Salat Transmitted by Imam al Ghazali
This prayer upon the Prophet (PBUH) was transmitted by Imam al-Ghazali in his renowned work, Ihya Ulum al-Din.
Attributed to: Imam al-Ghazali
Benefits: Seeing the Prophet (PBUH)
Readings: 50x in the day and 50x in the night or
1000x on Friday evening (Thursday after Maghrib)
Version 1
اَللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَىٰ ﻣُﺤَﻤَّﺪٍ ﻋَﺒْﺪِكَ وَنَبِيِّكَ النَّبِيِّ الْأُمِّ
Allahumma ṣalli ʿalā Muḥammadin ʿabdika wa nabiyyika n-nabiyyi l-ummiyyi
O Allah, send prayers upon Muhammad, Your servant and Prophet, the Primordial Prophet.
Version 2
اَللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَىٰ ﻣُﺤَﻤَّﺪٍ ﻋَﺒْﺪِكَ وَنَبِيِّكَ النَّبِيِّ الْأُمِّيِّ وَعَلَىٰ آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلِّمْ
Allahumma ṣalli ʿalā Muḥammadin ʿabdika wa nabiyyika n-nabiyyi l-ummiyyi wa ʿalā ālihi wa ṣaḥbihi wa sallim
O Allah, send prayers and peace upon Muhammad, Your servant and Prophet, the Primordial Prophet and upon his Family and Companions.
Recitation & Benefits
Imam al-Ghazali1, in his work Ihya Ulum al-Din, relayed a saying of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The Prophet (PBUH) said:
‘Whosoever sends eighty prayers upon me on a Friday, he will be forgiven eighty years’ worth of sins.’ The Companions of the Prophet (PBUH) inquired, ‘O Messenger of Allah! How should we send prayers upon you?’ The Prophet (PBUH) responded, ‘You should say: ‘O Allah, send prayers upon Muhammad, Your servant and Prophet, the Primordial Prophet,’ and count that as one prayer.’
Shaykh al-‘Adawi quoted from one of the gnostics who referred to the words of Abu al-‘Abbas al-Mursi, a knower of Allah. Al-Mursi stated:
Whoever persists in sending the following prayer: “O Allah, send prayers and peace upon our master Muhammad, Your Servant and Prophet and Messenger, the Primordial Prophet, and upon his Family and Companions,” fifty times every day and night, they will not experience death until they are united with the Prophet in a wakeful state.
Shaykh al-‘Adawi also quoted from Imam al-Yafi’i, who mentioned in his work Bustan al-Fuqara that the Prophet (PBUH) stated that whoever sends a particular prayer upon him one thousand times on a Friday will behold his Lord on that very evening, or will behold the Prophet, or will behold their place in Paradise. If they do not witness any of these, they are advised to continue sending this prayer for two consecutive Fridays, or for three or five consecutive Fridays.
In the book Ghunya of the Lordly Pole (al-Qutb al-Rabbani), attributed to ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, there is a narration from al-A’raj, who reported from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:
Whoever offers two units of prayer on a Friday evening and recites in each unit Surat al-Fatiha (the Opening of the Book) and Ayat al-Kursi (Verse of the Throne) once, followed by reciting Surat al-Ikhlas (Chapter of Sincerity) fifteen times, and concludes the prayer by saying: ‘O Allah, send prayers upon Muhammad the Primordial Prophet’ one thousand times, then that person shall see the Prophet (PBUH) in their dream. The following Friday will not arrive except that they will have seen the Prophet (PBUH). Whosoever sees the Prophet (PBUH), Paradise is guaranteed for them, and all their past and future sins will be forgiven.