When Is Reciting Prayers Upon The Prophet Obligatory During Prayer?
Shafi'i Fiqh
Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick
Question
Is it obligatory to recite prayers upon the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) after every tashahhud, only after the last one, or is it just sunna? Should we recite it in voluntary prayers or only in obligatory prayers?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate. May Allah alleviate our difficulties and guide us to what pleases Him. Amin.
Blessings on the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) is an integral after the final Testification of Faith on any prayer, but merely sunna after the first one. The minimum is to say, “O Allah, bless Muhammad.” One confines oneself to this minimum at the first Testification of Faith. [Keller, Reliance of the Traveller]
The optimal way is to say: “O: Allah, bless Muhammad and the folk of Muhammad as You blessed Ibrahim and the folk of Ibrahim. O Allah, show grace to Muhammad and the folk of Muhammad as You did to Ibrahim and the folk of Ibrahim in the worlds, for You are truly the Most Praiseworthy and Noble.” [Muslim]
Before each mention of the names Muhammad and Ibrahim, it is desirable to add the word sayyidina (“our liege-lord”). The hadith “Do not liege-lord me in the prayer” is a forgery containing corrupt Arabic). [Keller, Reliance of the Traveller]
I pray this is of benefit and that Allah guides us all.
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan (Allah have mercy on him), where he taught.
Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Shaykh Muhammad Awama, Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Hitu, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.
He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has been the Director of the Discover Islam Centre, and for six years, he has been the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.
Shaykh Irshaad has fifteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic podcast, education, and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy Prophetic living and fitness.
