Alayhis Salam For The Ahlulbayt (a.s)

The Verse Of Salawat

إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا

"Verily Allah and His angels shower blessings on the Prophet (saw). O ye who believe! Ask blessings on him and salute him with a worthy salutation."

{33:56}

Holy Qur'aan 

Qur'an 33:56 commands believers to send blessings and salutations upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). The reports below discuss the wording of those blessings and the use of 'alayhis salam' for members of the Ahlulbayt (a.s). Salawat has an important place in Muslim prayer, although the legal schools differ over whether omitting it from the final tashahhud invalidates the prayer.

Salawat can be expressed in several forms. 'Allahumma salli ala Muhammadin wa ala ali Muhammad' means 'O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad.' The shorter phrase 'sallallahu alayhi wa sallam' means 'May Allah bless him and grant him peace.' These are distinct phrases; the first explicitly includes the Prophet's family.

The question examined here is whether blessings and salutations may also be addressed to the Prophet's family. The following reports from Sunni hadith collections and scholarly works provide examples of this usage. They should be read alongside the distinctions scholars make between salawat, salam and the phrase 'radiyallahu anhu' (may Allah be pleased with him).

Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz:

And it is not allowed for anybody to permit a saying or act of worship unless its proven from the mighty book (Qur'aan) or the correct sunnah or what all scholars agree on. Just like many proofs show that we should forbid the innovations, and we should warn about them.

Source. Majmu' Al-Fataawa. Vol. 21, Pg. # 23. 

Saleh ibn Abdul-Aziz Al-Sheikh:

And 'taradi' (saying may Allah be pleased) on the companions and the wives of the Prophet (saw) was added and did not exist in his time (saw), neither in the era of Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman. And it was not even in the time of the Imams of the Tabi'in, but after them they did add this 'taradi' & have made it a slogan. For it became a slogan of Ahl ul Sunnah against those who are others than themselves such as Al-Rawafid, Al-Khawarij, Al-Nawasi etc.

Source: Al-La'aali Al-Ba'iya Fi Sharh Al-Aqeeda Al-Wasetiyya. Vol. 2, Pg. # 410.

Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ismail ibn Ibrahim ibn al-Mughirah al-Bukhari:

Narrated Adam from Sho’ba from Al-Hakam who said: I heard Abdul Rahman ibn Abi Laila said: Ka‘b ibn Ujra met me and said: "Shall I give you a present? Once the Prophet (saw) came to us and we said: "O Allah's Apostle! We know how to greet you, but how should we (ask Allah to) send blessings on you?" He said: 'Say: O Allah (swt)! Send Your Mercy on Muhammad (saw) and on the family of Muhammad (a.s), as You sent Your Mercy on Ibraheem (a.s) and on the family of Ibraheem (a.s), for You are the Most Praise-worthy, the Most Glorious. O Allah (swt)! Send Your Blessings on Muhammad (saw) and the family of Muhammad (a.s), as You sent your Blessings on Ibraheem (a.s) and on the family of Ibraheem (a.s), for You are the Most Praise-worthy, the Most Glorious."

Source: Sahih Al-Bukhari. Pg. # 1584. H. # 6357.

Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ismail ibn Ibrahim ibn al-Mughirah al-Bukhari:

Narrated Abdullah ibn Yusuf from Al-Laith from ibn Al-Haad from Abdullah ibn Khabbab from Abi Sa’eed Al-Khudri who said: We said: "O Allah's Apostle! (We know) this greeting (to you) but how should we (ask Allah to) send blessings on you? He said: "Say: O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad, Your servant and Messenger, as You sent blessings upon the family of Ibrahim; and bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad as You blessed Ibrahim." The report also records wording variants that include the family of Ibrahim.

Source: Sahih Al-Bukhari. Pg. # 1206. H. # 4798.

Abu al-Husayn Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj ibn Muslim al-Qushayri al-Naysaburi:

Narrated Yahya ibn Yahya Al-Tamimi narrated Malik from No’aim ibn Abdullah Al-Mojmar from Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Zaid Al-Ansari {and Abdullah ibn Zaid-he who was shown the call (for prayer in a dream)} narrated from Abi Masoud Al-Ansari who said: "We were sitting in the company of Sa'ad ibn Ubada when the Messenger of Allah (saw) came to us. Bashir ibn Sa‘d said: "Allah has commanded us to bless you, O Messenger of Allah! But how should we bless you?" He (the narrator) said: 'The Messenger of Allah (saw) kept quiet (and we were so much perturbed over his silence) that we wished we had not asked him. The Messenger of Allah (saw) then said: (For blessing me) say: "O Allah, bless Muhammad and the members of his household as Thou didst bless the members of Ibrahim's household. Grant favours to Muhammad and the members of his household as Thou didst grant favours to the members of the household of Ibraheem in the world. Thou art indeed Praiseworthy and Glorious; and salutation as you know."

Source: Sahih Muslim. Vol. 1, Pg. # 191. H. # 65.

Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani:

Narrated Ka‘b ibn Ujra: We said or someone said: "We are ordered to bless you, and to greet you. We know how to greet you, but how should we (ask Allah to) send blessings on you? He said: "Say: O Allah! Send Your Mercy on Muhammad and on the family of Muhammad (saw), as You sent Your Mercy on Ibraheem (a.s) and on the family of Ibraheem (a.s), for You are the Most Praise-worthy, the Most Glorious. O Allah (swt)! Send Your Blessings on Muhammad (saw) and the family of Muhammad, (a.s) as You sent your Blessings on Abraham and on the family of Ibraheem, for You are the Most Praise-worthy, the Most Glorious!"

Source: Sahih Sunan Abi Dawood. Vol. 1, Pg. # 272. H. # 976.

Nur al-Din Ali ibn Abi Bakr ibn Sulayman al-Haythami:

Narrated Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s) who said: "Every supplication is withheld until blessings are sent upon Muhammad (saw) and the family of Muhammad."

Al-Haythami: Narrated by Al-Tabarani in Al-Awsat, and it’s narrators are Trustworthy, and it was mentioned before in the beginning of the chapter through ibn Masoud and it is a good Hadeeth, and the Hadeeth of Jabir and Hadeeth of Fudhala ibn Ubaid.

Source: Majma Al-Zawa'id. Vol. 10, Pg. # 180. H. # 17278.

Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani:

In a Hadeeth it is said that sending blessings on the Prophet (saw) before du'a is the cause of the acceptance of du'a, and Imam Ali (a.s) said: "Every supplication is withheld until blessings are sent upon Muhammad (saw) and the family of Muhammad."

Narrated by Al-Tabarani in Al-Awsat, and it’s narrators are trustworthy - as it is recorded in Al-Majma.

Source: Sefatul Salat Al-Nabi. Vol. 3, Pg. # 997.

أُولَـٰئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَاتٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ وَأُولَـٰئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُهْتَدُونَ

"Such are they on whom are blessings (salawat) from their Lord, and mercy. Such are the rightly guided." 

{2:157}

Holy Qur'aan 

The phrase ‘Alayhis Salaam’ comes from the root word ‘Salaam’ (peace) a term which the believers use when greeting one and another. If one wishes to use ‘Alayhis Salaam’ upon the Messengers of Allah (saw) or the Ahlulbayt (a.s), according to the 'Tashayyu' (Those who follow the 12 successors after the Prophet (saw)), it is deemed permissible. This slogan has also been used by the scholars of the opponents and in Hadeeth literature. But we also find in some of the manuscripts the term has been removed but later appears elsewhere in the very same book.

Imam Ali (a.s)

Imam Ali (عليه السلام) said.....

Source: Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal. Authenticated by Muhammed Atta. Vol. 4, Pg. # 605. H # 9797. 

Imam Ali (عليه السلام)...

Source: Sunan Al-Tirmidhi. Authenticated By Baitul Afkar. Pg. # 17. H # 969.

Imam Ali (عليه السلام)...

 

Source: Sunan Al-Tirmidhi. Authenticated By Allamah Hafiz Muhammad. Vol. 1, Pg. # 497. H # 969.

Now let us look at two older edition of Sahih Bukhari in which 'Imam Ali (عليه السلام)' is mentioned in the text:-

Source: Sahih Al-Bukhari. Authenticated By Abu Shoaib Al-Karmi. Pg. # 4949. H # 4947. 

'Imam Ali (عليه السلام)' 

Source: Sahih Al-Bukhari. Authenticated by Muhammad Zuhair bin Nasir. Vol. 4, Pg. # 171. 

'Imam Ali (عليه السلام)' 

Source: Sahih Al-Bukhari. Dar Ibn Kathir (Damascus and Beirut) Book of Tafsir. Pg. # 1225, Book 65, H # 51.

'Imam Ali (عليه السلام)' 

Source: Sahih Sunan Abu Dawood. Authenticated By Al-Albani. Vol. 1, Pg. # 349, H # 1272.

'Imam Ali (عليه السلام)' 

Source: Sunan Abu Dawood. Authenticated By Al-Albani. Vol. 2, Pg. # 303, H # 3214. 

Imam Hussain (a.s)

Note: Both editions contain '(عليه السلام)' for Imam Hussain (a.s).

Source: Sahih Bukhari. Authorised by Abu Suhaib Al-Karmi. Book 22, Pg. # 715, H # 3748.

Imam Hussain  '(عليه السلام)' 

Source: Sahih Al-Bukhari. Authorised By Muhammad Zuhair bin Nasir Al-Nasir. Vol. 5, Pg. # 26.

Hussain bin Ali  '(عليه السلام)'  

Source: Sahih Bukhari. Dar Ibn Kathir (Damascus and Beirut). Pg. # 972 - 973, Book 63, H # 4002.

Hussain bin Ali  '(عليه السلام)'  

Source: Sahih Al-Bukhari. Dar Ibn Kathir (Damascus and Beirut). Pg. # 1844, Book 97, H # 7465.

Bibi Faatimah '(a.s)'  

Bibi Faatimah (عليه السلام)...

Source: Sahih Al-Bukhari. Dar Ibn Kathir (Damascus and Beirut). Pg. # 132, Book 109, H # 520.

Scholarly Opinions

Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Abdullah al-Shawkani:

One of the beloved scholars of Salafis also used, 'Alayhis Salam'  for Bibi  Faatimah (s.a) & Imam Ali (a.s) respectively:-

إن في لبس الثوب الأحمر سبعة مذاهب : الأول الجواز مطلقا جاء عن علي عليه السلام وطلحة وعبد الله بن جعفر والبراء وغير واحد من الصحابة

There are seven opinions about wearing red cloth: The first (opinion) is that it is absolute lawful and this is the opinion of Ali 'peace be upon him,' Talha, Abdullah bin Ja'far, Al-Bara and other companions.

Source: Nayl Al-Awtar. Maktabat Al-Babi Al-Halab. Vol. 2, Pg. # 109. 

Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Abdullah al-Shawkani:

وسيأتي حديث فاطمة عليها السلام

"The report of Faatimah (a.s) will be discussed below."

Source: Nayl Al-Awtar. Published Dar Ibn Jau'zi. Vol. 3, Pg. # 570.

Shihab al-Din Mahmud ibn Abdullah al-Alusi:

"Sending blessings on other than the Prophets & Angels. On this matter the views of the Scholars are different. In the view of Qazi Ayad and most of the Scholars, it is lawful. They have permitted this based on the following verse:

هُوَ الَّذِي يُصَلِّي عَلَيْكُمْ وَمَلَائِكَتُهُ

He is the One who sends blessings upon you, as do His angels. (Excerpt from Qur'an 33:43.) 

Holy Qur'aan {33:43}

Also the Sahih (Authentic) Hadeeth:

1. The Prophet (saw) said, "O Allah! Send your blessings upon the offspring of Abu Aufa." 

2.  The Prophet (saw) opened his hands and said: 'O Allah send your blessing & mercies upon the family of Sa'ad ibn Ubadah'

3. Ibn Hibban in a corrected narration that a woman approached the Prophet (saw) and requested, 'O Allah (swt)! Send blessings on me and my husband.' The Prophet (saw) sent blessings in this manner.

4. According to Imam Muslim's report, the Angels recite for every momin 'Sala Allah alayka wa ala jasdhaak.'

Source: Ruh Al-Ma'ani Fi Tafsir Al-Qur'aan. Vol. 22, Pg. # 75. 

Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani:

شكوى ابنته فاطمة عليها السلام

"The complaint of his daughter Faatima (a.s)...."

Source: Adab Al-Zafaf. Pg. # 279.

Taqi al-Din Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Abdul Halim ibn Taymiyyah:

As for sending Salat upon him individually, this is based upon the question: 'Can one send Salat individually upon anyone apart from the Prophet, peace be upon him?' An example is saying, "O Allah! Send your Salat upon 'Umar or Ali.' The Ulema have disagreed on this. Maalik, Al-Shafi and a group of the Hanbalis say that one cannot say Salat individually upon anyone apart from the Prophet, peace be upon him. This has also been narrated from ibn Abbas, that he said: "I do not know Salat as befitting anyone apart from the Prophet, peace be upon him." Imam Ahmad and the majority of his companions said that there is NO problem with it (i.e. sending Salah individually upon anyone other than the Prophet). This is because Ali bin Abi Taalib, may Allah be pleased with him, said to Umar bin Al-Khattab: "May Allaah send Salaah upon you." And this statement is more correct. But to limit the saying Salat to anyone of the Sahabah and the relatives (of the Prophet) like Ali or others, without connecting him with the Prophet (saw), thereby making it a trademark with his name, this is a bid'ah.

Source: Majmu' Al-Fatawa. Vol. 4, Pg. # 303.

A difference in opinion regarding the phrase '(A.S)' exists according to the so-called 'Ahl ul Sunnah.' For the followers of the Ahlul-Bayt (a.s) there is no possibility of dispute. So the question remains on where the evidence lies.