بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
Reciting Surah Kahf (the 18th Surah in the Qur'an) on Friday is a well-known Sunnah that we should strive to follow. This Surah gives us the message that those who believe in Allah and ask for protection from Him, He gives them the best protection the likes of which the world has never seen.
Besides this illuminating message, there’s a simple sunnah— with amazing virtues— created specifically for Fridays. It is invocating blessings and peace upon the Prophet salallahu ‘alayhi wassallam (salawat).
Among the greatest means of obtaining ease in times of hardship is invocating blessings and peace upon the Prophet of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace), which the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) himself clarified for us how in a tradition narrated by Ubayy bin Ka’ab (may Allah be pleased with him), who said; ‘I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I supplicate often, so how much of my supplication should I devote to you?’ He replied, ‘as you desire’. I said, ‘a quarter of it?’ He said ‘as you desire, but if you were to increase upon this, it would be better for you.’ I said, ‘half of it?’ He said, ‘as you desire, but if you were to increase upon this, it would be better for you.’ I said, ‘two-thirds of it?’ He said again, ‘as you desire, but if you were to increase upon this, it would be better for you.’ Finally I said, ‘and if I dedicate my supplication in its entirety to you?’ He said, ‘then your needs will be satisfied, and your sins forgiven.’[Ahmad, Tirmidhi, and Hakim]
It is clear that he whom Allah satisfies his worldly needs has been truly blessed with Allah’s kindness and mercy. He also has been given security from all that he fears, and has attained the utmost protection from all harm and evils; indeed he is carried aboard the ship of salvation. This means he is secure from all things which create worries and needs, secure from poverty, debt, subjugation, weakness, disease, fear, and all other calamities and disasters; he has guaranteed that his worldly affairs will be upright and good. . And should he obtain, alongside this, forgiveness from the sins and salvation from the perils of the Day of Resurrection, so that he may enter Paradise in peace, he has most certainly guaranteed that his affairs in the Hereafter will be good and upright, too.
What more could the worshiper require besides this? And all of this is obtained through invoking blessings and peace upon the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace); with it lies the key to guaranteeing goodness in the affairs of this life, and in the Hereafter.
What happens when you invoke blessings and peace upon the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam?
1 Responding to the order of Allah, Exalted and Magnificent:
إِنَّ اللَّـهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ ۚ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا ﴿٥٦
Indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [Allah to grant him] peace. (56) [Qur'an, Al-Ahzab 33:56]
2 Following the lead of Allah, Exalted and Magnificent in the sending of blessings upon His Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace), although the blessings (Salawat) differ, being from us supplication and request, and being from Allah exaltation and ennoblement.
3 Following the Angels in invocation of the Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace), also.
4 It is a means to gain ten blessings from Allah for the one who invokes one blessing upon His Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace).
5 He who sends blessing upon the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace), Allah raises him by ten degrees.
6 He also has written for him ten good deeds.
7 He also has erased from his record ten bad deeds.
8 The invocation increases the chance of one's supplication being answered if it follows the supplication, as the invocation of blessings upon the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) lifts those supplications up to the Lord of the Worlds which were stalled between the heavens and the earth.
9 It is a means to receive the intercession of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), whether or not a specific intercession is sought.
10 It is a means to have one's sins forgiven.
11 It is a means for Allah to satisfy his bondman’s worldly needs.
12 It is a means to draw near to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) on the Day of Resurrection.
13 It compensates for giving charity for those who are too poor to give it.
14 It is a means of fulfilling one's needs (Qada’ al-Hawa’ij)
15 It is a means to receive the Prophet's (Allah bless him and give him peace) blessings, and the Angels likewise.
16 It is a means of purification for he who invokes it.
17 For one who sends blessings on him (may Allah bless him and give him peace) it is glad tidings in his life that he has been granted his place in Paradise as is mentioned by Al-Hafiz Abu Musa in his book on the matter, for which he brought Hadith as evidence.
18 It is a means of salvation from the horrors of the Day of Resurrection, as also mentioned by Abu Musa with evidence.
19 It is a means for the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) to return the blessings and greeting upon he who invokes it.
20 It is a means of ennobling a meeting or gathering and a means to prevent any ill talk or conduct occurring therein, so that it will not return upon its participants as a hardship on the Day of Resurrection.[9]
21 It is a means to remember something which has been forgotten.
22 It is a safeguard against poverty.
23 It saves one from being branded a miser if one were to omit it upon the Prophet’s name (may Allah bless him and give him peace) being mentioned.
24 It saves one from being cursed and disgraced because the one who omits the blessings and prayers upon hearing the Prophet's name (Allah bless him and give him peace) risks receiving Allah's anger.
25 It keeps the one who invokes it steadfast upon the path to Paradise, and keeps he who neglects it from traveling the path.
26 It safeguards a meeting from turning ill; a meeting without the mention of Allah Exalted and His Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace), and without the praise and glorification of Allah and the invocation of blessings on His Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) has no blessing nor benefit.
27 It is a cause for the perfection of any speech which begins with the praise of Allah the Exalted and the blessings of His Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace).
28 It is a cause for the bondman to find light cast in abundance in his life to guide him on the Straight Path.
29 It refines the worshiper's character and manners.
30 It is a means for Allah to preserve those in the heavens and the earth praising and commending he who invokes it.
31 It is a means of the worshiper to obtain blessing for himself in his work, life and provision.
32 It is a means of obtaining the mercy of Allah.
33 It sustains, increases and multiplies love for the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace), which is among the core bases of Faith, without which faith cannot be complete.
34 It earns the Prophet’s (Allah bless him and give him peace) love for the bondsman.
35 It is a means of the worshiper’s guidance, and a source of vitality for his heart.
36 It causes the worshiper’s name to be shown to the Prophet, and the mention of the worshiper to him (may Allah bless him and give him peace).
37 It is a means for the worshiper to find ease upon crossing the pass over the Hellfire.
38 Invoking blessing and peace upon the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) is an infinitesimal recompense of his right upon us, and of the thanks which we owe for the grace which Allah has bestowed upon us by sending him (Allah bless him and give him peace), although what he truly deserves is innumerable, either for us to comprehend or to bestow, or even to will. However Allah, because of His Boundless Generosity, is pleased with His servants even with the small amount of thanks they can offer.
39 Invoking blessing and peace upon the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) in itself contains remembrance of Allah the Exalted, and is an expression of thanks to Him and a recognition of His immense favor upon His servants by sending him (Allah bless him and give him peace).
The most famous and best is: “Allahumma salli alaa Muhammadin wa alaa ali Muhammadin, kama sallayta alaa Ibraheem wa alaa ali Ibrahim” [Faydul Qadeer #1403]
Make sure to increase your salutations on the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassalaam today and every Friday. Remind yourself by setting an alarm on Fridays. Inform and teach others, inshaa’Allah.
May Allah grant us tawfiq and increase our love for His beloved Messenger sallallahu alayhi wassallam.
And Allah knows best and He alone grant success.
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam.
Wassalaam
adapted from http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/misc/salawat.htm
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