Is It Obligatory to Send Salawat Every Time the Prophet’s Name Is Mentioned?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
Is it obligatory to send Salawat to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give peace) every time his name is mentioned? Am I cursed if I don’t?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
I pray you are well.
The relied upon position (dhahir al-riwaya) is it is obligatory to send prayers (salat) on the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) once, at least, when his name is mentioned in a gathering. And it is recommended to repeat in a single gathering whenever his name is mentioned. Some have said, within the school, that it is obligatory to repeat whenever his name is mentioned in a gathering due to many hadiths stating severe threats for the one who fails to do so. [Abdullah Sirajuddin, al-Salat ’ala al-Nabi; Ibn ’Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]
Religion is all about gradualness; a Muslim aims to try to aim higher in one’s spiritual works. One should first ensure, never forget, to send salat on the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) once in a gathering, then gradually increase into keeping our tongue moist with it, as much we can do in our life.
As Shaykh Muhammad bin al-Arabi al-Damrawi, said, the minimum amount required for what is considered an abundance of prayers upon the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) is a single prayer emitted from one in compliance with the command of Allah and out of honor and reverence and love for the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), and while bringing to present some of his beautiful qualities accompanied with humility and focused adab – if even a single prayer emits from someone in this perfect description, even if once daily, he will be considered among those who send many prayers upon him.
May Allah (Most High) keep our tongues moist with His remembrance and of His messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace), amin
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied within UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete hifz of Quran in India, then enrolled into an Islamic seminary in UK where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for a number of years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh and many other Islamic sciences to both children and adults onsite and online extensively in UK and Ireland. He was teaching at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in UK with his wife. His personal interest is love of books and gardening.
