Khutba on Importance of Prayer on Prophet

الحمد لله، الحمد لله الذي أمر عباده بالصلاة على رسوله الكريم والإكثارَ من التسليم، نحمده تعالى ونستعينه، ونشكره تعالى ونستغفره ونستغيثه، نعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا ومن سيئات أعمالنا، من يهد الله فهو المهتد ومن يضلل فلن تجد له وليا مرشدا، ونشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له، له الملك و له الحمد، يحيي ويميت، بيده الخير، وهو على كل شيء قدير،  ونشهد أن سيدنا و مولانا محمداً عبده ورسوله، وحبيبه وصفيه، بلغ الرسالة وأدى الأمانة ونصح الأمة، النبي الأمي الذي أرسله الله بالهدى والدين الحق، بشيرا ونذيرا بين يدي الساعة، صلى الله عليه وسلم وعلى آله وأصحابه ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين. أما بعد! فيا عباد الله اتقوا الله حق تقاته ولا تموتن إلا وأنتم مسلمون. يأيها الذين ءامنوا اتقوا الله وقولوا قولا سديدا يصلح لكم أعمالكم ويغفر لكم ذنوبكم. ومن يطع الله ورسوله فقد فاز فوزا عظيما. اتقوا الله فيما أمر وانتهوا عما نها عنه وزجر.

            There is a phenomenon I have witnessed, not just after the Jumua prayer, but after almost every fard prayer in the mosque, and that is people rushing to their feet and leaving when the salawat on the Prophet are made, or simply sitting and not participating in those salawat, or sometimes even frowning and looking on disapprovingly. And they do this because, they say, salawat are dua, and it is a bid’a to make dua out loud and as a group after the prayer. And to back this up, they cite Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn al-Qayyim and claim that it was not done in the time of the Prophet nor in the time of the Companions.
            As for their first claim, that salawat are dua, it is true. In the Shifa of Qadi Iyad, Abu’l-Aaliya is reported as saying,

صلاة الله ثناؤه عليه عند الملائكة، وصلاة الملائكة الدعاء

            “The salaat of Allah is His praise of the Prophet to the angels. The salaat of the angels is dua.” Similarly, our salaat upon him is dua, but it is different to other forms of dua, for, like dhikr, it is recited by the whole group, not just by one with the rest of the group saying aamin. The Prophet said,

لا يجلس قوم مجلساً لا يصلون فيه على النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم إلا كان عليهم حسرةً و إن دخلوا الجنة لما يرون من الثواب

            “No people sit in a gathering in which they do not bless the Prophet without grief coming upon them. When they enter the Garden, they will not see some of its reward.” For the salawat on the Prophet are more than just dua, they are an acknowledgement of the great blessings our Lord have given us, for there is no doubt that the Prophet ranks as the highest blessing to mankind. And as Allah says,

وَأَمَّا بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ فَحَدِّث

            the translation of which is, “As for the blessing of your Lord, speak out.” The salaat on the Prophet is obligatory at least once in the lifetime of the Muslim, for it is a command from Allah to the believers in the Quran. Allah says,

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

            the translation of which is, “Allah and His angels call down blessings on the Prophet. You who have belief, call down blessings on him and ask for complete peace and safety for him.” And the best place for actions to which obligation is attached is in public where people can see and hear them and learn how to do them.
            Their second objection is that the time after the prayer is a time for the adhkaar that have been reported from the Messenger of Allah, such as the 33 subhanallahs, 33 alhmadulillahs and 33 allahu akbars, and not for anything else. Any dua, they say, must be done before the end of the prayer. Firstly, as we just mentioned, salawat are more than dua, they are also praise of Allah and hence dhikr. And secondly, it is only with a very selective reading of hadith that one can come to the conclusion that there should not do dua after the prayer. That was not the understanding of the majority of ulama. Indeed, al-Bukhari has a chapter entitled, ‘Dua after the prayer’, and an-Nawawi said,

والدعاء…مستحب عقب كل الصلوات بلا خلاف

            “Dua is recommended after every prayer. There is no dispute regarding this.” And at-Tirmidhi narrates the Prophet as saying, when asked which duas were most heard,

جوف الليل الأخير، ودبر الصلاة المكتوبة

            “Those made in the final portion of the night and after the the obligatory prayers. This word ‘dubur’ usually means ‘after’, as is shown by the fact that the same word is used to describe when you do the 33 subhanallahs, and no one says you do them during the prayer. And the same is true of their objection to raising the hands for dua, which they claim is also reprehensible. There are literally hundreds of hadith from the Messenger of Allah and his Companions in which it states that they raised their hands, for the qibla of dua is up towards the sky.
            As for their objection to the salawat being done in a group and in unison, that is refuted by the hadith we mentioned earlier that warned against people sitting in a gathering and not doing salawat. And given that it is a high form of dhikr, qiyas may be made with other forms of dhikr, such as the takbir during the days of Eid or the talbiya during the Hajj. There is no doubt that those things are done out loud and in unison, and were done in that way during the time of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah.
            And, if these factors were not enough, then you should know that whenever the name of the Prophet is mentioned, we are commanded to make salawat upon him. Anyone who does not is a miser and is in danger of booking a place in the Fire. The Prophet said,

من ذُكِرتُ عنده فلم يصل علي أخطيء به طريق الجنة

            “When I am mentioned in the presence of someone and he does not bless me, the path to the Garden has passed him by.” And there is no doubt that he is mentioned during the course of those salawat we recite after the prayer.
            The hearts of those who object to this practice are so occupied with finding fault with the practices of their fellow Muslim brothers, and so quick to criticise them and view them in a negative light that they do not stop to think what it is they are actually doing. They are deliberately refraining from praising and blessing the Messenger of Allah when presented with the opportunity to do so, and thinking badly of other Muslims who are praising him. They are treading on the thinnest of ground. Now, it is not the purpose of this khutba to make obligatory what is not, and there are obviously some people whose time is short and they have to get back to their work quickly, but this khutba is a warning. We owe all that we have and all that we are to the Messenger of Allah, so taking a few moments to honour him is little to ask in return. We ask Allah to guide us to the sawaab. We ask Allah to increase us in love of the Messenger of Allah, and make our lips moist with his mention. And we ask Allah to always give us the best opinion of Him and of all our fellow Muslims, and join our hearts together.

أقول قولي هذا وأستغفر الله لي ولكم ولسائر المسلمين من كل ذنب فاستغفروه إنه هو الغفور الرَّحيم

الحمد لله الحمد لله رب العالمين، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له وأشهد أن محمداً عبده ورسوله، صلى الله وسلم وبارك عليه وعلى آله وصحبه، والتابعين وتابعي التابعين ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين.

أما بعد! فيأيها الذين ءامنوا اتقوا الله ما استطعتم واسمعوا وأطيعوا وأنفقوا خيرا لأنفسكم.

يا عباد الله أوصيكم وإياي بتقوى الله وطاعته وأحذركم وإياي عن معصيته ومخالفته.

            This salaat upon the Prophet about which we have spoken is one of the best and most productive uses any man can make of his tongue. And it is appropriate to almost every situation. Its frequent appearance on the tongue is the sign of a grateful heart, while its absence is the sign of one that is coarse and hardened. The more we do it, the closer our connection becomes to the Prophet, and there is no doubt that those who are closest to the Prophet will be those who are most successful. The Prophet said,

أولى الناس بي يوم القيامة أكثرهم علي صلاة

            “The nearest people to me on the Day of Rising will be those who have said the most prayers on me.” And he said,

لَيَرِدَنَّ عليَّ أقوامٌ ما أعرفُهُم إلا بكثرةِ صلاتِهم علي

            “People will come to me whom I will only recognise by the abundance of their prayer on me.” And he said,

 إن أنجاكم يوم القيامة من أهوالها ومواطنها أكثركم علي صلاةً

            “Those who will be safest from the terrors and places of the Day of Rising will be those who did the most prayers on me.” The prayer on the Prophet washes away your wrong actions and replaces them with the highest form of right actions.  Abu Bakr as-Siddiq said,

الصلاة على النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أمحق للذنوب من الماء البارد للنار، والسلام عليه أفضل من عتق الرقاب

            “The prayer on the Prophet wipes out wrong actions more swiftly than cold water puts out fire, and asking for peace for him is better than setting slaves free.” Indeed, the prayer on the Prophet is the means for other right actions to be accepted. Umar ibn al-Khattab said,

الدعاء والصلاة معلق بين السماء والأرض، فلا يصعد إلى الله منه شيء حتى يصلي على النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم

         “Supplication and prayer are suspended between the heaven and the earth and none of it rises to Allah until you pray on the Prophet.” No matter of importance should be embarked upon and no gathering should be concluded until salawat has been made upon him, for that salawat is one of the keys that unlocks any benefit that might accrue. And one of the highest forms of gathering is the gathering for the prayer in the House of Allah, and the gathering of people on the day of Jumua. The Prophet said,

أكثروا علي من الصلاة يوم الجمعة ، فإن صلاتكم معروضة علي

         “Do a lot of prayer on me on the day of Jumu‘a. Your prayer is shown to me.”

إِنَّ اللهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ، يَا أَيُهَا الذِينَ آمَنُواْ صَلُّواْ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُواْ تَسْلِيماً.

اللهم اجعل صلواتك وبركاتك ورحمتَك على سيد المرسلين، وإمام المتقين، وخاتم النبيين، محمد عبدك ورسولك النبي الأمي، إمام الخير، ورسول الرحمة.

اللهم صلِّ على سيدنا محمد وعلى آل سيدنا محمد كما صليت على سيدنا إبراهيم وعلى آل سيدنا إبراهيم ، وبارك على سيدنا محمد وعلى آل سيدنا محمد كما باركت على سيدنا إبراهيم وعلى آل سيدنا إبراهيم في العالمين إنك حميد مجيد.

وَارْضَ اللَّهُمَّ عَنِ الْخُلَفَاءِ الرَّاشِدِينَ أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ وَعُثْمَانَ وَعَلِيٍّ، وعن أم المومنين عائشة التي أمرنا الله في سورة النور أن ندافع عنها، وَعَنْ سَائِرِ الصَّحَابَةِ أَجْمَعِينَ، خُصُوصاً اِلأَنْصَارَ مِنْهُمْ وَالمُهَاجِرِينَ، وَعَنِ التَّابِعِينَ وَتَابِعِي التَّابِعِينَ وَمَنْ تَبِعَهُمْ بِإِحْسَانٍ إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ.

اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِ وُلَاةَ أُمُورِ المُسْلِمِينَ لِمَا يُرْضِيكَ وَلِاتِّبَاعِ سُنَّةِ نَبِيِّكَ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَهُمْ عَلَى الصِّرَاطِ المُسْتَقِيمِ، وَأَصْلِحْهُمْ يَا رَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ.

اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَى شَيْخِنَا، وَعَلَى أَمِيرِنَا، وَعَلَى جَمِيعِ أُمَرَاءِ وَزُعَمَاءِ المُسْلِمِينَ.

اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَى المُسْلِمِينَ فِي هَذِهِ المَدِينَةِ، وَوَفِّقْهُمْ لِمَا تُحِبُّهُ وَتَرْضَاهُ يَا أَكْرَمَ الأَكْرَمِينَ.

اللَّهُمَّ أَعِزَّ الإِسْلَامَ وَالمُسِْلمِينَ (3) وَاخْذُلِ الْكُفْرَ وَالْكَافِرِينَ، وَانْصُرِ المُجَاهِدِينَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ. وَاجْعَلْ كَلِمََتَكَ هِيَ العُلْيَا وَكَلِمَةَ الْكُفْرِ هِيَ السُّفْلَى.

رَبَّنَا ءَاتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقَِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ.

إِنَّ اللهَ يَامُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى، وَيَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ، يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَّكَّرُونَ، وَلَذِكْرُ اللهِ أَكْبَرُ وَاللهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ. وَقُومُواْ إِلَى صَلاتِكُمْ يَرْحَمُكُمُ اللهُ.