Reciting Durood before Adhan
Hafiz ur-Rahman Qadri Barelvi Sahib writes that in the blessed Hadith it is mentioned that before every good deed, praising Allah Almighty and sending blessings and salutations upon the Prophet makes that deed more blessed. Calling the Adhan is also a good deed; therefore, it is recommended to recite blessings and salutations before it as well. It cannot be considered obligatory. If it were obligatory, then before the Adhan given before the Friday sermon, blessings and salutations would also be recited, but this is not done because this act is recommended. If someone recites it, they receive reward; if not, there is no punishment. The real trial occurs when the one who recites it is called bad. There are numerous evidences for this as well. In the Holy Quran, in Surah Al-Ahzab, Allah Almighty says:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ ۚ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا
Indeed, Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. O you who have believed, ask [Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [Allah to grant him] peace.
In this blessed verse, the command to send blessings and salutations is given to the believers. If someone forbids reciting it before the Adhan, then the one forbidding should provide evidence, not the one reciting, because the reciter is acting under the command of this Quranic verse. God willing, the forbidding person cannot present any evidence. If someone presents evidence, it is only that Hazrat Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him), the Mu’adhdhin of the Prophet (peace be upon him), did not recite blessings before the Adhan, so why do you recite? In my opinion, a great slander is cast upon Hazrat Bilal al-Habashi (may Allah be pleased with him), who was such a great lover of the Prophet (peace be upon him), by saying that he did not recite blessings while indicating the name of the Master of the Two Worlds in the Adhan اشهد ان محمد رسول الله. The reality is that there were no speakers before, so blessings and salutations were recited softly before the Adhan, and the voice did not travel far. Now that speakers have been invented, even softly reciting can be heard far away. If the mention of blessings and salutations before the Adhan becomes known, it becomes part of the Adhan, whereas we do not consider it part of the Adhan.
Answer:
Qadri Sahib has said that there is a hadith in which it is stated that before every good deed, one should recite praise and glorification of Allah Almighty and send blessings and peace upon the Prophet, and this makes the deed more blessed. But where is this hadith? Who narrated it and in which book is it found? The gentleman has not given any reference. In reality, there is no hadith with these exact words in any authentic book; this is a lie attributed to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. If reciting praise, glorification, and blessings before every good deed brings blessings, then why do the Barelvi people not recite praise, glorification, and blessings at the beginning of the call to prayer (adhan) before the sermon? Is this not a good deed that is left devoid of blessings? When the adhan is given in a child’s ear, they do not recite blessings and peace; is this not a good deed in their view? Why is it left devoid of blessings?
When the iqamah is called for prayer, why is praise, glorification, blessings, and peace not recited before it? Is this not a good deed? Why is it left devoid of blessings? Or if it is forbidden to recite at this occasion, then what is the evidence for that?
Qadri Sahib says if someone recites it, there is reward, and if not, there is no punishment. If reciting it is rewarded, then why is a rewarded act abandoned? Qadri Sahib has presented a verse from Surah Al-Ahzab as evidence, which has nothing to do with reciting blessings and peace before the adhan. If it meant to recite blessings and peace before the adhan, then was this blessed verse not present in the Quran during the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them? If it was, then why did they not understand this issue, which Qadri Sahib and other Barelvi people have understood? If they understood it, then why did they not act upon it?
The correct meaning of the blessed verse in the light of Hadith is as follows:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ ۚ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا
Indeed, Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ. O you who have believed, ask [Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [Allah to grant him] peace.
And ask [Allah to grant him] peace abundantly. Abu Alia, may Allah have mercy on him, said that if the word صلوة is attributed to Allah, it means that He praises and glorifies the Prophet ﷺ in front of the angels. If it is attributed to the angels, it means they pray for mercy. يصلون means to pray for blessings.
When this verse was revealed, the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, asked:
عن ابن أبى ليلى ، عن كعب بن عجرة رضى الله عنه قيل: يارسول الله ، أما السلام عليك فقد عرفناه، فكيف الصلاة؟ قال: قولوا : اللهم صل على محمد وعلى آل محمد، كما صليت على آل إبراهيم، إنك حميد مجيد، اللهم بارك على محمد وعلى آل محمد، كما باركت على آل إبراهيم، إنك حميد مجيد
Hazrat Ka’b bin Ujrah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrates that it was asked from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: O Messenger of Allah, we have learned how to send salutations upon you, but how should we send blessings (صلوة) upon you? The Prophet ﷺ said: Recite like this: O Allah, send Your mercy upon our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and upon his family as You sent mercy upon Ibrahim (Abraham) and his family. Indeed, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious. O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad ﷺ and upon his family as You sent blessings upon Ibrahim and his family. Indeed, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ taught this salutation and method. According to the blessed hadith, the meaning of the verse is what the Messenger of Allah ﷺ understood and what the Companions and the Followers, may Allah have mercy on them, understood after him. Qadri Sahib is inventing a method to recite the salutation before the call to prayer. Now we take the tafsir of the verse as explained by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, not the baseless statement of Qadri Sahib. Similarly, there is another hadith:
عن أبى سعيد الخدري رضى الله عنه قال: قلنا: يارسول الله ، هذا التسليم فكيف نصلي عليك؟ قال: قولوا اللهم صل على محمد عبدك ورسولك، كما صليت على آل إبراهيم، وبارك على محمد وعلى آل محمد، كما باركت على إبراهيم
Hazrat Abu Sa’id Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that we asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: O Messenger of Allah, we have learned how to send salutations upon you, but how should we send blessings? The Prophet ﷺ said: Recite this salutation. The narration is as mentioned above.
Another blessed hadith is:
Narrated from Hazrat Abdur Rahman bin Abi Layla, may Allah have mercy on him, that we asked: O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, how should we send blessings upon you and your family, may Allah be pleased with them? The Prophet ﷺ said: Say:
اللہم صل علٰي محمد وعلٰٓي اٰل محمد كما صليت علٰٓي ابراهيم وعلٰٓي اٰل ابراهيم انك حميد مجيد. اللہم بارك علٰي محمد وعلٰٓي اٰل محمد كما باركت علٰٓي ابراهيم وعلٰٓي اٰل ابراهيم انك حميد مجيد
O Allah, send Your mercy upon Muhammad ﷺ and the family of Muhammad ﷺ as You sent Your mercy upon Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim. Indeed, You are the Most Praiseworthy, the Most Glorious. O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad ﷺ and the family of Muhammad ﷺ as You sent blessings upon Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim. Indeed, You are the Most Praiseworthy, the Most Glorious.
Sending blessings upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is among the best deeds. There is great virtue mentioned in the hadith. It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
من صلى على صلاة واحدة صلى الله عليه عشر صلوات وحطت عنه عشر خطيئات ورفعت له عشر درجات
Whoever sends blessings upon me once, Allah will send ten mercies upon him, forgive ten of his sins, and raise him ten degrees.
Similarly, it is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
البخيل الذى إذا ذكرت عنده فلم يصل علي
He is stingy who hears my mention and does not send blessings upon me.
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
أولى الناس بي يوم القيامة أكثرهم على صلاة
On the Day of Resurrection, those who will be closest to me are those who send the most blessings upon me.
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Whoever sends blessings upon me once, Allah will send ten mercies upon him.
In our view, sending blessings upon the noble person of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is the cause of eternal happiness. The one who denies blessings is an enemy of the Messenger ﷺ, disrespectful, stingiest, and most unfortunate person.
Sending blessings is the cause of nearness to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on the Day of Resurrection. We say: definitely send blessings, but send the Sunnah blessings. We do not accept invented blessings. The blessings that are not proven from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, are not the authentic blessings.
Reciting صلوة والسلام before the Adhan is by no means proven from the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the righteous companions (may Allah be pleased with them).
Qadri Sahib says that the one who forbids should bring evidence. This statement is completely wrong because the burden of proof is always on the positive claim. You should present evidence against these innovations. It is not a principle that if a prohibition is not mentioned in the Hadith, then one should freely continue doing it. This would open a large door for innovations, and Allah’s religion would become a toy.
Respected readers, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) only briefly forbade the innovations that would arise until the Day of Judgment by naming them separately. In hundreds of years, countless innovations have emerged and will continue to emerge. If the Prophet (peace be upon him) named all of them and forbade them, then why do you demand proof for every prohibition? For example, where is the prohibition of saying اشهد ان عليا ولي الله before the Adhan? If there is no prohibition, then it is permissible. In this way, Shia people say حي على خير العمل in their Adhan, but you do not say these words in your Adhan. Provide proof of its prohibition. Where is the prohibition of saying بسم الله in their Adhan? You do not say it; provide proof of its prohibition. They strike knives in Muharram; you do not. Provide proof of its prohibition. If someone gives Adhan before Eid prayer, provide proof of its prohibition. At the beginning of Surah At-Tawbah, you do not recite آمين; provide proof of its prohibition. Fajr prayer is two Rak’ahs obligatory; if someone prays four, provide proof of its prohibition.
Now it has become as clear as daylight that the burden is not to prove prohibition but to prove the act itself. Qadri Sahib says if someone presents evidence, it is that Hazrat Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him), who was the Mu’adhdhin of the Prophet (peace be upon him), did not recite Durood before the Adhan, so why do you recite it? In my opinion, this is a great slander on Bilal al-Habashi (may Allah be pleased with him), such a great lover of the Prophet (peace be upon him). To say about him, who pointed towards the Prophet during the Adhan, that he did not recite Durood, is wrong. The real fact is that there were no speakers before, so Durood was recited softly before the Adhan.
In response, it is said that the slander on Bilal al-Habashi (may Allah be pleased with him) is made by the one who claims that he recited Durood before the Adhan because there is no evidence from any Hadith for this. It is attributed to him. Kindly present a Hadith that Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) recited Durood softly before the Adhan. I am amazed that the companions of the Prophet (may Allah be pleased with them), the followers, and even Imam Abu Hanifa (may Allah have mercy on him), who lived in Makkah and Madinah, could not hear the Durood before the Adhan without a speaker, but Qadri Sahib, sitting in Pakistan fourteen hundred years later, heard it? I ask, how did people hear the Adhan without a speaker? The entire religion was heard by people without a speaker, but only the Durood before the Adhan could not be heard. Someone rightly said that lies have no legs. Our demand is that they present evidence that Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) recited Durood softly before the Adhan; otherwise, repent from this lie. May Allah grant Muslims the ability to avoid innovations and follow the Sunnah.
The intention of the heart was clear and pure like water
Those who saw it, saw it being muddied
