Fazaaile-Durood: Contents Page
بِسْمِ
اللهِ
الرَّحْمَنِ
الرَّحِيْمِ
نَحْمَدُهُ وَنُصَلِّيْ عَلَى رَسُوْلِهِ الْكَرِيْمِ ، حَامِدًا وَّمُصَلِّيًا وَّمُسَلِّمًا ، اَلْحَمْدُ لِلهِ الَّذِي بِنِعْمَتِهِ تَتِمُّ الصَّالِحَاتُ وَالصَّلَوةُ وَالسَّلامُ عَلَى سَيِّدِ المَوْجُوْدَاتِ الَّذِي قَالَ أَنَا سَيِّدُ وُلْدِ آدَمَ وَلا فَخْرَ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَأَصْحَابِهِ وَأَتْبَاعِهِ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْحَشْرِ ،
أَمَّا بَعْدُ
Through the benevolence and
favour of Allāh and solely by His grace, and through the affection of His
pious servants, this humble and sinful servant has written many books regarding
virtues [of certain actions], which have also been incorporated into the programme of the
tablīghī movement in Nizamuddin. Hundreds of letters from friends indicate
that they have proven very beneficial.
This sinful servant has no part
to play in this. Firstly, only by the grace of Allāh has it been possible.
Secondly, the blessings of the Prophetic sayings that have been translated in
these books and thirdly, the blessings of the pious elders upon whose order
these books have been written, has this book transpired. It is only through the
grace of Allāh that the defects of this sinful servant were not an
obstacle in the path of these blessings. O Allāh, all praise is due to You and all gratitude is due to You. O Allāh, I cannot
enumerate your praises. You are as You have praised
Yourself.
The first
book of this series, Virtues of the Qur’ān, was written in 1348 ah under the instruction of respected
Shāh Muḥammad Yāsīn Nagīnwī (may Allāh have
mercy on him), a representative (khalīfa) of Quṭb al-ʿĀlam,
shaykh of all shaykhs, Mawlānā Rashīd Aḥmad Gangohī (may
Allāh have mercy on him), as stated in detail in the preface to the book. Shāh Muḥammad
Yāsīn (may Allāh have mercy on him) passed away on the night of
Thursday 30th Shawwāl 1360 ah.
May Allāh illuminate his grave and elevate his ranks.
The Shaykh made a request at
the time of his death, conveyed to me through his eminent representative (khalīfa)
Mawlānā Al-Ḥāj ʿAbdul ʿAzīz Duʿājaw,
that a book regarding the virtues of blessings (ṣalāt) and salutations
(salām) should be written, in the same manner the Virtues of the
Qur’ān was written. After the demise of the Shaykh, Mawlānā ʿAbdul ʿAzīz
constantly reminded me and pressed upon me the need to fulfil this request and this
humble servant was desirous of attaining this great fortune too, despite his
shortcomings. Other elders besides Shāh Yāsīn (may Allāh
have mercy on him) were also insistent upon this. However, this humble servant was so overawed by the most glorious status of the Leader of
both worlds, Pride of the Prophets e, that whenever I intended to
write, I feared I might write something inappropriate to the lofty status of
the Messenger e.
Whilst still in this state of evasion,
I visited Ḥijāz last year upon the insistence of beloved
Mawlānā Muḥammad Yūsuf (may Allāh have mercy on him)
and by the grace of Allāh, I performed my fourth ḥajj. Upon arriving
in Madīna after completing the pilgrimage, it constantly crossed my mind
as to why I had not written regarding the virtues of ṣalāt. I
made excuses for myself on more than one occasion. However, this persistent
questioning of my heart led me resolve to complete this book upon my return,
Allāh willing.
However, “one of bad habits
makes many excuses” and so this task was evaded further
after my return. This desire has returned once again in this auspicious month
and so I finally begin writing on 25th Ramaḍān 1384 ah after the last Friday prayer of the month.
May Allāh, through His infinite grace, grant me the ability to complete
this book and out of His mercy, overlook all the shortcomings in this book, the
books I have previously written and my Arabic works.
I intend to compile this book
upon a few chapters, finishing with a conclusion. The first chapter will discuss
the virtues of ṣalāt and salām, the
second chapter will discuss the specific virtues of certain forms of ṣalāt
and salām, the third chapter will mention the warnings for not conferring
salutations and blessings upon the Prophet e, the fourth chapter will be on
miscellaneous points and the fifth chapter will consist of stories. May
Allāh grant people the ability to conferṣalātand salām abundantly. By reading this book, every reader
will realise how great a treasure ṣalāt and salām
is and how those who are negligent therein deprive themselves of such an immense
fortune.
CHAPTER ONE:
VIRTUES OF BLESSINGS AND SALUTATIONS
The most important and foremost
virtue is the command and order of Allāh Himself. Allāh says in the
Qur’ān:
(1)
إنَّ
اللهَ
وَمَلَئِكَتَهُ
يُصَلُّوْنَ
عَلَى
النَّبِيِّ
يَا أَيُّهَا
الَّذِيْنَ
آمَنُوْا
صَلُّوْا
عَلَيْهِ
وَسَلِّمُوْا
تَسْلِيْمًا
Verily, Allah and His angels confer blessings on the prophet:
O you who believe! Confer blessings on him, and greet him with a goodly
salutation. (Qur’ān 33:56)
Allāh has ordained many
different commands in the Qur’ān such as prayer (ṣalāh),
fasting, pilgrimage (ḥajj) etc. He has also described the noble
characteristics of many blessed Prophets and honoured them. After creating
Sayyidunā Ādam u, He ordered the angels to
prostrate towards him. However, nowhere has Allāh stated in any command or
in any honour that He is also a participant in this act and that the believers
should follow suit. This respect is solely for the Leader of both worlds, the
Pride of the World e. Allāh first attributes the act of conferring
ṣalāt towards Himself and after attributing it towards His angels,
finally orders the believers that they too should also confer ṣalāt
upon him.
What virtue could be greater than
Allāh and His angels also participating with the believers in this act?
Furthermore, those with knowledge of Arabic know that the verse begins with the
particle inna adding great emphasis to its meaning and the future and
present tenses have also been used, indicative of
continuity. In other words, it is most
certain that Allāh and His angels are constantly conferring blessings upon
the Noble Prophet e.
ʿAllāma
Sakhāwī (may Allāh have mercy on him) writes, “The verse, being
in the present and future tenses which denote continuity and permanence, establishes
that Allāh and His angels are always conferring blessings upon the Noble
Prophet e.”
The author of Rūḥ
al-Bayān writes, “Some scholars have written that the meaning of
Allāh conferring His blessings is raising the Noble Prophet e to the Praised Station (Al-Maqām
al-Maḥmūd), which is the station of intercession, and the ṣalāt
of the angels is praying for the Noble Prophet’s e status to be elevated and
seeking forgiveness for the Noble Prophet’s e followers. The meaning of the
believers conferring blessings is following the Noble Prophet e, having love for him and
mentioning his beautiful qualities. This honour granted by Allāh to the
Noble Prophet e is
much greater than the respect shown to Sayyidunā Ādam
u by
means of ordering the angels to prostrate before him, because Allāh
Himself is engaged in this honour of the Noble Prophet e, whereas only the angels were
ordered to prostrate before Sayyidunā Ādam u.”
The intelligent will realize that such an honour has been bestowed upon neither any other Prophet, nor his
followers.
يُصَلِّي عَلَيْهِ اللهُ جَلَّ جَلالُهُ بِهَذَا بَدَا لِلْعَالَمِيْنَ كَمَالُهُ
Allāh the Exalted confers blessings upon him. Thereby, his excellence
is manifest to all the creation.
The scholars have noted that
the Noble Prophet e is being addressed with nabī
in this verse rather than with his name Muḥammad e, as in the case of other
Prophets who have been mentioned by name. This is out of paramount respect and
esteem of the Noble Prophet e. In one place where the Noble Prophet e and Sayyidunā
Ibrāhīm u have been mentioned together, the Noble
Prophet e is
mentioned by nabī and Sayyidunā Ibrāhīm u is mentioned by name.
Allāh says,
إِنَّ
أَوْلَى
النَّاسِ
بِإِبْرَاهِيْمَ
لَلَّذِيْنَ
اتَّبَعُوْهُ
وَهَذَا النَّبِيُّ
وَالَّذِيْنَ
آمَنُوْا
وَاللَّهُ
وَلِيُّ
الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ
Surely the nearest of mankind to Ibrāhīm are those who followed him
and this Prophet and those who believe. And Allāh
is the patron of the believers. (Āl ʿImrān 3:68)
Wherever the Noble Prophet e has been
mentioned by name, it is for a specific reason. ʿAllāma
Sakhāwī (may Allāh have
mercy on him) has discussed this point in detail.
It is worth noting at this
point that the word ṣalāt which has been
attributed towards Allāh, His angels and the believers simultaneously
is a synonymous word with many different meanings and used for various
purposes, as already mentioned by the author of Rūḥ al-Bayān.
The scholars have expounded
many meanings for the word ṣalāt in this verse, and in each place
the most appropriate meaning in relation to Allāh, His angels and the
believers will be meant. Some scholars have written
that ṣalāt upon the Prophet e means praise and respect of
the Noble Prophet e with mercy and affection. Furthermore, this praise and respect
will be according to the rank and status of whoever
the act of conferring ṣalāt is attributed to. For example, it is said that the father is kind to his son and that the son
is kind to his father, or that the brothers are kind to one another. Now it is
obvious that the kindness shown by the father to his son will differ to that
shown by the son to his father and that of the brothers to one another.
Likewise, Allāh’s
conferring ṣalāt upon the Noble Prophet e means Allāh is praising
and honouring him with mercy and kindness. The angels are also conferring ṣalāt
but their ṣalāt, blessings and respect will be according to their
own position. Thereafter, the believers are ordered to
confer blessings [which is also in accordance to their own status].
Imām Bukhārī (may Allāh have mercy on him) has
narrated from Abū ʿĀliya (may
Allāh have mercy on him) that the meaning of Allāh conferring ṣalāt
is to praise the Noble Prophet e in the presence of the angels and the
blessings of the angels are their prayers. Sayyidunā Ibn ʿAbbās y has interpreted yuṣallūna
[in the verse] as yubarrikūna, meaning they pray for blessings.
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn
Ḥajar (may Allāh have mercy
on him) states that this meaning complies with Abū ʿĀliya’s
opinion, except it is more specific in context. Elsewhere, after mentioning the
various meanings of ṣalāt, he mentions that Abū ʿĀliya’s
(may Allāh have mercy on him)
opinion is the most preferred, namely that Allāh’s ṣalāt is
praising the Noble Prophet e and that the ṣalāt of the
angels and others is requesting Allāh to confer ṣalāt.
Furthermore, this request is for an increase in the blessings already being conferred, not for the conferring of blessings to be
initiated.
It is mentioned in a narration
that when this verse was revealed, the Companions y said, “O Messenger of
Allāh e, we
know how to convey salām (the salām in the al-taḥiyyāt
[in the five daily prayers]: As-salāmu ʿalayka ayyuhan nabiyyu wa
raḥmatullāhi wa barakātuhu). Teach us how to confer ṣalāt.”
The Noble Prophet e then taught the following: Allāhumma
ṣalli ʿalā Muḥammadin wa ʿalā
āli Muḥammad.
(This will be discussed in
detail under the first ḥadīth of Chapter Two).
Allāh ordered the
believers to confer ṣalāt upon the Noble Prophet e. The Noble Prophet e taught the method thereto;
request Allāh to eternally confer his infinite
mercies upon him, for the blessings and mercies of Allāh are boundless.
This is also from the mercy of Allāh that the further blessings he confers
upon the Noble Prophet e due to our request are
attributed to us, as though we had conferred them, when in reality
Allāh alone is conferring ṣalāt. Who possibly had the ability
to present the Noble Prophet e with the gift of blessings, befitting his
lofty status?
Shāh ʿAbdul
Qādir (may Allāh have mercy
on him) writes, “Requesting Allāh to shower His mercy and blessings
upon His Noble Prophet e and his household is a great act of
virtue. Mercy befitting the Noble Prophet’s e descends upon him and by conferring
once, tenfold blessings are conferred upon the suppliant.
It is now the choice of the suppliant how much he wishes to acquire.” (The ḥadīth
Shāh ʿAbdul Qādir (may
Allāh have mercy on him) is referring to will be mentioned under ḥadīth
three).
We also understand from this that
the objection some ignorant people raise that the verse is ordering the
believers to confer blessings upon the Noble Prophet e, whilst the believers say, “O
Allāh, confer blessings upon the Noble Prophet e,” is ridiculous. [Their
objection is that] the very action Allāh ordained upon the
believers was returned by the believers to Allāh.
Firstly, when the Companions y asked the Noble Prophet