إِنَّ اللهَ وَمَلٓائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يَٓا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ اٰمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا

 

Inna Allaha wa malaa’ikatihu yasalloona `alaa nabee yaa ayyuhaalladheena-amanoo salloo `alayhi wa sallimoo tasleeman[1]

 

Indeed, Allah and His angels bestow blessings upon the Nabi... O believers, send blessings (turn to) him and greet him in submission!

 

This verse makes it compulsory for us to send blessings (give salawat) to our master, the Rasul, the light of insight, Allah’s beloved… Why is this so? The Rasul of Allah (saw) says:

“One who does not show gratitude to others is incapable of showing gratitude to Allah.”[2]

This presents to us one of the deepest truths of Sufism… If we have eradicated at least some of the veils covering the perception of our heart we may see this…

If we can understand the sublimity of the verse “Allah gives to the givers” we will know without doubt that whoever the apparent giver may be, it is always Allah who is giving! And to thank Allah is by thanking the apparent cause through which He has chosen to give! Otherwise, we won’t be thanking the real giver, but a god of our own creation!

Since Allah gave to us through the Rasul of Allah (saw) and showed and enabled us to realize the truth through him, then surely to thank the Rasul of Allah (saw) is to thank Allah.

This is why Allah, through the Quran, orders us to thank the Rasul (saw). It is also based on this truth that the Rasul (saw) has asked that we send blessings to him:

“May he be defaced who hears my name yet does not send blessings to me!”[3]

“The stingiest of the stingiest is he near whom my name is mentioned, yet he does not send blessings to me”[4]

“Prayers are too weak to rise to the heavens, but when I am sent blessings they gain strength and rise (they become worthy of response)…”[5]

“Whoever sends one blessing to me, Allah will grant him ten blessings, erase his mistakes and raise him by ten degrees.”[6]

“The closest ones to me among mankind are those who send the most blessings to me.”[7]

“Whoever forgets to send blessings to me, he will be made to forget the path to Paradise.”[8]

“Whoever sends blessings to me near my grave, I will hear his voice. Whoever sends blessings to me from afar, it will reach me…”[9]

“As long as one who makes a prayer fails to send blessings to the Nabis and Rasuls, his prayer is veiled.”[10]

“Allah has angels who travel throughout the earth and inform me of those who send blessings to me.”[11]

“Allah enlightens the path on the Bridge of Sirat of those who send blessings to me… If one is of the enlightened, he won’t be of the people of fire…”[12]

“If a group of people come together and leave the gathering without remembering Allah or sending blessings to me they will be veiled from Allah!”[13]

“If any of you want to ask for something from Allah, they should first offer hamd to Him in a way that He deserves, then send blessings to His Rasul, and then make his prayer. This is more effective in reaching his goal…”[14]

“Increase your blessings to me on Fridays, for that is the day your blessings are offered to me.”[15]

 

“Whoever wants to be close to me in Paradise should send blessings to me to that extent.”[16]

“I met with Gabriel, he told me, ‘I have good news: Allah said whoever sends blessings to you He will give blessings to them, whoever gives blessings to you He will give blessings to them’…”[17]

One of the companions of the Rasul of Allah (saw) asked:

“O Rasul of Allah, I send a lot of blessings to you. How much of my time shall I set aside for this?”

The Rasul of Allah replied, “As much as you want.”

“How about a quarter?” the man asked again.

“Do as much as you will… If you increase it, it will be better for you!” said the Rasul of Allah (saw).

“How about a third?” the man continued…

“Do as much as you will… If you increase it, it will be better for you!” the Rasul replied.

“How about a half?” he asked.

“Do as much as you will… If you increase it, it will be better for you!” repeated the Rasul.

“How about all of my time?” the man insisted…

“Then it will be enough, all of your sins will be forgiven” said the Rasul (saw).[18]

I hope these hadith have given an idea on the importance of salawat. Let everyone ponder the importance of this topic and evaluate it according to their understanding.

Here are some recommended salawats.