Peace be upon him (Islam)

sallā Allāhu ʿalayhu wa-sallam written in Arabic Calligraphy
sallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam written in Arabic calligraphy
Example of the name Muhammad with the salat phrase attached in thuluth calligraphy.

The Arabic phrase ʿalayhi as-salām (عليه السلام), which translates as "peace be upon him" is a conventionally complimentary phrase or durood attached to the names of the prophets in Islam. The English phrase is also given the abbreviation pbuh in writing. An extended variant of the phrase reads salla llāhu ʿalayhi wa-alehe wa-sallam (Arabic: صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم‎) [lit.] "prayer of God be upon him and his family and peace", and it is often abbreviated SAWS in writing in an English-language context. The Arabic phrase is given the name ṣalawāt. The phrase is encoded as a ligature at Unicode codepoint U+FDFA ﷺ ARABIC LIGATURE SALLALLAHOU ALAYHE WASALLAM[1]

Some Islamic scholars have voiced disagreement with the practice of abbreviating these phrases, arguing that it demonstrates laziness and a lack of respect.[2]

Variants of the phrase in Arabic

When mentioning the Sahabah (the companions, disciples, scribes and family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad), radhi Allahu anhu (for males) and radhi Allahu anha (for females) are used by Sunnis; they mean may God be pleased with him or her respectively. The phrase is sometimes also used after mentioning other names including that of Jesus and Moses, but the term عليه سلام ʿalayhi salaam, "On him be peace" is more common.

In the Quran

In the translation of the meanings of the Qur'an in Surah (chapter) 33 entitled Al-Ahzab (The Confederates), ayah (verse) 56:

Allah and His angels send prayers on the Prophet: O ye that believe! Send ye prayers on him, and salute him with all respect.
— Al-Ahzab[3]

In tafsir

The Islamic scholar, ibn Kathir, titled the section in his tafsir (i.e., explanation of the Qur'an), the Tafsir ibn Kathir, regarding this verse, The Command to say Salah upon the Prophet (Muhammad).

This point is further founded in the saying by Muhammad that,

The miser is the one in whose presence I am mentioned, then he does not send the Salam upon me.
— Muhammad

This was recorded by Ahmad ibn Hanbal in his Musnad.

In Hadith

The evidence for sending salat on Muhammad is not limited to the Qur'an. It is also found in hadith about Muhammad. Examples include:

Al-Tirmidhi recorded that Abu Hurairah said:

The Messenger of Allah said, "May he be humiliated, the man in whose presence I am mentioned and he does not send Salah upon me; may he be humiliated, the man who sees the month of Ramadan come and go, and he is not forgiven; may he be humiliated, the man whose parents live to old age and they do not cause him to be granted admittance to Paradise."
— Abu Hurairah

Al-Tirmidhi said that this hadith was, "Hasan gharib" ("Good but only reported once").

In Sahih Muslim, Sunan Abi Dawood, Sunan al-Tirmidhi, and Al-Sunan al-Sughra (Sunan al-Nasa'i), four of the six major Sunni hadith collections, recorded that Abu Hurairah said,

The Messenger of Allah said: "Whoever sends one Salah upon me, Allah will send ten upon him."
— Abu Hurayrah

Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal reported in his Musnad that the companion of Muhammad, Abu Talha ibn Thabit said:

One morning the Messenger of Allah was in a cheerful mood and looked happy. They said, "O Messenger of Allah, this morning you are in a cheerful mood and look happy." He said, "Of course, just now someone [an angel] came to me from my Lord [Allah] and said, 'Whoever among your Ummah sends Salah upon you, Allah will record for him ten good deeds and will erase for him ten evil deeds, and will raise his status by ten degrees, and will return his greeting with something similar to it.'"
— Abu Talha ibn Thabit

The isnad (chain of narrators) of this hadith is good.

Ahmad Bayhaqi reports that Abu Hurairah said that Muhammad said:

Send the Salat on Allah's messengers and prophets for Allah sent them as He sent me.
— Muhammad

Ruling on abbreviating the phrase

Many Islamic scholars have instructed Muslims not to abbreviate sending the salat on Muhammad. Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia said regarding the issue:

As it is prescribed to send prayers upon the Prophet (peace and prayers of Allah be upon him) in prayer when saying the tashahhud, and it is prescribed when giving khutbahs, saying Du’a and praying for forgiveness, and after the Adhan, and when entering and exiting the mosque, and when mentioning him in other circumstances, so it is more important to do so when writing his name in a book, letter, article and so on. So it is prescribed to write the prayers in full so as to fulfil the command that Allah has given to Muslims, and so that the reader will remember to say the prayers when he reads it. So one should not write the prayers on the Prophet (peace and prayers of Allah be upon him) in short form such as writing (S) or (SAWS) etc, or other forms that some writers use, because that is going against the command of Allah in His Book, where He says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Send your Salaah on (ask Allah to bless) him (Muhammad), and (you should) greet (salute) him with the Islamic way of greeting (salutation, i.e. As‑Salaamu ‘Alaykum)" [Quran 33:56]

And that (writing it in abbreviated form) does not serve that purpose and is devoid of the virtue of writing "salla Allaahu ‘alayhi wa salaam (May Allah send prayers and peace upon him)" in full. Moreover the reader may not take notice of it and may not understand what is meant by it. It should also be noted that the symbol used for it is regarded as disapproved by the scholars, who warned against it.

See also

References

  1. ↑ ."Arabic Presentation Forms-A" (PDF). The Unicode Standard, Version 5.2. Mountain View, Ca.: Unicode, Inc. 2009-10-01. Retrieved 2010-05-09.
  2. ↑ Al-Fayrooza-abaadee; As-Salaatu wal-Bushr; (quoted in Mu'jam Al-Manaahee Al-Laf-thiyyah); p.351. "The Musnad"; Imaam Ahmad; (#5088); 9/105) From a handwritten answer provided by the shaykh, Wasee Allaah 'Abbaas, file no. AAWA004, dated 1423/6/24
  3. ↑ Quran 33:56 (Translated by Shakir)
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