The meaning of blessings and salaams upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)

 

What is the meaning of blessings and salaams upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)?.

Praise be to Allaah.

“Blessings upon the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)” – according to the
majority of scholars, what is meant is mercy from Allaah, prayers for
forgiveness offered by the angels, and du’aa’ offered by humans. Others –
including Abu’l-Aaliyah among the earlier scholars and Ibn al-Qayyim among
the later scholars, and Ibn ‘Uthaymeen among the contemporary scholars – are
of the view that the meaning of blessings upon the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) is praise for him among the “higher group”
(al-mala’ al-‘a’la, i.e., the angels, cf. al-Saffaat 37:8), and the prayers
of the angels and the Muslims for blessings upon him (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) are for him to be praised by Allaah among
the “higher group” (the angels). Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on
him) wrote a book on this topic entitled Jala’ al-Afhaam fi Fadl
al-Salaati wa’l-Salaam ‘ala Khayr il-Anaam, in which he discussed at
length the meaning of blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him), the rulings thereon, and its benefits.  

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have
mercy on him) said: 

The phrase “Bless Muhammad (salli ‘ala Muhammad)” – it was
said that blessing from Allaah means mercy, blessings from the angels means
prayer for forgiveness, and blessing from humans means du’aa’. 

If it is said: “The angels sent blessings upon him,” it means
that they prayed for forgiveness for him.  

If it is said, “The khateeb sent blessings upon him,” it
means that he prayed for blessing for him. 

If it is said, “Allaah sent blessings upon him,” it means
that He bestowed mercy upon him. 

This is well known among the scholars, but the correct view
is something different, because blessing (salaah) is more specific
than mercy. Hence the Muslims are unanimously agreed that it is permissible
to pray for mercy for every believer, but they differed as to whether we may
pray for blessings (using this specific word of salaah or salli
‘ala…) for anyone other than the Prophets. If the word salaah
here is taken to mean mercy, then there is no difference between them, and
just as we pray for mercy for a person we may send blessings upon them. 

Moreover, Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“They are those on whom are the Salawaat (i.e. who are
blessed and will be forgiven) from their Lord, and (they are those who)
receive His Mercy, and it is they who are the guided ones”

[al-Baqarah 2:157]. 

The word rahmah (mercy) is mentioned in conjunction
with the word salawaat (blessings), which indicates that they are two
different things, so the meaning of the verse is clear. The scholars (may
Allaah have mercy on them) used the word salaah (blessings) in some
places and the word rahmah (mercy) in others, so salaah is the
not the same as mercy. The best that cane be said concerning this is what
Abu’l-‘Aaliyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The salaah (blessing) of
Allaah upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is
His praising him among the “higher group” (the angels). 

So what is meant by Allaahumma salli ‘alayhi (O Allaah
send blessings upon him) is: O Allaah, praise him among the higher group,
i.e., among the angels who are close to Allaah. 

If someone were to say that this is unlikely from a
linguistic point of view, because salaah in Arabic means
supplication, not praise, the answer to that is that the word salaah
is also connected to the word silah (gift), and there can be no doubt
that praise for the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) among the higher group (angels) is one of the greatest gifts,
for praise may sometimes be more important to a person than all else. So a
good mention is a great gift. 

Based on this, the correct view is that sending blessings (salaah)
upon him means praise for him along the higher group (the angels). End
quote. 

Al-Sharh al-Mumti’, 3/163, 164  

With regard to the
meaning of sending salaams upon him (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him), this means praying for the soundness (salaamah) of his
body during his lifetime, and the soundness of his religious commitment
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), the soundness of his body in
the grave, and his safety and well being on the Day of Resurrection. 

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have
mercy on him) said: 

The phrase al-salaamu ‘alayka. It was said that the
meaning of al-Salaam is one of the names of Allaah, because the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah is al-Salaam (the
One Free from all defects)” and Allaah says in His Book (interpretation of
the meaning): “the King, the Holy, the One Free from all defects”
[al-Hashr 59:23]. So according to this view, the meaning is: May Allaah
protect, keep safe and take care of His Messenger (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him). It is as if we are saying: Allaah is watching over
you, protecting you, helping you, etc.  

And it was said that salaam is a noun that comes from the
root sallama (to greet), and means a greeting, as Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning): “O you who believe! send your Salaah on
(ask Allaah to bless) him (Muhammad), and (you should) greet (salute) him
with the Islamic way of greeting (salutation, i.e. As‑Salaamu ‘Alaykum)”
[al-Ahzaab 33:56]. The meaning of greeting the Messenger (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) is to pray for him and ask that he be kept
safe from all harm.  

It may be said: This du’aa’ is something obvious during his
lifetime, (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), but after his
death, how can we pray that he be kept safe and sound when he (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has died? 

The answer is that prayer for safety and well-being are not
limited to the time when someone is alive. There are the terrors of the Day
of Resurrection yet to come. Hence the prayer of the Messengers when the
people cross al-siraat (a bridge over Hell) will be: “Allaahumma, sallim,
sallim (O Allaah, grant safety, grant safety).” A man does not cease to
face danger and harm just because he has died. 

So we pray for the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him), that he will be kept safe from the terrors of the
standing (on the Day of Resurrection). 

We also say that there may be a more general meaning, i.e.,
that safety and protection for him also includes protection for his
sharee’ah and Sunnah, that they may be kept safe from the hands of those who
would tamper with them, as the scholars said concerning the verse
(interpretation of the meaning): “refer it to Allaah and His Messenger”
[al-Nisa’ 4:59] – they said: Refer to him during his lifetime, and to
his Sunnah after his death. 

Is the phrase “al-salaamu ‘alayka” a statement or a
du’aa’? i.e., are you saying that the Messenger is protected, or are you
praying that Allaah will protect him? 

The answer is that it is a du’aa’, asking that Allaah will
protect him. So it is a statement that serves as a du’aa’.

 Is addressing the Messenger (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) like one person addressing another? 

The answer is no. If that were the case, then the prayer
would be invalidated thereby, because no ordinary human speech is acceptable
during this prayer. If that were the case, the Sahaabah would have said it
out loud so that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) would hear them, and he would have returned the greeting, as happened
when they met him. But, as Shaykh al-Islam [Ibn Taymiyah] said in his book
Iqtida’ al-Siraat al-Mustaqeem: Because you think so much about the
Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when you send
salaams upon him, it is as if he is in front of you and you are addressing
him. 

Hence the Sahaabah used to say “Al-salaamu ‘alayka”
although he could not hear them, and they would say “Al-salaamu ‘alayka”
when they were in one land and he was in another, and we say “al-salaamu
‘alayka” although we are in lands other than his, and in a time other
than his. End quote. 

Al-Sharh al-Mumti’, 3/149, 150 

And Allaah knows best.