Adapted from the book: Zikr-e-Mustafa ﷺ by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Ameenpuri
Sending salutations (salāt and salām) such as:
الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ
“O blessings and peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah!”
before the Adhān has no basis in the Sharīʿah of Muḥammad ﷺ.
None of the following are reported to have practiced this:
◈ The noble Ṣaḥābah (Companions)
◈ The eminent Tābiʿūn (Successors)
◈ The respected Atbāʿ al-Tābiʿīn (Successors of the Successors)
◈ The revered Imāms of Islam
❀ Shaykh Ghulām Rasūl Saʿīdī رحمه الله states:
“Sending blessings before the Adhān is not proven from the Prophet ﷺ or the Companions.”
[Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Vol. 1, p. 1092]
❀ Imām Ibn Ḥajar al-Haytamī رحمه الله (d. 974 AH) said:
"We have not found in any ḥadīth a mention of sending blessings before the Adhān or after 'Muḥammad Rasūlullāh' during it. None of our scholars have ever endorsed this either. Thus, anyone who considers these specific placements as Sunnah should be prohibited. This is legislation without evidence, and such an act is to be rejected and prevented.”
[al-Fatāwā al-Fiqhiyyah al-Kubrā: 1/131]
❀ Imām Ibn al-Ḥājj رحمه الله (d. 737 AH) wrote:
“Sending blessings on the Prophet ﷺ was innovated in four places where it never existed during the time of the early generations. All goodness lies in following them. Although sending salām upon the Prophet ﷺ is a great act of worship, it must be done only in its legislated times and places as established by the Sharīʿah and the practice of the pious predecessors.”
[al-Madkhal: 2/249–250]
Innovation (bidʿah) constantly evolves, adapting to different times and places. However, Sunnah remains consistent, for it is based on following. In contrast, bidʿah is man-made, hence altered by people according to their local practices.
Sending blessings before Adhān has also undergone various forms since its origin.
❀ Imām Ibn Ḥajar al-Haytamī رحمه الله further states:
“The practice of Mu’adhins sending blessings on the Prophet ﷺ after the Adhān of the five daily prayers (except Fajr, Jumuʿah, and often Maghrib due to limited time) began during the reign of Sultan Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Ayyūbī in Egypt.
Originally, the Mu’adhins were ordered by the sister of the deposed ruler to send salām upon her son. Later, Salah al-Dīn abolished this and replaced it with salām upon the Prophet ﷺ — which was commendable.
However, when our scholars were consulted about the method of sending salām after Adhān, they ruled that the act in itself is Sunnah, but its particular method is innovation — and this is clear.”
[al-Fatāwā al-Fiqhiyyah al-Kubrā: 1/131]
Acceptance of deeds depends on following the Qur’ān and Sunnah. Even saluting the Prophet ﷺ must be done in legislated ways, otherwise it becomes an innovation.
❀ Nafiʿ ibn Jubayr رحمه الله reported:
A man sneezed beside Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما and said:
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ
"All praise is due to Allah, and peace upon the Messenger of Allah."
Ibn ʿUmar responded:
“I also say الحمد لله and send peace upon the Messenger of Allah, but this is not what the Prophet ﷺ taught us to say upon sneezing.
He instructed us to say:
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ عَلَى كُلِّ حَالٍ
'All praise is due to Allah in every circumstance.'”
[Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 2738; Musnad al-Ḥārith; al-Mustadrak: 4/265-266; Shuʿab al-Īmān: 8884]
Ḥāfiẓ al-Ḥākim graded it Ṣaḥīḥ al-Isnād, and al-Dhahabī agreed.
❀ Imām al-Suyūṭī رحمه الله (849–911 AH) said:
“Since a specific dhikr has been legislated for sneezing, diverting from it or adding to it is deviation from the Sharīʿah, and that constitutes a blameworthy innovation.”
[al-Ḥāwī li’l-Fatāwī: 1/254–255]
While sending salutations after the Adhān is recommended, doing so loudly and repeatedly as some Mu’adhins do is an innovation — unsupported by any authentic evidence and unknown to the Salaf.
❀ Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī رحمه الله (d. 1014 AH) wrote:
“What the Mu’adhins do today — announcing salām repeatedly after Adhān — the practice itself is Sunnah, but its method is an innovation.”
[Mirqāt al-Mafātīḥ: 2/349–350]
Some suggest reciting salāt on the Prophet ﷺ after washing each limb during wuḍū’.
❀ A fatwa reads:
“One should send peace and blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ after washing each limb.”
[Fatāwā ʿĀlamgīriyyah: 1/9; Radd al-Muḥtār: 1/127]
This is a baseless innovation. Neither the Qur’ān nor authentic Sunnah contains any such instruction, and the early Muslims were unfamiliar with it.
Sending salutations collectively after Jumuʿah prayer has no basis in authentic Sharīʿah evidence.
While sending salām upon the Prophet ﷺ is undoubtedly rewarding, assigning it a specific time or collective form is not permissible unless proven by authentic practice.
No report exists of the Prophet ﷺ, the Companions, or the early scholars ever doing this.
The belief that the Prophet ﷺ personally arrives during collective salutations is not only irrational but also unprecedented among early Muslims.
To claim that he comes physically after his passing is a dangerous innovation that contradicts both sound belief and the Qur’ān and Sunnah.
The Salaf al-Ṣāliḥīn never held such a belief. They were the most firm upon the Qur’ān and Sunnah, and if such beliefs had any basis, they would have certainly known and practiced them.
❖ Islam is Defined by Qur’ān and Sunnah
Sending salutations (salāt and salām) such as:
الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ
“O blessings and peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah!”
before the Adhān has no basis in the Sharīʿah of Muḥammad ﷺ.
None of the following are reported to have practiced this:
◈ The noble Ṣaḥābah (Companions)
◈ The eminent Tābiʿūn (Successors)
◈ The respected Atbāʿ al-Tābiʿīn (Successors of the Successors)
◈ The revered Imāms of Islam
❀ Shaykh Ghulām Rasūl Saʿīdī رحمه الله states:
“Sending blessings before the Adhān is not proven from the Prophet ﷺ or the Companions.”
[Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Vol. 1, p. 1092]
❖ Sayings of Scholars
❀ Imām Ibn Ḥajar al-Haytamī رحمه الله (d. 974 AH) said:
"We have not found in any ḥadīth a mention of sending blessings before the Adhān or after 'Muḥammad Rasūlullāh' during it. None of our scholars have ever endorsed this either. Thus, anyone who considers these specific placements as Sunnah should be prohibited. This is legislation without evidence, and such an act is to be rejected and prevented.”
[al-Fatāwā al-Fiqhiyyah al-Kubrā: 1/131]
❀ Imām Ibn al-Ḥājj رحمه الله (d. 737 AH) wrote:
“Sending blessings on the Prophet ﷺ was innovated in four places where it never existed during the time of the early generations. All goodness lies in following them. Although sending salām upon the Prophet ﷺ is a great act of worship, it must be done only in its legislated times and places as established by the Sharīʿah and the practice of the pious predecessors.”
[al-Madkhal: 2/249–250]
❖ Innovation Changes with Time and Place
Innovation (bidʿah) constantly evolves, adapting to different times and places. However, Sunnah remains consistent, for it is based on following. In contrast, bidʿah is man-made, hence altered by people according to their local practices.
Sending blessings before Adhān has also undergone various forms since its origin.
❀ Imām Ibn Ḥajar al-Haytamī رحمه الله further states:
“The practice of Mu’adhins sending blessings on the Prophet ﷺ after the Adhān of the five daily prayers (except Fajr, Jumuʿah, and often Maghrib due to limited time) began during the reign of Sultan Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Ayyūbī in Egypt.
Originally, the Mu’adhins were ordered by the sister of the deposed ruler to send salām upon her son. Later, Salah al-Dīn abolished this and replaced it with salām upon the Prophet ﷺ — which was commendable.
However, when our scholars were consulted about the method of sending salām after Adhān, they ruled that the act in itself is Sunnah, but its particular method is innovation — and this is clear.”
[al-Fatāwā al-Fiqhiyyah al-Kubrā: 1/131]
❖ Bidʿah Salutations After Adhān
Acceptance of deeds depends on following the Qur’ān and Sunnah. Even saluting the Prophet ﷺ must be done in legislated ways, otherwise it becomes an innovation.
❀ Nafiʿ ibn Jubayr رحمه الله reported:
A man sneezed beside Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما and said:
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ
"All praise is due to Allah, and peace upon the Messenger of Allah."
Ibn ʿUmar responded:
“I also say الحمد لله and send peace upon the Messenger of Allah, but this is not what the Prophet ﷺ taught us to say upon sneezing.
He instructed us to say:
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ عَلَى كُلِّ حَالٍ
'All praise is due to Allah in every circumstance.'”
[Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 2738; Musnad al-Ḥārith; al-Mustadrak: 4/265-266; Shuʿab al-Īmān: 8884]
Ḥāfiẓ al-Ḥākim graded it Ṣaḥīḥ al-Isnād, and al-Dhahabī agreed.❀ Imām al-Suyūṭī رحمه الله (849–911 AH) said:
“Since a specific dhikr has been legislated for sneezing, diverting from it or adding to it is deviation from the Sharīʿah, and that constitutes a blameworthy innovation.”
[al-Ḥāwī li’l-Fatāwī: 1/254–255]
❖ Innovations During Wuḍū’ (Ablution)
While sending salutations after the Adhān is recommended, doing so loudly and repeatedly as some Mu’adhins do is an innovation — unsupported by any authentic evidence and unknown to the Salaf.
❀ Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī رحمه الله (d. 1014 AH) wrote:
“What the Mu’adhins do today — announcing salām repeatedly after Adhān — the practice itself is Sunnah, but its method is an innovation.”
[Mirqāt al-Mafātīḥ: 2/349–350]
❖ Collective Salutations After Jumuʿah
Some suggest reciting salāt on the Prophet ﷺ after washing each limb during wuḍū’.
❀ A fatwa reads:
“One should send peace and blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ after washing each limb.”
[Fatāwā ʿĀlamgīriyyah: 1/9; Radd al-Muḥtār: 1/127]
This is a baseless innovation. Neither the Qur’ān nor authentic Sunnah contains any such instruction, and the early Muslims were unfamiliar with it.❖ Misbelief: The Prophet ﷺ Physically Arrives
Sending salutations collectively after Jumuʿah prayer has no basis in authentic Sharīʿah evidence.
While sending salām upon the Prophet ﷺ is undoubtedly rewarding, assigning it a specific time or collective form is not permissible unless proven by authentic practice.
No report exists of the Prophet ﷺ, the Companions, or the early scholars ever doing this.❖ Misbelief: The Prophet ﷺ Physically Arrives
The belief that the Prophet ﷺ personally arrives during collective salutations is not only irrational but also unprecedented among early Muslims.
To claim that he comes physically after his passing is a dangerous innovation that contradicts both sound belief and the Qur’ān and Sunnah.
The Salaf al-Ṣāliḥīn never held such a belief. They were the most firm upon the Qur’ān and Sunnah, and if such beliefs had any basis, they would have certainly known and practiced them.