Mikyalul Makarim Fee Fawaaid ad-Duaa Lil Qai’m vol. 2

41: Reciting Salawat And Salutations Upon Imam (aj)

One of the duties during the period of Ghaibat is to recite Salawat and Salutations upon Imam (aj). Its merit and emphasis is evident from the following:

  1. Salawat is a kind of prayer. Therefore whatever applies to Dua or praying for Imam (aj) is applicable here as well. The traditions exhorting us to pray for Imam (aj) also support the importance of this duty. Actually the aim of reciting Salawat is to pray to Allah to bestow Mercy upon Imam (aj). And as we all know, all the affairs of the world and the hereafter are accomplished with the help of Divine Mercy. Therefore whenever we recite Salawat for Imam (aj) and say, “Allahumma Salle a’laa Maulana wa Sayyidina Saheb az-zamaan,” etc. (Translation: O Allah! Bless our Master and our Chief, the Master of the Age.). We mean to invocate Divine mercy for all the affairs connected with Imam (aj).

Thus in this request to the Almighty Allah we pray that He protect the Imam and remove every kind of sorrow and grief from him and from the hearts of his Shias and friends and also hasten his reappearance. From this we actually intend to please the Imam due to his victory over the enemies of faith, establishment of justice on the earth, success of his followers and believers in obtaining Paradise…from the different types of wide mercy of Allah that He has specialized his Awliya with it and its count is known by none except Him, and is concealed in this Salawat of ours. We beseech the Almighty to include us among the companions of the Imam and his friends in the world and the hereafter who have been specially chosen for his blessings; and Allah is the acceptor of supplications.

  1. The arguments in favor of reciting the Salawat upon the Messenger of Allah (S) and his holy progeny (Ahle Bayt [a.s.]) apply here as well.

  2. In quite a few supplications of the Purified Imams (as) we find the mention of Salawat upon Imam az-Zaman (aj).

  3. In a supplication narrated through Amari that we have quoted in the previous section, there is special emphasis on asking the Almighty Allah to give us Taufeeq to recite Salawat on the Holy Imam (aj).

  4. All the traditions generally highlight the importance of reciting Salawat on the Imam of the Time (aj), especially the traditional report quoted by Sayyid Ibne Tawoos in Jamalul Usboo narrating from Imam Hasan Askari (as) in which he has advised reciting Salawat on all Imams, each with a special Salawat; in that the following special Salawat is mentioned for the Imam of the Time (aj):

O Allah! Send blessings upon Your Wali and the son of Your Wali. One whose obedience You made incumbent and rights obligatory. You removed all impurities from him and purified him a thorough purification. O Allah! Help him and by it help Your religion and thereby help Your Awliya (friends) and his friends and by it help his Shias and his helpers and include us among them.

O Allah! Take them in Your refuge from the mischief of every oppressor and transgressor, and from mischief of all Your creatures. And protect him from the front, the back, from right and left and protect him and grant security to him from every calamity that comes to him from every direction. And through him protect (the religion of) Your Messenger and the Progeny of Your Messenger.

And make evident through it justice through his hands and bestow him with special help. And help those who help him and degrade his opponents. And through him destroy the oppressor and infidels and annihilate the disbelievers, the hypocrites and all the apostates whether they are from the east or the west from the dry land or from the seas, from the plains or from hilly areas.

And by him fill up the earth with justice and make apparent the religion of Your Messenger (Peace be upon him and his progeny). O Allah! Include us among his helpers and assistants and followers and Shias. And make apparent in my life all that the Aale Muhammad are eager for and fulfill their hopes as regards their enemies (degrade their enemies). O the rightful God, the Lord of the worlds! (accept my supplication).[^1]

Reminder

At the end of Part Seven we have presented a Salawat based on a Dua for His Eminence (aj), quoting from Misbahuz Zaer, which may referred to.

[^1]: Jamaal al-Usboo, Pg. 493