Surah Al-Ahzaab (33) — Ayah 56

(Ayah 56) ➊ The explanation of the word {اِنَّ اللّٰهَ وَ مَلٰٓىِٕكَتَهٗ يُصَلُّوْنَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ … :} in {’’صلاة‘‘} has already passed previously in verse (43), regarding what {’’صلاة‘‘} means in relation to Allah, the angels, and the believers. In this surah, several special characteristics granted to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) by Allah are mentioned, such as his having more right over the believers than their own selves, the permissibility for him to have more than four wives, his being the Seal of the Prophets, his wives being the Mothers of the Believers, the special observance of their veil and respect, and the prohibition of marrying his wives after him, etc. The word { ’’ اِنَّ ‘‘} is generally used for reasoning, i.e., to state the reason for the previous matters. In the verse under explanation, the reason is mentioned for commanding the Muslims to pay special attention to the high ranks of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and to preserve and respect them. Ibn Kathir says: “The purpose of this verse is that Allah, the Exalted, is informing about the high status and rank of His servant and Prophet in the highest assembly of the heavens, that Allah Himself praises and extols him and sends mercy and blessings upon him, and His angels also pray for mercy, forgiveness, and elevation of ranks for him. After informing about the people of the heavens, now He commands the people of the earth that you too should send prayers and peace upon him, so that in praising and extolling him, and in praying for forgiveness, mercy, and blessings for him, both the higher world (the people of the heavens) and the lower world (the people of the earth) become united.”

➋ The last words of the verse indicate that some words are omitted in the speech, which are self-evident, i.e., from {’’ صَلُّوْا عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلِّمُوْا تَسْلِيْمًا ‘‘} it is clear that the beginning of the verse is like this: {’’ إِنَّ اللّٰهَ وَ مَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّوْنَ عَلَي النَّبِيِّ وَ يُسَلِّمُوْنَ‘‘} This is called ihtibak and it is a manifestation of the beauty of the divine speech. (Biqai) The mention of Allah’s peace upon the Prophets (peace be upon them) has come in the Qur’an separately, such as: « سَلٰمٌ عَلٰى نُوْحٍ فِي الْعٰلَمِيْنَ », « وَ سَلٰمٌ عَلٰۤى اِبْرٰهِيْمَ », etc., and collectively as well, such as: « وَ سَلٰمٌ عَلَى الْمُرْسَلِيْنَ » [ دیکھیے الصافات : ۷۹، ۱۰۹، ۱۸۱ ]

➌ Several wordings for sending prayers (salat) upon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) are narrated from him, all of which can be recited for this purpose. The most famous among them is the hadith of Ka‘b bin ‘Ujrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who says: [ سَأَلْنَا رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلَّمَ فَقُلْنَا يَا رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ! كَيْفَ الصَّلَاةُ عَلَيْكُمْ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ؟ فَإِنَّ اللّٰهَ قَدْ عَلَّمَنَا كَيْفَ نُسَلِّمُ، قَالَ قُوْلُوْا اَللّٰهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلٰی مُحَمَّدٍ وَّ عَلٰی آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ كَمَا صَلَّيْتَ عَلٰی إِبْرَاهِيْمَ وَ عَلٰی آلِ إِبْرَاهِيْمَ إِنَّكَ حَمِيْدٌ مَّجِيْدٌ، اَللّٰهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلٰی مُحَمَّدٍ وَّ عَلٰی آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ كَمَا بَارَكْتَ عَلٰی إِبْرَاهِيْمَ وَعَلٰی آلِ إِبْرَاهِيْمَ إِنَّكَ حَمِيْدٌ مَجِيْدٌ ] [ بخاري، أحادیث الأنبیاء، باب : ۳۳۷۰ ] “We asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): ‘We said: How should we send prayers upon you, the People of the House (Ahl al-Bayt)? For Allah has taught us how to send peace upon you.’ He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Say: O Allah, send prayers upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent prayers upon Ibrahim and upon the family of Ibrahim, indeed You are Praiseworthy, Glorious. And O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent blessings upon Ibrahim and upon the family of Ibrahim, indeed You are Praiseworthy, Glorious.’” In this hadith and other ahadith, the Companions’ statement that Allah has taught us how to send peace upon you refers to the teaching of peace in the tashahhud of prayer. ‘Abdullah bin Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: [ عَلَّمَنِيْ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلَّمَ، وَ كَفِّيْ بَيْنَ كَفَّيْهِ، التَّشَهُّدَ كَمَا يُعَلِّمُنِي السُّوْرَةَ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ : اَلتَّحِيَّاتُ لِلّٰهِ وَالصَّلَوَاتُ وَالطَّيِّبَاتُ، اَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ اَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ وَ رَحْمَةُ اللّٰهِ وَ بَرَكَاتُهُ، اَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْنَا وَ عَلٰی عِبَادِ اللّٰهِ الصَّالِحِيْنَ، أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَّا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ وَ أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَ رَسُوْلُهُ ] [بخاري، الاستئذان، باب الأخذ بالیدین : ۶۲۶۵ ] “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) taught me the tashahhud as he would teach me a surah of the Qur’an, and at that time my palm was between his two palms: ‘All verbal acts of worship are for Allah, and all physical acts of worship and all financial acts of worship. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Peace be upon us and upon the righteous servants of Allah. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger.’”

Just as this hadith shows that the teaching of acting upon {’’ سَلِّمُوْا تَسْلِيْمًا ‘‘} in the verse is given by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) within the tashahhud of prayer with the words of peace, similarly, the Companions requested from him (peace and blessings be upon him) the words of salat to be recited in prayer. Thus, Abu Mas‘ud ‘Uqbah bin ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) says: [ أَقْبَلَ رَجُلٌ حَتّٰی جَلَسَ بَيْنَ يَدَيْ رَسُوْلِ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلَّمَ وَ نَحْنُ عِنْدَهُ فَقَالَ يَا رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ! اَمَّا السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ فَقَدْ عَرَفْنَاهُ فَكَيْفَ نُصَلِّيْ عَلَيْكَ إِذَا نَحْنُ صَلَّيْنَا فِيْ صَلَاتِنَا صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْكَ؟ قَالَ فَصَمَتَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلَّمَ حَتّٰی أَحْبَبْنَا أَنَّ الرَّجُلَ لَمْ يَسْأَلْهُ فَقَالَ إِذَا أَنْتُمْ صَلَّيْتُمْ عَلَيَّ فَقُوْلُوْا اَللّٰهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلٰی مُحَمَّدٍ النَّبِيِّ الْأُمِّيِّ وَ عَلٰی آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ كَمَا صَلَّيْتَ عَلٰی إِبْرَاهِيْمَ وَ آلِ إِبْرَاهِيْمَ وَ بَارِكْ عَلٰی مُحَمَّدٍ النَّبِيِّ الْأُمِّيِّ كَمَا بَارَكْتَ عَلیٰ إِبْرَاهِيْمَ وَعَلٰی آلِ إِبْرَاهِيْمَ إِنَّكَ حَمِيْدٌ مَجِيْدٌ ] [مسند أحمد : 119/4، ح : ۱۷۰۷۶، مسند احمد کے محقق نے بارہ کتب حدیث سے اس حدیث کا حوالہ نقل کر کے اس کی صحت بیان فرمائی ہے ] “A man came and sat in front of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) while we were present with him. He said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! We have come to know how to send peace upon you, now how should we send prayers upon you when we send prayers upon you in our prayer (may Allah send prayers upon you)?’ The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) remained silent for a while, until we wished that the man had not asked this question, then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘When you send prayers upon me, then say like this.’ So he (peace and blessings be upon him) taught the words of salat mentioned above in the hadith.”

From the command of Allah in the Qur’an {’’صَلُّوْا عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلِّمُوْا تَسْلِيْمًا ‘‘} and from the Messenger of Allah’s (peace and blessings be upon him) personal teaching of the words of peace and salat in the tashahhud of prayer, it is clear that at least in prayer, reciting this salat and salam is necessary. The statement of some people is surprising that sending salat and salam is obligatory only once in a lifetime. Rather, they say that even the testimony of faith (kalimah shahadah) is obligatory to be recited only once in a lifetime at the time of accepting Islam. Whereas, apart from prayer, the command to recite the testimony of faith is also given in every tashahhud, in responding to the adhan, and at several other places. Even more surprising is that these people claim consensus (ijma‘) of the ummah on the obligation of reciting the kalimah and salat only once in a lifetime, whereas they know well how many great imams have considered reciting salat and salam in prayer to be obligatory, yet they persist in their incorrect claim of consensus. In Tafsir Ibn Kathir, there are several occasions mentioned where the command to recite salat is given.

➍ In many ahadith, there is emphasis on sending salat upon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) when his mention occurs. ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ اَلْبَخِيْلُ الَّذِيْ مَنْ ذُكِرْتُ عِنْدَهُ فَلَمْ يُصَلِّ عَلَيَّ ] [ ترمذي، الدعوات، باب رغم أنف رجل ذکرت عندہ… : ۳۵۴۶ ] “The miser is the one in whose presence I am mentioned and he does not send salat upon me.” Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ رَغِمَ أَنْفُ رَجُلٍ ذُكِرْتُ عِنْدَهُ فَلَمْ يُصَلِّ عَلَيَّ وَ رَغِمَ أَنْفُ رَجُلٍ دَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ رَمَضَانُ ثُمَّ انْسَلَخَ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُغْفَرَ لَهُ وَ رَغِمَ أَنْفُ رَجُلٍ أَدْرَكَ عِنْدَهُ أَبَوَاهُ الْكِبَرَ فَلَمْ يُدْخِلاَهُ الْجَنَّةَ ] [ ترمذي، الدعوات، باب رغم أنف رجل ذکرت عندہ… : ۳۵۴۵، و قال الألباني حسن صحیح ] “May his nose be rubbed in dust, the one in whose presence I am mentioned and he does not send salat upon me; and may his nose be rubbed in dust, the one upon whom Ramadan comes and passes before he is forgiven; and may his nose be rubbed in dust, the one whose parents reach old age with him and they do not cause him to enter Paradise.” According to these ahadith, it is obligatory to send salat upon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) when he is mentioned. Although it is preferable to send salat every time his name is mentioned, and this is the view of the hadith scholars, however, if in a gathering his name is mentioned and one sends salat once, it is hoped that he will be saved from the warning of not sending salat. As Imam Tirmidhi has narrated from some scholars, because the wording of the hadith allows for this, and it is also supported by another hadith mentioned ahead in benefit (6).

➎ The words in which salat is recited upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in prayer can also be recited outside of prayer, but it can also be recited in brief words, as all the Companions, whenever they narrated a hadith from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) or mentioned his name, would say the words {’’صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلَّمَ‘‘}, as is proven from all the ahadith in all the books of hadith. If every hadith narrator had not heard these words from his teacher, and even the Tabi‘i from the Companion, they would not have transmitted them, because they were extremely trustworthy in transmission. Rather, from one hadith it is known that the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) would remember any past moment with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and would recite this brief salat. Thus, in Bukhari, the freed slave of Asma’ bint Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with them), ‘Abdullah, narrates: [ أَنَّهُ كَانَ يَسْمَعُ أَسْمَاءَ تَقُوْلُ كُلَّمَا مَرَّتْ بِالْحَجُوْنِ : صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلٰی رَسُوْلِهِ مُحَمَّدٍ لَقَدْ نَزَلْنَا مَعَهُ هَاهُنَا، وَ نَحْنُ يَوْمَئِذٍ خِفَافٌ ] [بخاري، العمرۃ، باب متی یحل المعتمر؟ : ۱۷۹۶ ] “Whenever Asma’ (may Allah be pleased with her) passed by Hajun, she would say {’’صَلَّي اللّٰهُ عَلٰي رَسُوْلِهِ مُحَمَّدٍ‘‘} ‘We camped here with him, in those days we were light and unburdened.’” From this it is known that at the time of mentioning the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in a good way, there is consensus of the Companions on the words {’’صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلَّمَ‘‘}. However, the word {’’الصلاة‘‘} in the form of direct address to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), such as {’’اَلصَّلَاةُ عَلَيْكَ يَا رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ!‘‘}, is not proven from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) or any Companion, because the creation does not possess salat (mercy and blessings), so they can only supplicate to Allah to send it down.

➏ Many ahadith are narrated regarding the virtue of sending salat upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the warning for not doing so. Here, two ahadith are mentioned: (1) ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin al-‘As (may Allah be pleased with them) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ إِذَا سَمِعْتُمُ الْمُؤَذِّنَ فَقُوْلُوْا مِثْلَ مَا يَقُوْلُ ثُمَّ صَلُّوْا عَلَيَّ فَإِنَّهُ مَنْ صَلّٰی عَلَيَّ صَلَاةً صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ بِهَا عَشْرًا ] [ مسلم، الصلاۃ، باب استحباب القول مثل قول المؤذن… : ۳۸۴ ] “When you hear the mu’adhdhin, say as he says, then send salat upon me, for whoever sends salat upon me once, Allah sends salat upon him ten times in return.” (2) Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ مَا جَلَسَ قَوْمٌ مَجْلِسًا لَمْ يَذْكُرُوا اللّٰهَ فِيْهِ وَ لَمْ يُصَلُّوْا عَلٰی نَبِيِّهِمْ إِلاَّ كَانَ عَلَيْهِمْ تِرَةً فَإِنْ شَاءَ عَذَّبَهُمْ وَ إِنْ شَاءَ غَفَرَ لَهُمْ ] [ ترمذي، الدعوات، باب ما جاء في القوم یجلسون… : ۳۳۸۰، و قال الألباني صحیح ] “No people sit in a gathering in which they do not remember Allah nor send salat upon their Prophet, except that it will be a cause of regret for them on the Day of Resurrection. Then if He wills, He will punish them, and if He wills, He will forgive them.”