased with all of them, said, “There is no gathering in which our master Mohammed (peace and blessing be upon him) is blessed but that a pleasant scent spreads from it until it reaches the clouds of the sky and the angels say, ‘This is a gathering in which Mohammed (peace and blessing be upon him) is blessed.’”
It is mentioned in some traditions that when a believing slave, male or female, begins the prayer on Mohammed (peace and blessing be upon him) the doors of heaven are opened to him as well as its pavilions as far as the Throne. Not an angel remains in the heavens who does not bless our master Mohammed and ask for forgiveness for that slave, male or female as Allah wills.
The Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said,, “If someone has a pressing need, he should increase the prayer on me, for it removes cares, griefs and sorrows, and it increases provision and fulfills needs.”
It is related that one of the righteous said, “I had a neighbor who was scribe. He died, and I saw him in a dream and I asked him, ‘What has Allah done with you?’ He replied, ‘He has forgiven me.’ I asked, ‘For what reason?’ He said, ‘When I used to write the name of Mohammed (peace and blessing be upon him) in a book, I blessed him, so my Lord has covered me with what no eye has seen nor ear has heard nor has occurred to a mortal heart.’”
It is reported from Anas that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessing be upon him) said, “None of you believes until I am more beloved to him than himself and what he possesses and his son and father and all people.” In a hadith, ‘Umar said, “O Messenger of Allah, you are more beloved to me than everything except my self which is between my sides.” So he, blessing and peace be upon him, said to him, “You will not be a believer until I am more beloved to you than your self.” So ‘Umar said, “By He who revealed the Book to you, you are more beloved to me than my self.” So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessing be upon him) said, “Now, ‘Umar, your iman is complete.”
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessing be upon him) was asked, “When will I be a believer (or in another variant, a sincere believer)?” He answered, “When you love Allah.” It was asked, “And when will I love Allah?” He replied, “When you love His Messenger.” It was said, “And when will I love His Messenger?” He said, “When you follow his Path, apply his sunna, love with his love and hate with his hate, and choose friends those he befriends and choose enemies by his enmity. People differ in faith according to their difference in love of me, and they differ in disbelief according to their hate for me.”
Is it not the case that there is no faith (iman) for whoever has no love of him? Is it not the case that there is no faith for whoever has no love of him? Is it not the case that there is no faith for whoever has no love of him?
It was said to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessing be upon him) “We see believers who are humble and believers who are not humble. What is the reason for that?” He replied, “The one who experiences sweetness in his faith is humble, and the one does not experience it is not humble.” It was asked, “By what is it found, or obtained and gained?” He answered, “By sincere love for Allah.” It was asked, “And by what is love of Allah found or by what is it gained?” He said, “By love of His Messenger. So seek the pleasure of Allah and the pleasure of His Messenger through loving them.”
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessing be upon him) was asked, “Who are the family of Mohammed whom we are commanded to love, honour and show reverence to?” He replied, “The people of purity and fidelity who believes in me and are sincere.” He was asked, “What are their signs?” He answered, “Preferring love of me above every other beloved and being occupied inwardly remembering me after remembering Allah.” In another variant: “Their sign is constantly remembering me and frequently asking for blessing upon me.”
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessing be upon him) was asked, “Who is the one strongest in faith in you?” He answered, “The one who did not see me and yet believed in me with yearning for me and sincere love for me. The sign of that is that he would wish to give all he possesses to see me. (Another variant has: “all the gold in the earth.”) Such is the one who truly believes in me and has sincere true love of me.”
It was said to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessing be upon him) “What do you think is that state of those who pray for blessing on you who are not with you or who will come after you?” He said, “I hear the prayer of the people of my love and I know them. The prayer of other than them is presented to me.”
