Ask Me Help Desk - About kiam of Milad

Wa alaikum salaam,
I am not sure I understood where the muslims are saying "ya rasool salaam alaika",but hope the following explains a bit more about what is required when sending blessings upon Muhammad (peace be upon him).

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The meaning of sending blessings upon the Prophet
My question is that I want to find out the meaning of ALL the durood shariff and its meanings in english.

Praise be to Allaah.

“Allaahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala Aali Muhammad kama salayta 'ala aali Ibraaheem, wa baarik 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aali Muhammad kama baarakta 'ala aali Ibraaheem innaka hameedun majeed (O Allaah, send prayers upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad as You sent prayers upon the family of Ibraaheem, and send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent blessings upon the family of Ibraaheem, You are indeed Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory).”

“Allaahumma” means, O Allaah.

“Salli 'ala Muhammad (send prayers upon Muhammad).” The prayers of Allaah upon Muhammad means His praising him before the higher assembly, i.e. the angels who are close to Him.

“Wa 'ala aali Muhammad (and upon the family of Muhammad)” means and send blessings upon the family of Muhammad. It was said that the family of Muhammad are his followers who follow his religion; or it was said that the family of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) are his relatives who believed. The first view is the one which is correct because the word “aal” (translated here as “family”) means followers.

“Kama salayta 'ala Ibraaheem (as You sent prayers upon the family of Ibraheem).” Some of the scholars said that what this means is: as You previously bestowed Your bounty upon the family of Ibraaheem, then bestow Your bounty upon Muhammad and His family.

“Baarik 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aali Muhammad (Send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad)” means send down blessings. Blessings means a lot of good things on a continuous and ongoing basis.

“Kama baarakta 'ala aali Ibraaheem (as You sent blessings upon the family of Ibraaheem)” i.e. O Lord, You bestowed Your favour upon the family of Ibraaheem and blessed them, so send blessings upon the family of Muhammad.

“Innaka hameedun majeed (You are indeed Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory). Hameed means praising and praiseworthy, praising His slaves and close friends who obey His commands, and praiseworthy, to be praised for His attributes of perfection and great blessings.

Majeed means Owner of Majesty. Majesty means greatness and perfect power.

Al-Sharh al-Mumti', 3/227.
Islam Q&A
Islam Question and Answer - The meaning of sending blessings upon the Prophet
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Every Muslim believes that sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is one of the noblest acts of worship and obedience, but the dhikrs have situations for which they are prescribed, and we should not transgress those limits or add to them. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) stated in Jala' al-Afhaam (327-445) all the situations in which it is prescribed to send blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), including: the tashahhud, at the end of Qunoot, during the funeral prayer, and in the khutbah when saying du'aa'. During the adhaan is not among them, rather after the muezzin finishes, one should send blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Jala' al-Afhaam (1/424):

Sending blessings upon the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), although it is one of the best and most beloved of deeds to Allaah, every dhikr has its own place and time, where no other can take its place. They said: hence it is not prescribed to send blessings upon him when bowing or prostrating or standing up straight after bowing. End quote.

Yes, there are ahaadeeth which strongly encourage sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), for example:

It was narrated from Husayn ibn 'Ali ibn Abi Taalib that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The miser is the one in whose presence I am mentioned and he does not send blessings upon me.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (3546) and classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Irwa' al-Ghaleel (1/35).

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “May his nose be rubbed in the dust, the one in whose presence I am mentioned and he does not send blessings upon me.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (3545) and classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi.

But the scholars explained the meanings of these ahaadeeth.

Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Fath al-Baari (11/168-169):

Those who said that it is obligatory to send blessings upon him every time he is mentioned based their view on the ahaadeeth quoted, because the prayer for their noses to be rubbed in the dust and describing them as misers imply a warning, and the warning for omitting something indicates that it is obligatory.

Those who did not regard it as obligatory responded in several ways, such as noting that it is an opinion which is not known from any of the Sahaabah or Taabi'een, so it is a fabricated view, and if that were understood in general terms, it would be obligatory for the muezzin when he gives the adhaan, and the one who hears him, and the reader when he comes across a mention of him in the Qur'aan, and it would be required of the person who enters Islam, when he recites the Shahaadatayn, but that would entail a lot of hardship and difficulty which is contrary to Islam. And praising Allaah whenever He is mentioned would be more deserving of being obligatory, but they did not say that. Al-Qadoori and other Hanafis stated that the view that it is obligatory to send blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) every time he is mentioned is contrary to the scholarly consensus that was present before this view was formed, because it is not narrated from any of the Sahaabah that they addressed the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) by saying “O Messenger of Allaah, may Allaah send blessings upon you,” and because if that were the case, the listener would never be free to do any other acts of worship.

They responded to what may be understood from the ahaadeeth by noting that they are only confirming the importance of sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and emphasizing it, and it is addressed to the one who habitually does not send blessings on him (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) at all. End quote.

So all of the ahaadeeth that were narrated concerning this topic refer to the places prescribed in sharee'ah, or gatherings in which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is mentioned in general terms; they do not mean that blessings should be sent on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when he is mentioned in the Shahaadatayn.

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Jala' al-Afhaam (1/393-394), when quoting the points in which he refuted the view of those who said it is obligatory to send blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) every time his name is mentioned:

1 – It is well known, beyond a doubt, that the righteous salaf who are our example did not mention the salawaat every time the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was mentioned. This happened innumerable times when they addressed him. They used to say: “O Messenger of Allaah,” and they limited it to that. One of them may have said “May Allaah send blessings upon you”, and this is very clear in many ahaadeeth. If sending blessings upon him had been obligatory when he was mentioned, he would have rebuked them for not doing it.

2 – If it were obligatory to send blessings upon him every time he is mentioned, this would have been one of the most obvious obligations and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) would have explained it to his ummah in such a way that they would have no excuse and proof would be established.

3 – This view is not known from any of the Sahaabah, Taabi'een or those who came after them.

4 – If it were obligatory to send blessings upon him every time he is mentioned, then it would be obligatory for the muezzin to say: Ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasool-Allaah sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa salaam (I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)). But this is not prescribed for him in the adhaan, let alone made obligatory.

5 – It is obligatory for the one who hears the call and responds to it to send blessings upon him. The listener is enjoined to say what the muezzin says, which indicates that it is permissible to limit it to what he says: Ashhadu an laa ilaaha ill-Allaah, Ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasool-Allaah (I bear witness that there is no god except Allaah, I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah).. This is what the muezzin says. End quote.

Hence in the books of fiqh there is mention of times and places when it is makrooh to send blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

In Tuhfat al-Muhtaaj, which is a Shaafa'i book, it says (2/65):

If the worshipper recites or hears a verse in which the name of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is mentioned, it is not mustahabb to send blessings upon him, as the author said in a fatwa (i.e. al-Nawawi). End quote.

Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar al-Haytami said in al-Fataawa al-Fiqhiyyah al-Kubra (1/131):

There are other ahaadeeth which are similar to the ahaadeeth quoted above, but we have not seen in them any mention of sending blessings on him before the adhaan, or when the muezzin says Muhammad Rasool Allaah afterwards. We have not seen in the words of our imams any mention of that either. In that case neither of these two things is Sunnah in the place mentioned. The one who does one of them, believing that it is Sunnah in that particular place, should be told not to do that and prevented from doing it, because it is inserting an idea without evidence, and the one who do that should be rebuked and told not to do that. End quote.

In Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz (10/334) it says:

Similarly, what some people do of adding blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to the adhaan when the muezzin says Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah, by adding “al-salaah 'ala al-Nabi (blessings upon the Prophet),” raising their voice with the adhaan or in the microphone, is not permissible and is also an innovation (bid'ah). End quote.

But if the listener does that occasionally, not because he thinks it is obligatory or that it is one of the dhikrs to be recited at that time or that it is part of repeating the adhaan as prescribed, then we hope that there is nothing wrong with it, and that does not reach the point of being bid'ah, in sha Allaah.

And Allaah knows best.
Islam Q&A
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