Some people say that sending blessings upon our master Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) after the adhan is a religious innovation. What is your ruling on this, and is it truly not permissible for a Muslim to say after the adhan, “You do not break Your promise”?
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The questioner : Some people say that sending blessings upon our master Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) after the adhan is a religious innovation. What is your ruling on this, and is it truly not permissible for a Muslim to say after the adhan “You do not break Your promise”?
The Shaykh : Yes. I do not know what the questioner intends by saying “O Allah, send blessings upon our master Muhammad”. Did anyone object to him saying it in this specific formulation, meaning using this specific wording for the salutation “O Allah, send blessings upon our master Muhammad”, or did the person object to sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in any formulation at all? If it is the former, meaning if the objector objected to him saying “O Allah, send blessings upon our master Muhammad”, perhaps this objector objected because the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) did not use this formulation; that is, they did not say “O Allah, send blessings upon our master Muhammad”. It is known to every Muslim that the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) loved the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) more intensely than we do, that they were more steadfast in adhering to the Shari'ah of Allah than we are, and that they held the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in higher esteem than we do. Yet, it is not reported from them that they used to say at the end of the adhan “O Allah, send blessings upon our master Muhammad”. We are commanded to follow them with excellence so that we may attain the pleasure of Allah, just as He was pleased with them. Allah the Exalted said:[At-Tawbah 9:100] Following with excellence means that we do not fall short of them and do not add to them. This is following with excellence. So, if the Companions did not say “O Allah, send blessings upon our master Muhammad”, and they were as we have described regarding the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), then what is prescribed for us is not to say it. Perhaps the one who objected and called it a religious innovation considered this meaning. Otherwise, it is known to every Muslim that our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) is our master, indeed the master of the children of Adam (peace be upon him), the master of the messengers, the master of the prophets, the master of the truthful ones, the master of the martyrs, the master of the righteous, the master of the awliya (close friends of Allah), and the master of all mankind (peace and blessings be upon him). This is a matter we believe in and we draw near to Allah the Exalted by holding this belief. However, the implication of his lordship in reality is that we adhere to his Sunnah, do not go beyond it, and do not fall short of it, because as long as he is the master, he must be the model and the example.
Therefore, I advise my Muslim brothers not to exceed the limits in what has been transmitted regarding the salutation upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). For example, if someone says, “I will say in the tashahhud: ‘O Allah, send blessings upon our master Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, as You sent blessings upon Ibrahim and upon the family of Ibrahim. Indeed, You are Praiseworthy, Majestic. O Allah, bless our master Muhammad and the family of our master Muhammad, as You blessed Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim. Indeed, You are Praiseworthy, Majestic’”, if he intended to say it this way, we would object to him. We would say: Did we learn what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not teach us? Because the salutation in this place was transmitted in this description: “O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad. O Allah, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad”. If he says, “I say this out of my intense love for him and my esteem for him,” we would tell him that intense love and esteem require that you make him your imam, such that you do not add to what has been prescribed for you and do not subtract from it. As for sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the prescribed manner after the adhan, it is a recommended practice (sunnah). A person should, when the mu'adhdhin has finished and he has followed him in the adhan, say: “O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad. O Lord of this perfect call and the established prayer, grant Muhammad the intercession and the excellence, and raise him to the praiseworthy station which You have promised him. Indeed, You do not break Your promise”. The scholars of hadith differed regarding the authenticity, goodness, or weakness of this last phrase, “Indeed, You do not break Your promise”. Some authenticated it, some graded it as good, and some weakened it. The matter is broad in this regard. One who says it is not to be objected to, and one who omits it is not to be objected to. However, saying it is better, because Allah the Exalted mentioned regarding the people of understanding who remember Allah while standing, sitting, and lying on their sides that they said:[Ali 'Imran 3:194] So, saying it is better than omitting it, and neither the one who says it nor the one who omits it is to be objected to. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you, Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Yes. I do not know what the questioner intends by saying “O Allah, send blessings upon our master Muhammad”. Did anyone object to him saying it in this specific formulation, meaning using this specific wording for the salutation “O Allah, send blessings upon our master Muhammad”, or did the person object to sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in any formulation at all? If it is the former, meaning if the objector objected to him saying “O Allah, send blessings upon our master Muhammad”, perhaps this objector objected because the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) did not use this formulation; that is, they did not say “O Allah, send blessings upon our master Muhammad”. It is known to every Muslim that the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) loved the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) more intensely than we do, that they were more steadfast in adhering to the Shari'ah of Allah than we are, and that they held the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in higher esteem than we do. Yet, it is not reported from them that they used to say at the end of the adhan “O Allah, send blessings upon our master Muhammad”. We are commanded to follow them with excellence so that we may attain the pleasure of Allah, just as He was pleased with them. Allah the Exalted said:
And the first forerunners [in the faith] among the Muhajireen and the Ansar and those who followed them with good conduct
وَالسّابِقونَ الأَوَّلونَ مِنَ المُهاجِرينَ وَالأَنصارِ وَالَّذينَ اتَّبَعوهُم بِإِحسانٍTherefore, I advise my Muslim brothers not to exceed the limits in what has been transmitted regarding the salutation upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). For example, if someone says, “I will say in the tashahhud: ‘O Allah, send blessings upon our master Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, as You sent blessings upon Ibrahim and upon the family of Ibrahim. Indeed, You are Praiseworthy, Majestic. O Allah, bless our master Muhammad and the family of our master Muhammad, as You blessed Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim. Indeed, You are Praiseworthy, Majestic’”, if he intended to say it this way, we would object to him. We would say: Did we learn what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not teach us? Because the salutation in this place was transmitted in this description: “O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad. O Allah, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad”. If he says, “I say this out of my intense love for him and my esteem for him,” we would tell him that intense love and esteem require that you make him your imam, such that you do not add to what has been prescribed for you and do not subtract from it. As for sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the prescribed manner after the adhan, it is a recommended practice (sunnah). A person should, when the mu'adhdhin has finished and he has followed him in the adhan, say: “O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad. O Lord of this perfect call and the established prayer, grant Muhammad the intercession and the excellence, and raise him to the praiseworthy station which You have promised him. Indeed, You do not break Your promise”. The scholars of hadith differed regarding the authenticity, goodness, or weakness of this last phrase, “Indeed, You do not break Your promise”. Some authenticated it, some graded it as good, and some weakened it. The matter is broad in this regard. One who says it is not to be objected to, and one who omits it is not to be objected to. However, saying it is better, because Allah the Exalted mentioned regarding the people of understanding who remember Allah while standing, sitting, and lying on their sides that they said:
Our Lord, and grant us what You promised us through Your messengers and do not disgrace us on the Day of Resurrection. Indeed, You do not fail in [Your] promise."
رَبَّنا وَءاتِنا ما وَعَدتَنا عَلى رُسُلِكَ وَلا تُخزِنا يَومَ القِيامَةِ إِنَّكَ لا تُخلِفُ الميعادَThe questioner : May Allah reward you, Shaykh.