Praise be to Allah.
Sending blessings upon the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is one of the greatest acts of worship encouraged in Islam, and it is one of the most beneficial supplications for a person in this world and the hereafter, and it is one of the requirements of loving, venerating and respecting the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and giving him his rights.
With regard to the ideal way of sending blessings upon the master of mankind (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), there are a number of ways of doing that, which you can find in the book Sifat Salaat an-Nabi (sall-Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) by al-‘Allaamah al-Albaani (may Allah have mercy on him), p. 165 of the edition published by Maktabat al-Ma ‘aarif in Riyaadh [this book is available in English as The Prophet’s Prayer Described]. Among the soundest and most well-known of these ways are the two ways that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) taught his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) when they asked him how they should send blessings upon him (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). These two ways are as follows:
~1~
“Allaahumma salli ‘ala Muhammad wa ‘ala aali Muhammad kama salayta ‘ala Ibraaheem wa ‘ala aali Ibraaheem, innaka hameedun majeed. Allaahumma baarik ‘ala Muhammad wa ‘ala aali Muhammad kama baarakta ‘ala Ibraaheem wa ‘ala aali Ibraaheem, innaka hameedun majeed (O Allaah, send prayers upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent prayers upon Ibraaheem and upon the family of Ibraaheem; You are indeed Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory. O Allaah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad as You sent blessings upon Ibraaheem and upon the family of Ibraaheem; You are indeed Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory).”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (3700) and Muslim (406) from the hadeeth of Ka‘b ibn ‘Ajrah (may Allah be pleased with him).
~2~
“Allaahumma salli ‘ala Muhammadin wa ‘ala azwaajihi wa dhurriyyatihi kama salayta ‘ala Ibraaheem, wa baarik ‘ala Muhammadin wa ‘ala azwaajihi wa dhurriyyatihi kama baarakta ‘ala aali Ibraaheem, innaka hameedun majeed (O Allaah, send Your salaah (grace, honour and mercy) upon Muhammad and upon his wives and offspring, as You sent Your salaah upon Ibraaheem, and send Your blessings upon Muhammad and upon his wives and offspring, as You sent Your blessings upon the family of Ibraaheem. You are indeed Praiseworthy, Most Glorious).”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (3369) and Muslim (407) from the hadeeth of Abu Humayd as-Saa‘idi (may Allah be pleased with him).
The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not choose anything but that which is noblest and best.
See: Rawdat at-Taalibeen by an-Nawawi (11/66); Fath al-Baari by Ibn Hajar (11/166); Sifat Salaat an-Nabi (sall-Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) by al-Albaani, p. 175; al-Mawsoo‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah al-Kuwaitiyyah, 27/97
It is better to vary the phrases used, switching between the versions that have been narrated, sometimes reciting one and sometimes reciting another, so as to follow the Sunnah and sharee‘ah, and so that always reciting one version does not lead to neglecting another which is also proven, and because there are many other benefits in doing so which will not be attained by always reciting only one and not the other.
But we should point out that it is not prescribed to combine and mix these phrases so as to produce a combination of all of them in one; rather that is contrary to the Sunnah, as was stated by a number of scholars.
See: Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa by Ibn Taymiyyah (22/335, 458; 24/242, 247); Jala’ al-Ifhaam by Ibn al-Qayyim (p. 373 ); Qawaa‘id Ibn Rajab (p. 14); ash-Sharh al-Mumti‘ by Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (2/56, 65; 3/29, 98).
All of this has to do with sending blessings upon him (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) after the Tashahhud in the prayer.
With regard to sending blessings upon him (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) by saying “Allahumma salli ‘ala Muhammadin wa aali Muhammad (O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad) outside of the prayer, if what your friend means is that it is lacking in comparison to the complete wording that has been narrated, then this is correct. But if what he meant was that it is not valid or that it does not count as sending blessings upon the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), then that is not the case; rather it is sending blessings upon the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and its wording is correct and fulfills the purpose. The scholars still say, “Allahumma salli ‘ala Muhammad” or “sall-Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam (may Allah send blessings and peace upon him)” and the like. The matter is broad in scope, in sha Allah.
Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar stated in Fath al-Baari (11/166) that the majority of scholars think that any wording that fulfills the purpose of sending blessings upon him is acceptable, but in the prayer one should keep to the wording that has been narrated and not omit any part of it, so as to be sure of following the Sunnah and what is narrated from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).
With regard to this wording also, it is restricted to sending blessings (salaah) and not salaam, whereas Allah, may He be glorified, has instructed us to send both blessings and greeting of peace upon him, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Allah sends His Salat (Graces, Honours, Blessings, Mercy, etc.) on the Prophet (Muhammad SAW) and also His angels too (ask Allah to bless and forgive him). O you who believe! Send your Salat on (ask Allah to bless) him (Muhammad SAW), and (you should) greet (salute) him with the Islamic way of greeting (salutation i.e. As-Salamu Alaikum)”
[al-Ahzaab 33:56].
The scholars have stated that it is makrooh for a person to always mention salaah (blessings) without salaam (greeting of peace), or to always mention salaam without salaah. But if he mentions both of them, or mentions salaah on its own sometimes, or salaam on its own sometimes, then he is fallowing the verse. And Allah knows best.
See: Fath al-Baari, 11/167
And Allah knows best.
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