What is the ruling on sending blessings upon the Prophet in the qunut, and what is its meaning?

The questioner : The questioner says: You mentioned that the place for sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the prayer is the takbir, and it is not done in the qunut. If one does it, he should not make it a habit. However, Qadi Isma'il ibn Ishaq al-Juhaymi al-Maliki narrated in his book on the virtue of sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He said: Muhammad ibn al-Muthanna narrated to us, saying: Mu'adh ibn Hisham narrated to us, saying: My father narrated to me, from Qatadah, from Abdullah ibn al-Harith, that Abu Halimah Mu'adh used to send blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the qunut. Abdullah ibn al-Harith is Abu al-Walid al-Lafzi, a trustworthy man from the two sheikhs. Abu Halimah Mu'adh is the son of al-Harith al-Ansari al-Tari. Ibn Abi Hatim said: He is the one whom 'Umar appointed to lead the people in the tarawih prayer in Ramadan. And this athar was narrated by Ibn Nasr in his book on standing in night prayer with the wording: He used to stand in the qunut in Ramadan, making du'a and sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and asking for rain. In this athar, it is stated that he used to send blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the qunut in the presence of the senior Companions from the Muhajireen and the Ansar, and no one objected to him. So it is like a consensus on the permissibility of that, even if he felt inclined to make it a habit.

The Shaykh : First, before answering this question. I thank Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) that we find among our brothers those who care about the hadith and the chains of the hadith and strive to preserve them, because this is a very good method, and we prefer it and wish that the knowledge of the youth be built upon it, because the chain is the path to the establishment of rulings or their negation. But in this chain, there are some defects. The first is the 'an'anah of Qatadah. Qatadah (may Allah have mercy on him), although he is trustworthy, is one of the mudallis (those who conceal defects in chains). And when a mudallis uses 'an'anah, his hadith is not accepted unless it is known that it came through another path where the hearing is explicitly stated.
Also, Mu'adh ibn Hisham narrated from his father. Then, the questioner's statement at the end of the answer that this was in the presence of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), in the presence of the Muhajireen and the Ansar, is actually not established. Because the Muhajireen and the Ansar in the era of the Commander of the Faithful 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) had dispersed to the provinces; they dispersed to Basra, Kufa, and other places. So it was not in their presence, but rather in the presence of those who were praying in the mosque, if the athar is correct. Then, this premise by which the questioner concludes that this is like a consensus or a consensus, I have not known anyone from the scholars who followed this method, whereby they consider what was done in one of the mosques of Madinah as a matter, and they only count something as like a consensus if it became well-known among the people and was not objected to. So if this were one of the well-known matters that was not objected to, we would say that it might be like a consensus. On this basis, we thank the brother for this question and ask Allah to increase us and him in knowledge. And we say that sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is part of the du'a that a person should always adhere to, because in reality, if a person sends blessings upon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) once, Allah sends blessings upon him ten times for it. And on this occasion, I say that if a path other than this one comes for this athar, it might be a proof, because it is the action of a Companion. And if it is not a consensus, what is the need for a consensus if it is established that it is the action of a Companion whom no one contradicted? Then the statement of a Companion can be used as a proof. And if the athar is not established, then we say that sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is a beloved matter and should be accompanied by every du'a, but making it part of the sunnah of the qunut is a matter of consideration.
And before finishing this answer, I would like to ask you: What is the meaning of sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)? One of you, what is the meaning of sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)? I ask your brother, come. The deviants have spoken about it. For example, if I say, "O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad," I am asking Allah to send blessings upon him. But what is the meaning of Allah's sending blessings upon him? Some scholars said that the sending of blessings is Allah's mercy upon His Messenger. But this is not correct, because Allah said in the Qur'an: So Allah distinguished between sending blessings and mercy. And it is known that the conjunction implies difference, as is known and established in the Arabic language. But Allah's sending of blessings upon His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is, as Abu al-'Aliyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said, His praise of him in the highest assembly. That is, Allah the Exalted praises Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) among the angels in the highest assembly. On this basis, when you send blessings upon your Prophet, it means that if you send blessings upon him once, Allah praises you for it ten times in the highest assembly. And this is a great blessing that indicates the virtue of sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), especially on Friday.