The prayer upon the Prophet (2): the attached graces and the salat ibrahimiyya

By Idriss Poughon · December 8, 2024 · 6 min read

Contents

Continued from the article “The prayer upon the Prophet (1)”.

Salat and salam: blessing and peace

The prayer upon the Prophet comprises both the “salat” (invocation of blessing) and the “salam” (invocation of peace).

“Salat” means theophany (tajalli). The “salat” occurs when Allah manifests Himself upon one of His servants by making him His elect, and by bringing him into His presence (hadra). As for the “salam”, coming from Allah upon His servants, it means stability in that theophany, the capacity to integrate it. Thus man must not ask Allah for the “salat” alone; he must add the “salam”.

It can happen, indeed, that Allah accomplishes the theophany proper to the salat upon a number of His worshippers, and that He defers the pacifying grace of the “salam”: then the theophanic act can turn against them, leading them to utter exclamations and to divulge teachings before people who are not qualified to receive them.

But there are saints upon whom Allah causes the “salam” to follow the “salat”: then their behaviour becomes normal, and their outward relation with creatures and their inner relation with God are harmonised, combining the two respective dimensions. Such people are the heirs of the prophets; it is indeed a prerogative of the prophets that God’s pacifying grace descends upon them at the same time as the theophanic grace, or immediately after it.

The dhikr of the angels at the edge of Paradise

In the work Paroles d’or, Shaykh ’Abd al-’Aziz ad-Dabbagh, Pole of his time, explains that the prayer upon the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, constitutes the dhikr of the angels who stand at the edge of Paradise. Each time the angels offer this prayer, the surface of Paradise increases. The angels concerned never cease to mention it, and Paradise never ceases to expand. The same thing happens if the prayer upon the Prophet comes from a pure being with a pure heart.

Ibn al-Mubarak, author of Paroles d’or, asks his shaykh ’Abd al-’Aziz ad-Dabbagh: “Why does the surface of Paradise increase each time one prays upon the Prophet, peace be upon him?” “It is because God originally created Paradise from a light emanating from His Messenger. Thus Paradise sighs after him with as much ardent desire and tenderness as a son feels for his father. When it hears someone mention his name, it is revivified and tends to draw near to him, because it is from the Prophet, peace be upon him, that God gives it to drink. So the angels who live on the outskirts of Paradise and its gates spend their time mentioning the Prophet, peace be upon him. Then Paradise grows tender and draws near to them from all sides. From then on, its surface expands everywhere.”

The graces attached to the prayer upon the Prophet

There are many hadiths in which the Prophet, peace be upon him, enlightens the faithful on the beneficial effects for them of this invocation.

Blessings in return

“Invoke grace upon me, for your invocation is an alms in your favour.”
“He who invokes divine grace in my favour a single time, God will in fact grant him His grace ten times” (Muslim).
“Invoke divine grace in my favour, and God will grant you His grace.”
Abu Talha relates: “I paid a visit to the Messenger of God, peace be upon him. He was seized by a peerless joy. I asked him the reason for his state. He answered: ‘Jibril appeared to me and brought me good news from my Lord: God, he told me, sent me to you to announce that whoever of your community prays upon you, God will pray upon him ten times, and His angels too.’”

The means of drawing near to God

“The one whose place will be closest to me on the Day of Resurrection will be the one who most often called down divine blessings upon me.”

The easing of things and the granting of prayers

“A prayer made after divine blessings have been called down upon me is not turned away.”
“A request addressed to God between two prayers upon the Prophet is not turned away.”
“He who finds it difficult to accomplish what is necessary for him, let him invoke divine grace in my favour abundantly. For this invocation removes cares, troubles and afflictions; it increases subsistence and satisfies needs.”
“He who is put in difficulty by something, let him invoke divine grace in my favour abundantly; for it unties knots and removes anguish.”
‘Umar ibn al-Khattab said: “I learnt that supplication (du’a’) remains suspended between heaven and earth. Nothing of what it contains rises until its author prays upon the Prophet, peace be upon him.”

The means of purification

“Ask God to spread His graces upon me, for this prayer in my favour, on your part, is a purification for you.”
“The prayer upon me annihilates faults more thoroughly than water extinguishes fire.”
“He who prays upon me will purify his heart of hypocrisy, just as water purifies linen.”

The salat ibrahimiyya

Its origin

We find in most exegeses of the Qur’an and in the hadith collections that ’Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abi Layla met Ibn ’Ajrata and said to him: “I am going to offer you a gift that I learnt from the Messenger of God, peace be upon him.” “Very well, offer it to me,” I answered.

And he continued: “When the verse ‘God and His angels pray upon the Prophet…’ was revealed, we asked the Messenger of God, peace be upon him: ‘We know how we must greet you, but how shall we pray upon you?’ He answered: ‘Say: Lord, pray upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You prayed upon Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim. Bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad as You blessed Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim. You are worthy of praise, the Supreme Glorious One.’”

This invocation is considered the most perfect formulation among all the other invocations of divine grace in favour of the Prophet, peace be upon him. That is why it was reserved for the ritual prayer, in the final tachahhud.

Why Ibrahim and not Moses?

One secret may be noted, among others, in its saying “as You prayed upon Ibrahim and as You blessed Ibrahim”, and not, for example, “as You prayed upon Moses”: because God had manifested Himself to the latter under His attribute of Majesty, which struck him down, whereas God manifested Himself to the friend that Ibrahim was through His attribute of Beauty. That is why the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, ordered the believers to pray upon him in the same manner as God prayed upon Ibrahim, thereby asking God to manifest Himself to him through His attributes of Beauty.

It has also been said, in the same sense, that the reference to Ibrahim and to the believing members of his family comes from Ibrahim and his family being the only ones for whom God united Blessing and Mercy. This is confirmed by the verse of the surah of Hud: “May the Mercy of Allah and His blessings be upon you, people of this house! He is truly Worthy of praise and glorification” (XI, 73).

God thus manifests Himself through His Beauty to one prophet and the other, according to their respective position in relation to Him, their rank and their place, although He manifested Himself to both through the same Attribute.

And God knows best.