Surah Al-Ahzaab (33) — Ayah 56

56. 1. In this verse, the rank and status of the Prophet ﷺ that he possesses in the (heavens) is mentioned, and that Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, praises and sends mercy upon him ﷺ, and the angels also pray for the elevation of his ﷺ ranks. Along with this, Allah Almighty has commanded the lower world (the people of the earth) to also send blessings and peace upon him ﷺ so that both the higher and lower worlds are united in his ﷺ praise. It is mentioned in the hadith that the noble companions ؓ submitted, "O Messenger of Allah! We know the method of sending peace (i.e., in at-tahiyyat we recite السلام علیک ایھا النبی!), but how should we send blessings (salat)?" Upon this, he ﷺ taught the Durood Ibrahim which is recited in prayer (Sahih Bukhari). Besides this, there are other forms of Durood mentioned in the hadith which can also be recited. Also, briefly reciting صلی اللہ علی رسول اللہ وسلم is permissible. However, reciting الصلوٰۃ والسلام علیک یارسول اللہ وسلم! is not Sahih because it is addressed directly to the Prophet ﷺ, and this form is not transmitted from the Prophet ﷺ at the time of general Durood, and since السلام علیک ایھا النبی! is transmitted from him in at-tahiyyat, there is no objection to reciting it at that time. Furthermore, if someone recites it with the corrupt belief that the Prophet ﷺ hears it directly, this corrupt belief is against the Quran and Hadith, and reciting the aforementioned fabricated Durood with this belief is also an innovation (bid‘ah), which is not rewardable but sinful. There are great virtues of Durood mentioned in the hadith. Is reciting it in prayer obligatory or Sunnah? The majority of scholars consider it Sunnah, while Imam Shafi‘i and many scholars consider it obligatory, and the hadith support its obligation. Similarly, from the hadith it is also known that just as reciting Durood in the last tashahhud is obligatory, reciting Durood in the first tashahhud has the same status. Therefore, reciting Durood in both tashahhuds of prayer is necessary. Its evidences are briefly as follows: One evidence is that in Musnad Ahmad, with an authentic chain, it is narrated that a person asked the Prophet ﷺ, "O Messenger of Allah, we have learned how to send peace upon you (that we recite السلام علیک in tashahhud), but when we are in prayer, how should we send blessings upon you?" So he ﷺ taught Durood Ibrahim (Al-Fath al-Rabbani). Besides Musnad Ahmad, this narration is also in Sahih Ibn Hibban, Sunan Kubra Bayhaqi, Mustadrak Hakim, and Ibn Khuzaymah. In it, there is a clear statement that just as peace is recited in prayer, i.e., in tashahhud, similarly, this question was also about reciting Durood in prayer. The Prophet ﷺ commanded to recite Durood Ibrahim, from which it is known that along with peace, Durood should also be recited in prayer, and its place is tashahhud. And in the hadith, this is general; it is not specified for the first or second tashahhud, from which it is correct to infer that in both (first and second) tashahhuds, peace and Durood should be recited. And the narrations in which tashahhud is mentioned without Durood will be considered as before the revelation of the verse of Surah Ahzab "صلوا علیہ وسلموا" (33:56), but after the revelation of this verse, i.e., after 5 AH, when the Prophet ﷺ, upon the companions' inquiry, also stated the words of Durood, then now reciting Salat (Durood Sharif) along with peace in prayer has also become necessary, whether it is the first tashahhud or the second. Another evidence for this is that Hazrat Aisha narrated that (sometimes) he ﷺ would perform 9 rak‘ahs at night, would sit for tashahhud in the eighth rak‘ah, supplicate to his Lord in it, and send Durood upon His Messenger, then without saying salam, would stand up and complete the ninth rak‘ah, then sit for tashahhud, supplicate to his Lord, send Durood upon His Messenger, and then supplicate, then say salam (Al-Sunan al-Kubra, also see Sifat Salat al-Nabi by Al-Albani). In this, it is absolutely clear that the Prophet ﷺ recited Durood in both the first and last tashahhud in his night prayer. Although this is an incident of voluntary prayer, the aforementioned general evidences are supported by this action of the Prophet ﷺ, so restricting it only to voluntary prayer would not be correct.