Assalaamu alaikum
Alhamdulillah and below is a continuation of the lessons of Salaah from
Shaickh al-Albaani's classic text. He (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote:
Important Notes about as-Salaah 'alaa an-Nabiyy - Sending Prayers on the
Prophet of the Ummah
1) It can be seen that in most of these ways of sending prayers on the
Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam), there is no mention of Ibraaheem
separate from his family, the wording being, "... as you have sent prayers
on the family of Ibraaheem." The reason for this is that in 'Arabic, the
family of a man includes the man as well as his dependants, e.g. in the
words of the Exalted,
"Allaah has chosen Aadam, Nooh, the family of Ibraaheem and the family of
'Imraan above all people" (aal-'Imraan 3:33);

"We sent against them a violent tornado with showers of stones, except the
family of Loot - We delivered them by early dawn" (Qamar 54:34); similar is
his saying (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam), O Allaah! send prayers on the
family of Abu Awfaa. The phrase Ahl al-Bayt (people of the house) is also
like this, e.g.

"Allaah's grace and His blessings be on you, O people of the house" (Houd
11:73). Hence, Ibraaheem is included in "the family of Ibraaheem".

Shaikh-ul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah says,


  "Most of the versions have, 'as you sent prayers on the family of
Ibraaheem' and 'as you sent blessings on the family of Ibraaheem'; some have
'Ibraaheem' himself. This is because he is the cause of all prayers and
purifications on them; the rest of his family are secondary recipients of
all that. To show these two points, both wordings have been employed
separately."
Further, there is a well-known question among the people of knowledge: about
the nature of the comparison in his statement, "as you sent prayers on ...",
for it is true that the model for comparison is normally superior to the one
being compared; here, the opposite is the case, since Muhammad (sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam) is greater than Ibraaheem, and so his superiority
dictates that the prayers requested are more excellent than any prayers
received or to be received by anyone else. The people of knowledge have
provided many answers to this, and these can be found in Fath al-Baari and
Jalaa' al-Ifhaam. They amount to about ten views, all of which are
unsubstantiated, some weaker than others, except one, a well-supported view,
and adopted by Shaikh-ul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim. This view
is: "The family of Ibraaheem includes many prophets; none like them is found
in the family of Muhammad. Therefore, when prayers on the Prophet
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) and his family are sought similar to that
bestowed on Ibraaheem and his family, which includes prophets, the family of
Muhammad receives out of that what is appropriate for them. Since the family
of Muhammad does not reach the rank of the prophets, the extra blessings and
benefit given to the prophets, including Ibraaheem, are left for Muhammad
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam). Thus he gains a distinguished position
which others cannot reach."

Ibn al-Qayyim says,

  "This is the best of all the previous views: that Muhammad (sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam) is one of the family of Ibraaheem; in fact, he is the
best of the family of Ibraaheem, as 'Ali ibn Talhah has related from Ibn
'Abbaas (radi Allaahu 'anhu) about the saying of the Exalted, "Allaah has
chosen Aadam, Nooh, the family of Ibraaheem and the family of 'Imraan above
all people" (aal-'Imraan 3:33); Ibn 'Abbaas said, "Muhammad is among the
family of Ibraaheem". This is text for the fact that if other prophets
descended from Ibraaheem are included in his family, then the inclusion of
the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) is more fitting.
Hence our saying, "... as you sent prayers on the family of Ibraaheem",
includes the prayers sent on him and on the rest of the prophets descended
from Ibraaheem. Allaah has then ordered us to specifically send prayers on
Muhammad and his family, as much as we send prayers on him, along with the
rest of Ibraaheem's family generally. Therefore, the Prophet's family
receives out of that what is appropriate for them, leaving all of the
remainder to him (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam). There is no doubt that the
total amount of prayers received by Ibraaheem's family, with the Messenger
of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) among them, is greater than that
received by the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) alone. Therefore,
what is sought for him is such a great favour, definitely superior than that
sought for Ibraaheem. Hence, the nature of the comparison and its
consistency become clear. The prayers sought for him with these words are
greater than those requested any other way, since what is requested with the
supplication is that it be as much as the model of comparison, and that the
Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) receive a large portion: the
comparison dictates that what is requested is more than what was given to
Ibraaheem and others. Thus, the excellence and nobility of Muhammad
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam), over and above Ibraaheem and his family,
which includes many prophets, is evident, and is as he deserves. This
sending of prayers on the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) becomes
evidence for this excellence of his, and this is no more than he deserves.
So, may Allaah send prayers on him and on his family, and send peace on
them, many greetings of peace, and reward him from our supplications better
than He has rewarded any prophet from his people. O Allaah! send prayers on
Muhammad, and on the family of Muhammad, as you sent prayers on the family
of Ibraaheem; You are indeed Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory. And send
blessings on Muhammad, and on the family of Muhammad, as you sent blessings
on the family of Ibraaheem; You are indeed Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory."
2) The reader will see that this part of the Prayer, with all its different
types, is always a sending of prayers on the family of the Prophet
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam): on his wives and children as well as
himself. Therefore, it is neither from the Sunnah, nor carrying out the
Prophet's command, to leave it at "O Allaah! send prayers on Muhammad" only.
Rather, one of these complete types of supplication must be used, as is
reported from his action (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam), whether in the
first or the last tashahhud. There is text about this from Imaam Shaafi'i in
al-Umm: "The tashahhud in the first and second instance is the same thing;
by 'tashahhud', I mean the bearing of witness and the sending of prayers on
the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam): neither will suffice without
the other."
In fact, one of the most amazing things to arise from this age and its
intellectual anarchy is that one person, Muhammad Is'aaf Nashaasheebi, in
his book al-Islaam as-Saheeh ("The Correct Islaam"), has the audacity to
reject the sending of prayers on the family of the Prophet (sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam) when sending prayers on him, despite it being firmly
established in the Saheehs of al-Bukhaari and Muslim, and elsewhere, on the
authority of several Companions, e.g. Ka'b ibn 'Ujrah, Abu Humaid
as-Saa'idi, Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri, Abu Mas'ood al-Ansaari, Abu Hurairah and
Talhah ibn 'Ubaidullaah! In their ahaadeeth, it is found that they asked the
Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam), "How do we send prayers on you?",
so he taught them this way of doing so. Nashaasheebi's argument for his view
is that Allaah the Exalted did not mention anyone else with the Prophet
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) in His saying:

"O you who believe! Send prayers on him, and salute him with all respect."
(Ahzaab 33:56) He then goes on to say in his refutation that the Companions
asked him (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) that question because the meaning
of "salaah" was known to them as "supplication", so they were asking: "How
can we supplicate to you?"!

This is a clear deception, for their question was not about the meaning of
"salaah" on him, in which case he would have a point, but it was about the
manner of doing the salaah on him, as is found in the narrations to which we
have referred. Thus it all fits, for they asked him about the way of doing
it according to the Sharee'ah, something which they could not possibly find
out except from the guidance of the All-Knowing, All-Wise, Giver of the
Sharee'ah. Similarly, they could also ask him about the way of performing
the Salaah made obligatory by words of the Exalted such as "Establish the
Salaah (Prayer)"; for their knowledge of the literal meaning of "Salaah"
could not remove their need to ask about its manner according to the
Sharee'ah, and this is crystal clear.

As for Nashaasheebi's argument referred to, it is of no consequence, for it
is well-known among the Muslims that the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa
sallam) is the expounder of the words of the Lord of the Worlds, as He says:

"And We have sent down to you the Message that you may explain clearly to
the people what is sent for them" (Nahl 16:44). Hence, the Prophet
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) explained the way of doing salaah on him,
and it included mention of his family, so it is compulsory to accept that
from him, due to Allaah's saying:

So take what the Messenger gives you (Hashr 59:7), and the well-known
authentic hadeeth, Verily, I have been given the Qur'aan and something
similar to it.225

I really wonder what Nashaasheebi and those taken in by his pompous words
would say if someone were to reject the tashahhud in prayer altogether, or
reject the menstruating woman's abstaining from prayer and fasting, all with
the argument that Allaah the Exalted did not mention the tashahhud in the
Qur'aan; He only mentioned bowing and prostration, and He did not exempt a
menstruating woman from prayer and fasting in the Qur'aan!! So, do they
agree with such arguments, which are along the lines of his original one, or
not? If they do, and we hope not, then they have strayed far, far away from
guidance, and have left the mainstream of the Muslims; if they do not, then
they are correct in agreeing with us, and their reasons for rejecting those
arguments are exactly the same as our reasons for rejecting Nashaasheebi's
original pronouncement, which we have explained clearly.

Therefore beware, O Muslims, of attempting to understand the Qur'aan without
recourse to the Sunnah, for you will never be able to do that, even if you
were the Seebawaih226 of the age, the expert of the age in the 'Arabic
language. Here is an example in front of you, for this Nashaasheebi is one
of the leading scholars of the 'Arabic language of this period; you have
seen how he has strayed, after being deceived by his knowledge of the
language, by not seeking the aid of the Sunnah in understanding the Qur'aan;
in fact he has rejected this aid, as you know. There are many other examples
of this - there is not enough room here to mention them, but what we have
mentioned will suffice, and Allaah is the Granter of all capability.

3) The reader will also see that in none of these types of salaah on the
Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) is there the word sayyid (chief,
leader). The later scholars have differed about the validity of its
inclusion in the Ibraaheemee salaah. Due to lack of space we will not go
into the details of that nor make mention of those who rejected its validity
in keeping with the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam)'s complete
teaching to his ummah when he instructed, "Say: O Allaah! send prayers on
Muhammad ..." on being asked about the manner of salaah on him, but we will
quote the Haafidh Ibn Hajr al-'Asqalaani on this, bearing in mind his
position as one of the great Shaafi'i scholars of both hadeeth and fiqh, for
contradiction of this teaching of the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa
sallam) has become widespread among Shaafi'i scholars!

Haafiz Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ghuraabeeli (790- 835 AH), a
companion of Ibn Hajr, said, and I quote from his manuscript227:

  He (i.e. Ibn Hajr), may Allaah benefit us with his life, was asked about
the features of salaah on the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam),
whether during prayer or outside it, compulsory or recommended: Is one of
its conditions that the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) be
attributed with sayaadah (leadership), e.g. 'O Allaah! send prayers on
sayyidinaa (our leader) Muhammad ...' or 'the foremost of creation', or 'the
leader of the children of Aadam' etc.? Or should one stick to 'O Allaah!
send prayers on Muhammad'? Which of these two is the better approach:
including the word sayyid, due to it being an established attribute of the
Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam), or leaving it out due to the
absence of it in the narrations? He (Ibn Hajr), may Allaah be pleased with
him, replied: "Yes, to follow the narrated wording is superior. It cannot be
said, "Maybe the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) himself did not say
it out of modesty, just as he did not say (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) on
mention of his name, although his ummah has been encouraged to do so" - for
we say that if that were superior, it would have been quoted from the
Companions and then from the Successors, but we do not come across it in any
narrations from any Companion or Successor. This is despite the volume of
quotations from them. We have Imaam Shaafi'i, may Allaah exalt his rank, one
of the foremost among men in his respect for the Prophet (sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam), saying in the preface to his book which is a base for
the people of his madhhab: "O Allaah! send prayers on Muhammad ..." etc.
until the end of what his judgment dictated, "... every time one of the
rememberers remembers him, and every time one of the heedless fails to
remember him", which he seems to have deduced from the authentic hadeeth
which has in it that the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) saw the
Mother of the Believers engaging in long and numerous glorifications, so he
said to her, "You have said words which, if weighed against the following,
would be balanced: Glorified be Allaah, as many times as the number of His
creation"; he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) used to like supplications
which were concise, but exhaustive in meaning. Qaadi 'Iyaad set out a
chapter about salaah on the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) in his
book ash- Shifaa' (The Book of Cure), quoting in it narrations from the
Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) on the authority of several
Companions and Successors; in none of these is the word sayyid reported:
  a) The hadith of 'Ali, that he used to teach them the manner of salaah on
the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) by saying, O Allaah, Spreader of
Plains, Originator of Heights, send the foremost of Your prayers, the most
fertile of Your blessings, and any remaining compliments, on Muhammad, Your
slave and messenger, the opener of what is closed.
  b) Again from 'Ali, that he used to say, "The prayers of Allaah, the
Beneficent, the Merciful, of the Angels nearest (to Allaah), of the
Prophets, of the Sincere ones, of the Witnesses, of the Righteous, and of
whatever glorifies You, O Lord of the Worlds, be on Muhammad son of
'Abdullaah, Seal of the Prophets, Imaam of the Godfearers, ... etc."
  c) On the authority of 'Abdullaah ibn Mas'ood, that he used to say, "O
Allaah! send Your prayers, Your blessings and Your mercy, on Muhammad, Your
slave and messenger, the imaam of goodness, the messenger of mercy, ..."
etc.
  d) From al-Hasan al-Basri, that he used to say, "Whoever wants to drink
from the cup which quenches, from the fount of the al-Mustafaa, should say:
O Allaah! send prayers on Muhammad, and on his family, his Companions, his
wives, his children, his descendants, his household, his in-laws, his
helpers, his followers, and all those who love him." This is what he (Qaadi
'Iyaad) has written in ash- Shifaa', regarding the manner of salaah on the
Prophet, on the authority of the Companions and those who succeeded them,
and he also mentioned other things in it. Yes, it is related in a hadeeth of
Ibn Mas'ood that in his salaah on the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa
sallam), he would say, "O Allaah! send the best of Your prayers, mercy and
blessings on the leader (sayyid) of the messengers ..." etc., transmitted by
Ibn Maajah, but its isnaad is weak, so the hadeeth of 'Ali, transmitted by
Tabaraani with a acceptable isnaad, takes precedence. This hadeeth has
difficult words, which I have reported and explained in the book Fadl
an-Nabi (Excellence of the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam)") by Abul
Hasan ibn al-Faaris. Some Shaafi'is have said that if a man took an oath to
send the best salaah on the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam), the way
to fulfil his oath would be to say, "O Allaah! send prayers on Muhammad
every time the rememberers remember him or the heedless fail to remember
him"; Nawawi said, "The one which is most fitting to be designated as
correct is that one should say: O Allaah! send prayers on Muhammad, and on
the family of Muhammad, as you sent prayers on Ibraaheem ..." Several of the
later scholars have replied to this by saying that in neither of the two
ways mentioned above is there anything to prove which is superior as regards
narration, but as regards the meaning, then the former is clearly superior.
This issue is well-known in the books of fiqh, and of all the scholars of
fiqh who addressed this issue, without exception, in none of their words
does the word sayyid appear. Had this additional word been commendable, it
would not have escaped all of them, leaving them ignorant of it. All good is
in following what is narrated, and Allaah knows best."
Ibn Hajr's view of the unacceptability of describing the Prophet
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) as sayyid during the salaah on him in
accordance with the Qur'aanic order, is also that of the Hanafi scholars. It
is the view which must be adhered to, for it is a true indication of love
for him, (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam);
"Say: If you do love Allaah, then follow me: Allaah will love you."
(aal-'Imraan 3:31)

Because of this, Imaam Nawawi said in Rawdah at-Taalibeen (1/265), "The most
complete salaah on the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) is: O Allaah!
send your prayers on Muhammad ..." etc., corresponding to type no. 3 given,
in which there is no mention of sayyid!

4) It should be known that types nos. 1 and 4 are the ones which the
Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) taught his Companions
when they asked about the manner of salaah on him, so this has been used as
evidence that these are the best ways of doing the salaah on him, for he
would not choose anything for them or himself except the best and noblest.
Imaam Nawawi, as mentioned, endorsed (in Rawdah at- Taalibeen) that if a man
were to take an oath to do the best possible salaah on the Prophet
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam), this could not be fulfilled except in these
ways.

Subki has given another reason: whoever does salaah with those types has
made salaah on the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) with certainty,
and whoever does so with other words is in doubt whether or not he has
performed the prayers as requested. This is because they said, "How do we
send prayers on you?" and he replied, "Say: ...", thus defining their salaah
on him as their saying such-and-such. This was mentioned by Haitami in
ad-Darr al-Mandood (25/2); he then said (27/1) that the objective is
achieved with all the types which have occurred in authentic ahaadeeth.

5) It should be known that it is not valid to combine all these way into one
way of salaah, and the same goes for the different tashahhuds given
previously. In fact, that would be an innovation in the religion; the Sunnah
is to say different ones at different times, as Shaikh-ul-Islaam Ibn
Taymiyyah has explained in his discussion of the takbeers of the two 'Eids
(Majmoo' al-Fataawaa 29/253/1).

6) 'Allaamah Siddeeq Hasan Khaan says in his book Nuzul al- Abraar bil 'Ilm
al-Ma'thoor min al-Ad'iyah wal-Adhkaar, after giving many ahaadeeth about
the excellence of repeated salaah on the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa
sallam) (p. 161):

"There is no doubt that the foremost among the Muslims in sending salaah on
him (sall-Allaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) are the People of Hadeeth and the
narrators of the purified Sunnah, for it is one of their duties in this
noble branch of learning to make salaah on him before every hadeeth, and so
their tongues are always engaged in his mention, may Allah grant him mercy
and peace. There is no book of Sunnah or collection of hadeeth, be it a
jaami', musnad, mu'jam, juz', etc., except that it comprises thousands of
ahaadeeth; even one of the least bulky ones, Suyooti's al-Jaami' as-Sagheer,
contains ten thousand ahaadeeth, and the rest of the collections are no
different. So this is the Saved Sect: the body of the People of Hadeeth, who
will be the closest among men to the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam) on the Day of Resurrection, and the most likely to be
rewarded by his intercession (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam), may my mother
and father be sacrificed for him! This excellence of the People of Hadeeth
cannot be surpassed by anyone unless he does more than what they do,
something which is well-nigh impossible. Therefore, O desirer of good,
seeker of salvation, no matter what, you should either be a muhaddith, or be
close to the muhadditheen; do not be otherwise ... for apart from that there
is nothing which will benefit you."

I ask Allaah, Blessed and Exalted, to make me one of these People of
Hadeeth, who are the closest among men to the Messenger of Allaah
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam); perhaps this book will be a testimony to
that. May Allaah shower His mercy on Imaam Ahmad, who recited:

The religion of Muhammad is in narrations,
The best mounts for a young man are the traditions;
Turn not away from Hadeeth and its people,
For Opinion is night, while Hadeeth is day,
A young man can be ignorant of the guidance ...
Although the sun is shining in all its splendour !





Du'aa' in the First Tashahhud
He (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) also set the guidance of du'aa in this
tashahhud as well, saying, When you sit after every two rak'ahs, then say:
All compliments are due to Allaah ... (till the end of that supplication,
and then said:) ... then he should select of the supplications what is most
pleasing to him.228



Standing up for the Third, and then the Fourth, Rak'ah
Next, he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would get up for the third rak'ah
with takbeer229, and he ordered "the one who prayed badly" to do so: Then do
that in every rak'ah, as before.
"When he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) stood from the sitting position, he
would say takbeer, and then stand up"230; and "he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa
sallam) would raise his hands"231 with this takbeer sometimes.

"When he wanted to stand up for the fourth rak'ah, he would say: Allaah is
the Greatest"232, and he ordered "the one who prayed badly" likewise, as
before, and "he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would raise his hands"233
with this takbeer sometimes.

"He would sit up straight on his left foot, at ease, until every bone
returned to its proper place, then stand up, supporting himself on the
ground; and he would clench his fists234: supporting himself with his hands
when standing up."235

He would recite al-Faatihah in both these rak'ahs, and he ordered "the one
who prayed badly" to do that. In Zuhr prayer, he would sometimes add a few
aayaat to this, as has been explained under "Recitation in Zuhr Prayer".





Qunoot in the Five Prayers because of a Calamity
"When he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) wanted to supplicate against
someone, or supplicate for someone, he would perform qunoot236 in the last
rak'ah, after rukoo'; after having said: Allaah listens to the one who
praises Him.237 "He would supplicate loudly"238, "raise his hands"239, and
"those behind him would say: aameen"240.
"He was known to perform qunoot in all five prayers"241, although "he would
only perform qunoot in them when he supplicated for a people or supplicated
against a people"242. For example, he once said, O Allaah! rescue al-Waleed
ibn al- Waleed, and Salamah ibn Hishaam, and 'Ayyaash ibn Abi Rabee'ah. O
Allaah! harden Your penalty on (the tribe of) Mudar, and cause for it years
(of famine) like the years of Yoosuf. [O Allaah! curse Lahyaan, and Ru'l,
and Dhakwaan, and 'Usayyah, who disobeyed Allaah and His Messenger!]243

Then, "he would say: Allaah is the Greatest when he had finished qunoot and
prostrate."244





Qunoot in Witr Prayer
"He (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) used to perform qunoot in the (odd)
rak'ah of the Witr prayer"245 sometimes246, and "he would perform it before
rukoo'."247
He taught al-Hasan ibn 'Ali (radi Allaahu 'anhu) to say [after finishing his
recitation in Witr]:



Allahummahdinee fee man hadayta, wa aafina feeman aafayta, wa tawallanee
feeman tawallayta, wa baarik lee feema a'tayta, waqinee sharrama qadhayta,
fa innaka taqdhee wa laa yuqdhaa alayka, wa innahu laa yadhillu man
waalayta, wa laa ya izzu man aadayta, tabarakta rabbana wa ta aalayta. Laa
manja minka illa ilayka.

"O Allaah! guide me among those whom You have guided; and pardon me among
those who You have pardoned; and turn on me in friendship among those on
whom You have turned in friendship; and bless me in what You have bestowed;
and save me from the evil of what You have decreed; [for] indeed You decree,
and none can influence You; [and] he is not humiliated whom You have
befriended; [nor is he honoured who is Your enemy.] Blessed are You, O Lord,
and Exalted. [There is no place of safety from You except towards You.]"248

Ameen!!!. Allahumma taqabbal du'aana wa siyaamana wa qiyyamana wa salaatina
wadkhina fee rahmatika Ya Arhamu Raahemeen. Wasalaatu wasalaamu ala
Nabiyyina Muhammad. Wasalaam.

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