What is the origin of the abbreviated form of sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) found in the books of hadith and common on the tongues of people, which is
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The questioner : A questioner asks: What is the origin of the abbreviated form of sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) found in the books of hadith and common on the tongues of people, which is their saying "May Allah send blessings upon him and grant him peace," even though the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) taught them how to send blessings upon him generally in the prayer and elsewhere? They said: "O Messenger of Allah, we have learned how to greet you, so how do we send blessings upon you?" He said: Sunan Ibn Majah 906Da’if (Darussalam)?
The Shaykh : In my opinion, this is an important question, and in answering it, a reality becomes clear that many people have long overlooked, even some of the specialists among them. This reality is what we always and forever say: that a Muslim must not be content with his call being limited to merely adhering to the Book and the Sunnah, but he must add to that: "upon the methodology of the righteous predecessors." The Book and the Sunnah, upon the methodology of the righteous predecessors.
The reason that compels us to say that it is necessary to adhere to this addition or this adjunct, "upon the methodology of the righteous predecessors", includes matters of both transmitted and rational evidence. As for the transmitted evidence, you know the saying of the Exalted:[An-Nisa 4:115] So our Lord, Mighty and Majestic, did not say "and follow other than the path of the believers" in vain, but for a profound wisdom. Because if He had said "And whoever opposes the Messenger after the clear proof has come to him, We will turn him to what he has turned to" and so on, there would have been room for every misguided person who deviates from the Book and the Sunnah in the correct sense, who has departed from the path upon which the Messenger (peace be upon him) departed with the community, to say: "This is what I understood from the verse and the hadith." But so that this understanding would not be chaos without a rule or a criterion, the Exalted said: [An-Nisa 4:115] to make it clear to people that it is not sufficient, and it is not permissible, for every Muslim to understand the Book and the Sunnah as it appears to him, but he must understand them as our righteous predecessors understood them. Therefore, the intended meaning here of [An-Nisa 4:115] the believers here are our righteous predecessors, whom the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) testified to with that testimony by which they were distinguished from those who came after them, in the authentic, mass-transmitted hadith: Sahih al-Bukhari 3651. This is from the perspective of this noble verse. Then the Sunnah comes, as is its constant and eternal habit with the Qur'an, to explain and clarify. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the well-known hadith of the seventy-three sects, when he was asked about his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): "They are all in the Fire except one. Who is it?" He said: . And similarly, the hadith of al-'Abd ibn Sari, the beginning of which is: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) gave us a sermon that made our hearts tremble and our eyes shed tears," to the end of the hadith. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Mishkat al-Masabih 165Sahīh (Zubair `Aliza'i) to the end of the hadith. So this hadith and that one make it clear to us that we cannot do without understanding what our righteous predecessors were upon, especially the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), because they were closer to him (peace and blessings be upon him) in understanding, knowledge, observation, sight, and application, and everything of this kind. Therefore, just as we receive the words of the Shari'ah, the Qur'an and the hadith, from these predecessors, it is obligatory for us to also receive the meanings of these texts from the Book and the Sunnah. It is not enough for one of us today, after fourteen centuries, to say, "By Allah, this is my understanding," especially in rulings, and more specifically in matters of creed, which were established by practice, whether that practice was a heart-based act of faith or a physical act of the limbs. There is no doubt that they understood these matters correctly. So whoever comes after them with an opinion that contradicts what they were upon in creed or in legal rulings, there is no doubt that he is contrary to the path of the believers and falls under the general meaning of the aforementioned saying of the Exalted: [An-Nisa 4:115]. Once this important rule is known, the beginning of the answer to this question becomes clear.
We know with certainty that the Companions who transmitted to us the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), then the Tabi'un, then their followers, and as we mentioned, the generations testified to as being the best, when they narrated a hadith from the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and began it by saying "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said," or "So-and-so said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do such and such" or "say such and such," we know with certainty that none of them would say: "The Messenger of Allah said: O Allah, send blessings upon him. O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad," or "May Allah send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad as You sent blessings upon Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim," to the end of the Ibrahimi prayer. We are certain that they did not say it this way. Therefore, we do not say that the place of applying the Qur'anic text mentioned in the question, and that its generality requires that the prayer be in the form that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) taught his Companions, has a prior discussion. The general text that has not been acted upon is not permissible for us to act upon a part of its parts that has not been acted upon. Rather, what we know was applied, we apply, and what we know was left from its parts, we leave. And this is following: that we do what they did and leave what they left.
So here a question may arise: What do we say? We say, as in the books of hadith, where the early Imams of hadith focused on precision in narrating hadiths, even down to a single letter, we do not imagine either of two things. We do not imagine that a Companion would say: "The Messenger of Allah said: Whoever said to his companion on Friday..." or "The Messenger of Allah used to do such and such," meaning he did not send blessings upon him. We do not imagine this matter. The second thing we do not imagine is that he would say: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), excuse me, habit takes over, the Messenger of Allah used to stand here and say: O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad." We also do not imagine that this occurred. Why? And this is connected to the recent discussion from yesterday, because if it had occurred, it would have been transmitted to us, because the motivations for transmitting this important matter would be present. Whenever the Companion mentioned the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in a hadith of his, whether from his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) or his action, he would stop and send blessings upon him as they were taught. If this had occurred, even once, the motivations for transmitting it would have been present. How much more so, when most of the hadiths are in the thousands, and it was not found in a single hadith that one of them sent blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with this complete, full prayer. From here, I conclude to say that this general Qur'anic text is not intended in its generality, but rather this is specific to the prayer. This is supported by a narration reported by al-Hakim, and perhaps by Imam Ahmad in the Musnad, that when this verse was revealed, they said: "O Messenger of Allah, we have known this greeting to you. This is found in the authentic collections, but the continuation is the point of interest: 'We have known this greeting to you, so how do we send blessings upon you if we sit in our prayer?'" He said: "Say: O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad." So this prayer's place is in the prayer, not outside the prayer. And with this, the answer to your question ends.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : And among you.
O Allah, send Your grace, honour and mercy upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent Your grace, honour and mercy upon Ibrahim, You are indeed Praiseworthy, Most Glorious. O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad as You sent blessings upon Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim, You are Praiseworthy, Most Glorious
قولوا اللهم صلي على محمد وعلى آل محمد كما صليت على إبراهيم وعلى آل إبراهيم اللهم بارك على محمد وعلى آل محمد كما باركت على إبراهيم وعلى آل إبراهيم إنك حميد مجيدThe Shaykh : In my opinion, this is an important question, and in answering it, a reality becomes clear that many people have long overlooked, even some of the specialists among them. This reality is what we always and forever say: that a Muslim must not be content with his call being limited to merely adhering to the Book and the Sunnah, but he must add to that: "upon the methodology of the righteous predecessors." The Book and the Sunnah, upon the methodology of the righteous predecessors.
The reason that compels us to say that it is necessary to adhere to this addition or this adjunct, "upon the methodology of the righteous predecessors", includes matters of both transmitted and rational evidence. As for the transmitted evidence, you know the saying of the Exalted:
And whoever opposes the Messenger after guidance has become clear to him and follows other than the way of the believers - We will give him what he has taken and drive him into Hell, and evil it is as a destination.
وَمَنْ يُشَاقِقِ الرَّسُولَ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ الهُدَى وَيَتَّبِعْ غَيْرَ سَبِيلِ المُؤْمِنِينَ نُوَلِّهِ مَا تَوَلَّى وَنُصْلِهِ جَهَنَّمَ وَسَاءَتْ مَصِيرًاand follows other than the way of the believers
وَيَتَّبِعْ غَيْرَ سَبِيلِ المُؤْمِنِينَand follows other than the way of the believers
وَيَتَّبِعْ غَيْرَ سَبِيلِ المُؤْمِنِينَThe best people are those living in my generation, and then those who will follow them, and then those who will follow the latter
خير الناس قرني ، ثم الذين يلونهم ، ثم الذين يلونهمIt is that which is in accordance with what I am upon today and my Companions.
هي التي تكون على ما أنا عليه اليوم وأصحابيYou must therefore follow my sunna and that of the rightly guided Caliphs
... فعليكم بسنتي وسنة الخلفاء الراشدين المهديين من بعدي ...And whoever opposes the Messenger after guidance has become clear to him and follows other than the way of the believers - We will give him what he has taken and drive him into Hell, and evil it is as a destination.
وَمَنْ يُشَاقِقِ الرَّسُولَ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ الهُدَى وَيَتَّبِعْ غَيْرَ سَبِيلِ المُؤْمِنِينَ نُوَلِّهِ مَا تَوَلَّى وَنُصْلِهِ جَهَنَّمَ وَسَاءَتْ مَصِيرًاWe know with certainty that the Companions who transmitted to us the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), then the Tabi'un, then their followers, and as we mentioned, the generations testified to as being the best, when they narrated a hadith from the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and began it by saying "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said," or "So-and-so said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do such and such" or "say such and such," we know with certainty that none of them would say: "The Messenger of Allah said: O Allah, send blessings upon him. O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad," or "May Allah send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad as You sent blessings upon Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim," to the end of the Ibrahimi prayer. We are certain that they did not say it this way. Therefore, we do not say that the place of applying the Qur'anic text mentioned in the question, and that its generality requires that the prayer be in the form that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) taught his Companions, has a prior discussion. The general text that has not been acted upon is not permissible for us to act upon a part of its parts that has not been acted upon. Rather, what we know was applied, we apply, and what we know was left from its parts, we leave. And this is following: that we do what they did and leave what they left.
So here a question may arise: What do we say? We say, as in the books of hadith, where the early Imams of hadith focused on precision in narrating hadiths, even down to a single letter, we do not imagine either of two things. We do not imagine that a Companion would say: "The Messenger of Allah said: Whoever said to his companion on Friday..." or "The Messenger of Allah used to do such and such," meaning he did not send blessings upon him. We do not imagine this matter. The second thing we do not imagine is that he would say: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), excuse me, habit takes over, the Messenger of Allah used to stand here and say: O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad." We also do not imagine that this occurred. Why? And this is connected to the recent discussion from yesterday, because if it had occurred, it would have been transmitted to us, because the motivations for transmitting this important matter would be present. Whenever the Companion mentioned the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in a hadith of his, whether from his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) or his action, he would stop and send blessings upon him as they were taught. If this had occurred, even once, the motivations for transmitting it would have been present. How much more so, when most of the hadiths are in the thousands, and it was not found in a single hadith that one of them sent blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with this complete, full prayer. From here, I conclude to say that this general Qur'anic text is not intended in its generality, but rather this is specific to the prayer. This is supported by a narration reported by al-Hakim, and perhaps by Imam Ahmad in the Musnad, that when this verse was revealed, they said: "O Messenger of Allah, we have known this greeting to you. This is found in the authentic collections, but the continuation is the point of interest: 'We have known this greeting to you, so how do we send blessings upon you if we sit in our prayer?'" He said: "Say: O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad." So this prayer's place is in the prayer, not outside the prayer. And with this, the answer to your question ends.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : And among you.