Fadl al-Salat ala al-Nabi wa Bayan Manaha wa Kayfiyatiha wa Shay minma Ullifa Fiha
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Fadl al-Salat ala al-Nabi wa Bayan Manaha wa Kayfiyatiha wa Shay minma Ullifa Fiha ("The Virtue of Invoking Blessings upon the Prophet, Clarification of Its Meaning and Manner, and a Selection of Works Authored on It") is a concise treatise by the contemporary Saudi scholar Abd al-Muhsin al-Abbad examining the religious status, linguistic and theological significance, authentic formulas, and bibliography of invoking blessings (al-salat) upon the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ .
Origin and Scope
The treatise originated as a public lecture delivered by al-Abbad and was subsequently published as an independent study and printed in academic journals . Al-Abbad opens the work by establishing the fundamental prerequisites for the acceptance of any act of worship in Islamic theology: sincerity exclusively to God (ikhlas) and conformity to the revealed law and practice of the Prophet (ittiba'), citing relevant Quranic verses and prophetic traditions warning against religious innovations . Within this framework, he positions sending blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ as a divine commandment enjoined in Surah al-Ahzab: إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا ("Indeed, Allah and His angels confer blessings upon the Prophet. O you who have believed, ask [Allah to confer] blessings upon him and ask [Allah to grant him] peace") .
Meaning and Manner of the Invocation
The work analyzes the linguistic and doctrinal definition of salat when attributed to God, angels, and believers :
- God's salat upon the Prophet: Al-Abbad adopts the interpretation transmitted by Abu al-Aliya in Sahih al-Bukhari, defining it as God's praise (thana') and exaltation of the Prophet before the highest assembly of angels, preferring this over definitions that equate it simply with general mercy (rahmah) or forgiveness (maghfirah) .
- The salat of angels and believers: Defined as supplication (du'a), asking God to bestow honor, elevated rank, and blessings upon the Prophet, in accordance with the explanation transmitted from Abdullah ibn Abbas .
The text also details the established prophetic formulas (kayfiyyah) for sending blessings, highlighting the authentic invocations taught directly by the Prophet ﷺ to his Companions when they inquired about how to fulfill the divine command .
Survey of Literature
A central feature of the treatise is its bibliographic assessment of classical and later works dedicated to this devotional practice, distinguishing between authoritative compilations and ungrounded writings .
Recommended Works
Al-Abbad highlights several classical reference works based on authentic Hadith transmission :
- Fadl al-Salat ala al-Nabi by Isma'il ibn Ishaq al-Qadi (d. 282 AH), identified as the earliest known specialized monograph on the topic, comprising 107 narrated traditions with chains of transmission .
- Jala' al-Afham fi Fadl al-Salat wa-al-Salam ala Khayr al-Anam by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, praised as an exceptionally comprehensive study combining hadith criticism, legal deduction, and explanations of the spiritual benefits of the invocation .
- Al-Silat wa-al-Bishr fi al-Salat ala Khayr al-Bashar by al-Fayruzabadi .
- Al-Qawl al-Badi' fi al-Salat ala al-Habib al-Shafi' by al-Sakhawi (d. 902 AH) .
Critical Cautions
Al-Abbad warns against widespread devotional manuals that contain weak (da'if) or fabricated (mawdu') narrations, as well as invented prayer formulas that lack scriptural sanction, specifically identifying Dala'il al-Khayrat by Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Jazuli (d. 870 AH) as a prominent example of literature requiring caution .
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