Sending Love to the Prophet

We have just borne witness. There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is His slave and His messenger. Now, still sitting, we do something warm and tender. We send our love to that messenger.

It is called the durood, or the salawat. It is a little prayer asking Allah to pour peace and blessings on the Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

First, remember who he was

Before we say the words, let us remember why our hearts should be full when we say them.

This was a man who gave everything for the people who followed him. He actually bled for us. He put up with hunger and pain and hardship that would break most people, all for the sake of Allah, and for you and me.

He lived so poorly that there is a story about him and his dear friend Bilal. For a whole month, thirty days and thirty nights, the two of them lived on nothing but a few dates that Bilal kept hidden away inside his clothes. And do you know why Bilal had to hide them? Because he knew that the very second the Prophet ﷺ laid eyes on that little bit of food, he would give it all away to someone hungrier. Hiding it was the only way Bilal could make sure the Prophet ﷺ ate anything at all.

In his home, even plain fresh bread was a rare treat. One day his beloved daughter Fatima baked him a warm loaf and brought it to him. He looked at it and asked, “What is the special occasion?” She said there was none. And then he told her something that should make your heart ache: this was the very first bite of food he had tasted in three whole days.

And here is the most beautiful part of all. On the single greatest, most victorious day of his life, the day he finally returned to Makkah as its conqueror, after all those years of being chased out and hurt, he did not ride in proud and tall with trumpets blaring. Instead he rode at the very back of the army, bowed down low over his camel, quietly remembering Allah, so humble that his blessed head was bent until his beard nearly brushed the back of his animal. At the highest moment of his whole life, he made himself the lowest, and called himself simply the slave of Allah.

That is who he was. He asked for so little and gave away so much. And most of all, he is the one who taught us every single word we have been learning in this whole journey. Every phrase of the prayer, every way to talk to Allah, came to us through him. When you feel that in your heart, the durood stops being a chore and becomes a thank-you letter.

The words

Here is what we say:

Allahumma salli ’ala Muhammadin wa ’ala aali Muhammad, kama sallayta ’ala Ibrahima wa ’ala aali Ibrahim, innaka Hamidun Majid. Allahumma barik ’ala Muhammadin wa ’ala aali Muhammad, kama barakta ’ala Ibrahima wa ’ala aali Ibrahim, innaka Hamidun Majid.

It means: O Allah, send Your grace upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You sent it upon Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim. Truly You are Praiseworthy, Glorious. O Allah, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You blessed Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim. Truly You are Praiseworthy, Glorious.

Let us open it up.

“O Allah, send Your grace upon him”

Allahumma salli. You know Allahumma by now. It means “O Allah.” And salli comes from that word we studied long ago, salah.

Remember what salah means when Allah is the One doing it? It does not mean Allah prays. It means Allah sends His own special mercy. So when you say Allahumma salli ’ala Muhammad, you are asking, “O Allah, pour Your special mercy on Your Prophet. Lift him higher. Praise him before the angels.” You are asking the Lord of the universe to honor the man you love.

And the name Muhammad itself is beautiful. It comes from hamd, praise. Muhammad means “the one who is praised,” the one praised by people everywhere. He even had another name, Ahmad, which his own mother loved to call him. He was named for praise, and here you are, asking Allah to raise him in honor even more.

The circle that includes you

Next you say wa ’ala aali Muhammad, “and upon the family of Muhammad.”

But here is a happy surprise. That word aali means more than just his family. It stretches out to include everyone connected to him. His family, yes. His companions, yes. And his followers too.

Do you know what that means? It means you. When you say these words, you are quietly wrapped up inside your own prayer. You are asking Allah to send His mercy on the Prophet ﷺ and on everyone who follows him, and you are one of those followers. So the blessing you are sending out comes curving right back around to you.

“As You blessed Ibrahim”

Then you say kama sallayta ’ala Ibrahima wa ’ala aali Ibrahim, “as You sent Your grace upon Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim.”

Ibrahim, peace be upon him, was one of the greatest prophets of all, the father of a whole line of prophets, a man Allah blessed beyond measure, honored by people across the world for thousands of years. So you are asking, “O Allah, bless my Prophet and his people the way You blessed that great and beloved family.” It is a huge, generous thing to ask for, and Allah loves to be asked for huge things.

Then you say innaka Hamidun Majid, “truly You are Praiseworthy and Glorious.” Hamid means the One who always deserves praise. And Majid comes from the root majd, which is worth picturing. The old Arabs used this word for a field, a pasture, so unbelievably lush and green and thick with rich grass that any animal wandering into it would eat and eat until it was completely full and glowing with health, and still there was plenty of grass left over. That is majd: an endless, overflowing supply of goodness and generosity that never runs out. So calling Allah Majid means He is like that endless green field, so rich with love and mercy and generosity that no matter how much He gives, He can never, ever run dry. And that is exactly why you can turn around and ask Him for such enormous blessings without any worry. He has more than enough.

And then, blessing

The second half repeats the shape, but swaps one word. Allahumma barik, “O Allah, bless.” And here is why the durood needs both halves, not just one. The two words are doing two different jobs, and together they make a complete timeline.

The first word, salli, is about right now. It asks Allah to lift the Prophet ﷺ up, to raise his rank, to boost his honor, to make his name praised among the angels this very moment. It is like a promotion, an “up you go.”

The second word, barik, is about forever. It comes from barakah, blessing, that goodness that gathers and grows and keeps on giving, like a deep pool of water that never dries up. But barik has a special job: to keep and protect and lock in place. So this half asks Allah to make sure all that high honor, and his family, and his whole ummah, stay safe and blessed for all time, never shrinking, never fading, never disappearing down the years.

Do you see the beautiful pair? With the first half, you ask Allah to lift the Prophet ﷺ up high. With the second half, you ask Allah to keep him up there forever, and to keep the blessing flowing so it never runs dry.

A gift that comes back to you

Here is the most wonderful part of all. The Prophet ﷺ told us that whoever sends one salah upon him, Allah sends ten mercies back upon that person.

Think about that. You say a few kind words for the Prophet ﷺ, and Allah turns and showers ten mercies on you. You reach out to give love, and your hands come back full. There may be no easier good deed in the whole prayer.

So when you reach this part, do not zoom through it. Picture the humble man who hid nothing and gave everything, who taught you how to speak to your Lord. Send him your love, on purpose, from your heart. And watch how much comes flowing back.