Next,
he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would
sit for tashahhud after finishing the second
rak'ah. In a two-rak'ah prayer such as
Fajr, "he would sit muftarishan"175,
as he used to sit between the two sajdahs,
and "he would sit in the first tashahhud
similarly"176
in a three- or four-rak'ah prayer. [see
diagram - qss]
He also ordered "the one who prayed badly"
thus, saying to him, When you sit
in the middle of the prayer, then be
calm, spread your left thigh and perform
tashahhud.177
Abu Hurairah (radi Allaahu 'anhu) said,
"My friend (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam)
forbade me from squatting (iq'aa') like
a dog"178;
in another hadeeth, "he used to forbid
the squatting of the devil."179
"When
he sat in tashahhud, he would place his
right palm on his right thigh (in one
narration: knee), and his left palm on
his left thigh (in one narration: knee,
spreading it upon it)"180;
and "he would put the end of his right
elbow on his right thigh."181
Also, "he forbade a man who was sitting
in prayer resting on his left hand, and
said: Verily, that is the prayer of
the Jews182;
in one wording, Do not sit like this,
for indeed this is the way of sitting
of those who are punished183;
in another hadeeth, It is the sitting
posture of those who incurred (Allaah's)
anger.184
Moving
the Finger in Tashahhud
"He
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would spread
his left palm on his left knee, clench
all the fingers of his right hand, point
with the finger adjacent to the thumb towards
the qiblah, and fix his sight on it (i.e.
the finger)."185
Also, "when he pointed with his finger,
he would put his thumb on his middle
finger"186,
and sometimes "he would make a circle
with these two."187
"When
he raised his finger, he would move it,
supplicating with it"188,
and he used to say, "It is surely
more powerful against the devil than
iron, meaning the forefinger."189
Also, "the Companions of the Prophet
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) used
to remind each other, that is, about
pointing with the finger when supplicating."190
Once, "he saw a man supplicating with
two fingers, so he said, "Make it
one, [make it one,]" and indicated
with his forefinger."191
"He
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would
do this in both tashahhuds."192
"He
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would recite
the Tahiyyah after every two rak'ahs"193;
"the first thing he would say in this sitting
would be: All compliments be to Allaah."194
"When
he forgot to perform the tashahhud after
the first two rak'ahs, he would prostrate
(twice) for forgetfulness."195
He used to order them to perform tashahhud,
saying, When you sit after every two
rak'ahs, then say: All compliments ...
and then each of you should select the
supplication he likes best and supplicate
Allaah, Mighty and Sublime, [with it]196;
in another version: Say, All compliments
... in every sitting197,
and he also ordered "the one who prayed
badly" to do so, as has been mentioned.
"He
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would
teach them the tashahhud the way he taught
them Soorahs of the Qur'aan"198,
and "the Sunnah is to say it quietly."199
He
taught several ways of tashahhud:
-
The tashahhud of Ibn Mas'ood, who said,
"The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam) taught me the tashahhud,
[with] my palm between his palms, the
way he taught me Soorahs of the Qur'aan:
All compliments200,
prayers201
and pure words202
are due to Allaah. Peace203
be on you, O Prophet, and also the
mercy of Allaah and His blessings204.
Peace be on us, and on the righteous
slaves of Allaah. [For when one says
that, it includes every righteous slave
in the heaven and the earth.] I bear
witness that none has the right to
be worshipped except Allaah, and I
bear witness that Muhammad is His slave
and messenger.
[This was while he was among us, but
after he was taken, we would say:
[Peace be on the Prophet]."205
-
The tashahhud of Ibn 'Abbaas: "The
Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi
wa sallam) used to teach us the tashahhud
the way he taught us [soorahs of] the
Qur'aan; he used to say,
All compliments, blessed words,
prayers, pure words are due to Allaah.
Peace be on you, O Prophet, and also
the mercy of Allaah and His blessings.
Peace be on us and on the righteous
slaves of Allaah. I bear witness that
none has the right to be worshipped
except Allaah, and [I bear witness]
that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah
(in one narration: ... is His
slave and messenger)."206
-
The tashahhud of Ibn 'Umar, who reported
the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam) as saying in the
tashahhud:
All compliments, prayers and good
words are due to Allaah. Peace be on
you, O Prophet, and also the mercy
of Allaah - Ibn 'Umar said, "I
add:"207
... and His blessings. - Peace be
on us and on the righteous slaves of
Allaah. I bear witness that none has
the right to be worshipped except Allaah
- Ibn 'Umar said, "I add:"208
... alone, He has no partner, -
and I bear witness that Muhammad is
His slave and messenger.209
-
The tashahhud of Abu Moosaa al-Ash'ari,
who said that the Messenger of Allaah
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said,
... when you are sitting, the first
thing each of you says should be:
All compliments, good words and
prayers are due to Allaah. Peace be
on you, O Prophet, and also the mercy
of Allaah and His blessings. Peace
be on us, and on the righteous slaves
of Allaah. I bear witness that none
has the right to be worshipped except
Allaah [alone, He has no partner],
and I bear witness that Muhammad is
His slave and messenger - seven phrases,
and they are the greetings in the prayer."210
-
The tashahhud of 'Umar ibn al-Khattaab,
who would teach the people the tashahhud
while on the pulpit, saying, "Say:
All compliments are due to Allaah;
all pure titles are due to Allaah;
all good words [are due to Allaah];
all prayers are due to Allaah. Peace
be on you, O Prophet, and also the
mercy of Allaah and His blessings.
Peace be on us and on the righteous
slaves of Allaah. I bear witness that
none has the right to be worshipped
except Allaah, and I bear witness that
Muhammad is His slave and messenger.211
He
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) used to
send prayers on himself in the first tashahhud
as well as the other.212
He also established it for his ummah, ordering
them to send prayers on him after sending
peace on him213,
and he taught them several ways of doing
so:
-
O Allaah! send prayers on Muhammad214,
and on his household, and on his wives
and progeny, as you sent prayers on
the family of Ibraaheem; You are indeed
Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory. And
send blessings on Muhammad215,
and his household, and his wives and
progeny, as you sent blessings on the
family of Ibraaheem; You are indeed
Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory.
This supplication he would use himself.216
-
O Allaah! send prayers on Muhammad,
and on the family of Muhammad, as you
sent prayers on [Ibraaheem, and on]217
the family of Ibraaheem; You are indeed
Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory. O
Allaah! send blessings on Muhammad,
and on the family of Muhammad, as you
sent blessings on [Ibraaheem, and on]218
the family of Ibraaheem; You are indeed
Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory.219
-
O Allaah! send prayers on Muhammad,
and on the family of Muhammad, as you
sent prayers on Ibraaheem, [and 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 [Ibraaheem, and] the family
of Ibraaheem; You are indeed Worthy
of Praise, Full of Glory.220
-
O Allaah! send prayers on Muhammad
[the Unlettered Prophet], and on the
family of Muhammad, as you sent prayers
on [the family of] Ibraaheem; and send
blessings on Muhammad [the Unlettered
Prophet] and the family of Muhammad,
as you sent blessings on [the family
of] Ibraaheem among the nations; You
are indeed Worthy of Praise, Full of
Glory.221
-
O Allaah! send prayers on Muhammad,
Your slave and messenger, as You sent
prayers on [the family of] Ibraaheem.
And send blessings on Muhammad [Your
slave and messenger], [and the family
of Muhammad,] as you sent blessings
on Ibraaheem [and on the famly of Ibraaheem].222
-
O Allaah! send prayers on Muhammad
and [on] his wives and progeny, as
You sent prayers on [the family of
Ibraaheem]. And send blessings on Muhammad,
and [on] his wives and progeny, as
You sent blessings on [the family of]
Ibraaheem; You are indeed Worthy of
Praise, Full of Glory.223
-
O Allaah! send prayers on Muhammad,
and on the family of Muhammad, and
send blessings on Muhammad, and on
the family of Muhammad, as you sent
prayers and sent blessings on Ibraaheem
and the family of Ibraaheem; You are
indeed Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory.224
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"
(al-'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 !
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
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".
"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
"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]:
"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
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