Explanation of the author's statement: "And may Allah send blessings and peace upon the best of the chosen, Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who worship [Him]"

The Shaykh : And when He praised Allah (Mighty and Majestic) with what He deserves to be praised with, He followed that with sending blessings and peace upon the best of creation, saying "And may Allah send blessings and peace". "May Allah send blessings" — what does "may Allah send blessings upon Muhammad" mean? We all recite "may Allah send blessings upon Muhammad" in our prayers, but what is its meaning? Some scholars said that the blessing from Allah is mercy, from the angels is seeking forgiveness, and from the humans is supplication. But this is not correct. The correct view is what Abu al-'Aliyah said: "The blessing from Allah is His praise of the one being blessed in the highest assembly, in the presence of the angels brought near". This is more specific than absolute mercy. So "may Allah send blessings upon Muhammad" means "may He praise him." This phrase is nominative in form but imperative in meaning, because the intention is not that I am informing you that Allah has sent blessings, but rather that I am calling upon Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to send blessings. So it is nominative in form but imperative in meaning, meaning it is a supplication. Yes. And on this basis, it is permissible for me to say "may Allah have mercy on so-and-so," meaning I am asking Allah to have mercy on him. And his saying "and peace" is also a phrase that is nominative in form but imperative in meaning, meaning you are calling upon Allah the Exalted to send peace upon Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), to bestow upon him peace. Peace is the absence of defects and shortcomings. So when peace is added to the blessing, the desired goal is achieved and the feared harm is removed. By peace, the feared harm is removed and the shortcomings are negated; and by the blessing, the desired goal is achieved and the perfections are established. And his saying "upon the best of the chosen" or "the chosen."

The questioner : The chosen.

The Shaykh : With an open fathah. How can it be dual with an open nun? How can it be plural with an open vowel before the ya? The plural of "Muslimin" has a kasrah before the ya. The answer is that what is before the ya is deleted. What is before it is deleted, and the fathah is not directly on the ya, so "al-Mushtafayin" became "al-Mushtafayin" or "al-Mushtafayin." Yes, "al-Mushtafayin" is its original form. That is, — may Allah the Great forgive us — its original form is "al-Mushtafa" for the singular, "al-Mushtafayani" for the dual, and "al-Mushtafuna" for the plural. So if it is in the accusative case, the waw is replaced by a ya, becoming "al-Mushtafayin." "Al-Mushtafayin" is its original form, but a change occurred by deleting the ya, so it became "al-Mushtafin." "Al-Mushtafin" is originally "al-Mustafin" with a ta, from "al-Safwah," which is the essence or the best part of a thing. Among the chosen from the creation are the humans. Undoubtedly, the chosen among them are the prophets, then the messengers, then the Ulul 'Azm (those of firm resolve). The essence, or the essence of the essence, or the essence of the essence of the essence, are the Ulul 'Azm. They are mentioned in the Noble Qur'an in two places: in Surat al-Ahzab and in Surat al-Shura. This is one. And in Surat al-Shura: Two. Yes, these five are the Ulul 'Azm. So Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is the best of them. This is indicated by the fact that he is their seal. Yes, and it is also indicated by the fact that he is their imam on the night of the Mi'raj, for only the best is placed ahead. And it is indicated by the fact that he is the one who grants intercession on the Day of Resurrection, the great intercession. So these are three things that indicate this, and there are other things, but we have mentioned these as examples. The seal of the prophets is in the world of the senses. Their imam in the Mi'raj is in the unseen world. His being the one who grants intercession on the Day of Resurrection is in the unseen world, but it is in the world of the Hereafter. Yes. And his saying "Muhammad" — what is the grammatical status of "Muhammad"? It is an explanatory apposition (atf bayan), because "the best of the chosen" does not specify who it is. So when "Muhammad" is said, it becomes an explanatory apposition clarifying that this best one is Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim al-Qurashi (peace and blessings be upon him). And he is, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said, So he (peace and blessings be upon him) was the best of the best. He said "and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who worship [Him]". These three — we say in the Tahiyyat, "O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon his family," but here the author says "his family and his Companions, and upon those who worship [Him]". So know that if "the family" (al-Ahl) is mentioned alone, the meaning is all those who follow him in his religion, all his followers in his religion. And included in them, by priority, are his followers in his religion who are his relatives, because they are "family" from two aspects: from the aspect of following and from the aspect of kinship. But if something else is mentioned with it, it is according to the context. Here, "family," "Companions," and "those who worship" are mentioned. We interpret "his family" here as the believers among his relatives, such as 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, Fatimah, 'Abd Allah ibn 'Abbas, Hamzah, al-'Abbas, and the like. Okay. "and his Companions". Yes, they are the plural of "Sahib" (companion), and "Sahab" is a collective noun for "Sahib." So "my Companions" means everyone who met him, believed in him, and died upon that. These Companions are everyone who met the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), believed in him, and died upon that, even if they did not see him?

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : Even if they did not see him, even if the companionship was not long, even if the companionship was not long. And this is one of the special characteristics of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and one of his special characteristics, that everyone who met him and believed in him is one of his Companions, even if they did not see him, even if they did not meet him. As for other people, they do not become his companion except one who stayed with him for a period that qualifies him to be described as a companion. And his saying "and upon those who worship [Him]". "Those who worship" — "man" is a relative pronoun, and its meaning is "who." So it is for generality. And his saying "worship" — to whom? To Allah (Mighty and Majestic), meaning to humble oneself to Him through obedience and worship. Worship is based on two things: love and magnification. By love, one seeks to reach the pleasure of the one worshipped, and by magnification, one flees from falling into His disobedience, because you magnify Him, so you fear Him; you love Him, so you seek Him. So worship is based on these two foundations: love and magnification. And as for the condition of its acceptance, it is sincerity and following. Okay. The word "and upon those who worship [Him]" is general for everyone who worships Allah (Mighty and Majestic), from this Ummah and from others, or only from this Ummah? From this Ummah and from others. And for this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, in our saying, He said until the angels, until the jinn, until the followers of the previous prophets are included in this. So it is the most general word, "and upon those who worship [Him]". But do the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his believing family fall under this? This is based on a disagreement among scholars: if the general is conjoined with the specific, is the specific included in the general or excluded from it by specification? There are two opinions among scholars. Some say that it is included in it, meaning the generality covers it. And some said that mentioning it specifically indicates that it is not intended. Do you understand? And this disagreement may lead to some legal issues. But whoever said that it is included in the generality said that the specific is mentioned how many times? Twice: once specifically and once generally. Yes, he said.

The questioner : That he and my Companions are among everyone who met him, in both cases, even if they did not meet him, even if they did not see him?

The Shaykh : No, no. We said "even if they did not see him." We did not say "even if they did not meet him." We did not say "even if they did not meet him." We said if they met him but did not see him, this makes him a Companion.

The questioner : The intended meaning is meeting.

The Shaykh : Yes, meeting with him is necessary. It must be by meeting.