Special Salawaat of the month of Sha'ban

Chapter 1: Salawat

The first phrase that frequently gets repeated in the beginning of each paragraph is Salawat, and in one paragraph it comes with detail.

There are some points to be mentioned about these phrases:

The Root And The Foundation Of Salawat

In the Surah of Ahzab, God Himself and His Angels send salawat on our prophet, and the Quran has ordered us to send Salawat as well.

Allah sends His Salawat (Graces, Honours, Blessings, Mercy, etc.) on the Prophet (Muhammad) and also His angels too (ask Allah to bless and forgive him). O you who believe! Send your Salawat on (ask Allah to bless) him and be totally obedient to him. [^1]

The prophet has been awarded such a high status, that the Creator of the universe and all the angels who are responsible to manage the orders of Allah in the world send Salawat on him. When the believers send Salawat on the Prophet (and obey his commands), they harmonize with the message of the universe.

We must bear in mind that when we say Allah sends Salawat it means that He is sending blessings, but when creatures send Salawat it means, they ask for blessings.

Also the word "يصلون" indicates Allah and angels continuously send their blessings to his messenger.

Rewards For Salawat

We have lots of Ahadith about the rewards of salawat. Some Islamic scholars have even written books about it and gathered different salawat that are narrated by Ahlul Bayt. They have even written poetries on Salawat to show their love for the Prophet and Ahlul Bayt such as following:

1.)

-صلوات الفرج‏و أدعيتها تالیف شيخ القميين في وقته أبي الحسن محمد بن أحمد بن داود القمي المتوفى 368.

Salawat Al-Faraj va Adeyateha by Sheikh of Qom Abe Al-Hasan Mohammad Ibn Ahmad Ibn Davood Al-Qomi passed away in 368 H

الطوسي المتوفى 672 .

Al-Salawat va Tahiyat ala Ashrafe Al-Baryyat va Aleh Al-Aemat Al-Sadat by Khajeh Nasir Al-din Mohammad Ibn Mohammad Ibn Al-Hasan Al-Toosi passed away in 672

-الصلوات و التحيات تالیف محدث بزرگ فيض كاشاني المتوفى 1091

Al-Salawat va Al-Tahyyat by great narrator Feyze Kashani passed away in 1091

Al-Salawat va Al-Tahyyat by Alam Al-Huda the son of Feyze Kashani. In this book he has gathered various kind of Salawat that are narrated from Ahlul Bayt and also the Salawats that other scholars of Shia have invented. He also came up with some Salawat that he invented himself.

Salawat and its reward in Persian by Seyed Mohammad Ibn Zeyn Al-Abedin Al-razavi with the nickname of Fanayi

Poetry Salawat by Mohsen Ibn Al-Mola Samie Ibn Al-Mola Husayn Ibn Alam Al-Huda Ibn Al-Mohadeth Al-Feyz. The poem starts with:

O, lord I swear by the right of Mohammad the master, close to you, beloved to you, chosen by you and the last prophet

Salawat in Traditions

Here we narrate some of the Ahadith:

Hadith 1

فقال: و ما يمنعني و قد خرج آنفا جبرائيل من عندي قال قال الله تعالى :من صلى عليك صلاة صليت بها عليه عشر صلوات و محوت عنه عشر سيئات و كتبت له عشر حسنات9

Allame Tabarsi narrates with the chain of narration from Anas Ebn Malek from Abu Talhe, "I entered in the presence of the Prophet and saw him extremely happy and pleased like I have never seen him before. I told him: I have never seen you this happy before.

He told me, “Why should I not be happy, as Gabriel has just left and (before he left) said: God told me that whoever sends a Salawat on you I will send Salawat upon him and I will purify him from ten sins and I will write ten good deeds for him.”

Hadith 2

البحرانی بسنده عن إسحاق بن فروخ مولى آل طلحة، قال: قال أبو عبد الله (عليه السلام): «يا إسحاق بن فروخ، من صلى على محمد و آل محمد عشرا صلى الله عليه و ملائكته مائة مرة، و من صلى على محمد و آل محمد مائة مرة صلى الله عليه و ملائكته ألفا، أما تسمع قول الله عز و جل: هُوَ الَّذِي يُصَلِّي عَلَيْكُمْ وَ مَلائِكَتُهُ لِيُخْرِجَكُمْ مِنَ الظُّلُماتِ إِلَى النُّورِ وَ كانَ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَحِيماً «الاحزاب 43».10

Alameh Bahrani narrates from Eshagh Ibn Farrokh with the chain of narration: Imam Sadiq told me: “Whoever sends ten Salawat on Prophet Mohammad and his Ahlul Bayt, the angels will send hundred Salawat on him. Whoever sends hundred Salawat on Prophet Mohammad and his Ahlul Bayt, the Angels will send a thousand Salawat on him.

Have you heard the saying of Allah the Almighty, “He it is who sends Salawat (His blessings) on you, and His angels too (ask Allah to bless and forgive you), that He may bring you out from darkness (of disbelief and polytheism) into light (of Belief and Islamic Monotheism). And He is Ever Most Merciful to the believers.”(Al-Ahzab 43).”

Hadith 3

البحرانی بسنده عن أبي بصير، عن أبي عبد الله (عليه السلام)، قال:قال: «إذا ذكر النبي (صلى الله عليه و آله) فأكثروا الصلاة عليه، فإنه من صلى على النبي صلاة واحدة صلى الله عليه ألف صلاة في ألف صف من الملائكة، و لم يبق شي‏ء مما خلق الله إلا صلى على العبد لصلاة الله عليه و صلاة ملائكته، فمن لم يرغب في هذا فهو جاهل مغرور، قد برى‏ء الله منه، و رسوله و أهل بيته».11

Alameh Bahrani narrates from Abu Basir from Abu Abdullah (Imam Sadiq), “When you say the name of the Prophet, send lots of Salawat on him. Indeed, whoever sends one Salawat on the Prophet, Allah will send a thousand Salawats on him in the form of a thousand queues of angels and nothing from God’s creation remains unless it will send Salawat on that servant. So, whoever does not like to send Salawat, he is the ignorant and arrogant. Truly Allah and his Prophet and his Ahlul Bayt abandon him and hate him”

Hadith 4

البحرانی بسنده عن محمد بن مسلم، عن أحدهما (عليهما السلام)، قال: «ما في الميزان شي‏ء أثقل من الصلاة على محمد و آل محمد، و إن الرجل لتوضع أعماله في ميزانه فيميل به، فيخرج (صلى الله عليه و آله) الصلاة عليه، فيضعها في ميزانه فيرجح».12

Alameh Bahrani narrates from Mohammad Ibn Moslem from Imam Baqir or Imam Sadiq with the chain of narration, there is nothing heavier than Salawat in the scale of actions.

Hadith 5

البحرانی بسنده عن صفوان الجمال، عن أبي عبد الله (عليه السلام) ،قال: «كل دعاء يدعى الله عز و جل به محجوب عن السماء حتى يصلى على محمد و آل محمد».همان 489

Alameh Bahrani narrates from Safvan the owner of camels with the chain of narration from Imam Sadiq. He said, “All supplications to Allah will remain in a veil from the sky until a Salawat is sent to Mohammad and his Households”[^2]

Salawaat To Ahlul Bayt

Another important point is about how we send our Salawat because one may object that the Qur’an mentions sending Salawat upon the Prophet so why do we add the Ahlul Bayt at the end. The answer for this question comes from Ahadith.

The book of “Dor Al-Manthor” narrates from “Sahih Al-Bokhari”, “Sahih Al-Muslim”, “Sonan Abu Davood”, “Sonan Termezy”, “Sonan Nesaye”, “Sonan Ibn Majeh” and “Sonan Ibn Mardooyeh and also some Ahadith from “Kaabe Ibn Ajareh” that someone asked the prophet: “We know how to say Salam to you but how must we send our Salawat on you?

Prophet answered: “O, Allah send your peace and blessings to Muhammad and his Households as you have sent your peace and passage to Abraham and his households. Truly you are the Praiseworthy and Magnanimity. O, Allah send your blessings to Mohammad and his households as you send your blessings to Abraham and his households. Truly you are the Praiseworthy and Magnanimous.”

The author narrated eighteen other Ahadith and in all of them Prophet mentioned and insisted that “his household” must be mentioned in the Salawat. These Ahadith are narrated from the most reliable and famous books of Ahle Al-Sunnat. The great companions of Prophet such as “Ibn Abbas”, “Talhe”, “Abu Saeed Khedri”, “Abu Huraireh”, “Abu Masuod Ansari”, “Burideh”, “Ibn Masuod”, “Kabe Ibn Ajareh” have also narrated such Ahadith. Moreover the Commander of the Faithful also narrated same hadiths. [^3]

Ibn Hajar in the book of Savaaegh narrates, that the Prophet said, “Do not send an incomplete Salawat on me.” Some companion asked, what is the incomplete Salawat? Prophet answered, “When you say Allahuma Sale Ala Mohammad (O, Allah send your peace and passage to Mohammad) and then you stop. Rather you must say Allah huma sale ala Muhammad wa Ale Muhammad”.

Prophet’s Awareness From Our Salawat

All of these orders and recommendations raise a question in our mind, ‘Is the Prophet aware of our Salawat and does he respond when we express our love to him, or is it that we just send Salawat to a dead person?’

The Prophet replies to these Salawat and the answer comes from Quran. The Prophet’s life is like what Quran says about martyrs: “They are alive and provided by sustenance from their lord”.

The visiting of the grave of the Prophet and requesting from him in the eyes of Ignorant Wahhabis is a heretical mistake. This ideology contradicts what Quran has told us. On the other hand, the daily prayers in all the Islamic sects have the Salam to Prophet Mohammad. So if saying Salam to Prophet is considered ‘Shirk’ (unIslamic) then even the daily prayer is ‘Shirk’ and Allah Himself has ordered us to do ‘Shirk’. Contrarily, in the Ahadith of the immaculate Imams, the truth of this life is revealed and they have pointed to the bilateral and emotional relationships. Look at this beautiful hadith to understand the depth of this relationship:

البحرانی بسنده عن أبي جعفر (عليه السلام)، قال: «إن ملكا من الملائكة سأل الله أن يعطيه سمع العباد فأعطاه، فذلك الملك قائم حتى تقوم الساعة، ليس أحد من المؤمنين يقول: صلى الله على محمد و آله و سلم، إلا و قال الملك: و عليك السلام. ثم يقول الملك: يا رسول الله، إن فلانا يقرئك السلام. فيقول رسول الله (صلى الله عليه و آله): و عليه السلام».15

Al-Bahrani narrates with a chain of narration from Abu Ja’far (Imam Baqir), one angel from God’s angels asked God to give him the ability of hearing all the sayings of Allah’s servant and God gave him this ability. This angel will last until the end of time. There is no one who says: ‘the peace and the passage of Allah to Mohammad and his households’ unless this angel will say: ‘peace be upon you’. The angel will then convey the peace and greeting to Prophet Muhammad who will reply peace and greetings to him.

The Real Meaning Behind The Salam And Salawat

Sending salutations and obedience

البرقی بسنده عن أبي بصير، قال: سألت أبا عبد الله (عليه السلام) عن قول الله عز و جل: إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَ مَلائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيماً، قال: «الصلاة عليه، و التسليم له في كل شي‏ء جاء به».16

Al-Barqi narrates with the chain of narrations from Abi Basir that he said: I asked Abu abdu Allah(Imam Sadiq) about the verse, “Allah sends His Salawat (Graces, Honours, Blessings, Mercy, etc.) on the Prophet (Muhammad) and also His angels too (ask Allah to bless and forgive him). O you who believe! Send your Salawat on (ask Allah to bless) him and be totally obedient to him”[^4]. “Send salutations on him and show obedience to him in everything he brought us,” Imam answered[^5].

Loyalty to the promise

البحرانی بسنده عن الصادق جعفر بن محمد (عليهما السلام): من صلى على النبي و آله فمعناه: أني أنا على الميثاق و الوفاء الذي قبلت حين قوله: أَ لَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ قالُوا بَلى‏ اعراف »172.

Bahrani narrates from the chain of narration from the Jafar Ibn Muhammad, "whoever sends Salawat on Prophet and his households it means I am standing on the promise that I gave when Allah asked me, "Am I not your lord? And I answered yes you are.[^6]"

Blessing, Dua and purification

Bahrani narrates with the chain of narration from Ibn Abu Hamzeh. He said, “I asked Abu Abde Allah about the verse, “Allah sends His Salawat (Graces, Honours, Blessings, Mercy, etc.) on the Prophet (Muhammad) and also His angels too (ask Allah to bless and forgive him). O you who believe! Send your Salawat on (ask Allah to bless) him and be totally obedient to him” Then he answered, “The Salawat from Allah is a blessing and from angels it is purification and when it is from people it is a supplication but the saying “Send your Salawat on him and be totally obedient to him” means be obedient to whatever he brought from God.[^7]

[^1]: احزاب ً (56)

[^2]: Same book 489

[^3]: تفسير نمونه، ج‏17، ص420

[^4]: إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَ مَلائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيماً

[^5]: بحارالانوار ج91 ص61

[^6]: This hadith is regards to the Suratul Aaraf verse 172. البرهان 4 ص 448

[^7]: البرهان 4 ص 448