Riyadh al-Salihin from the words of the Master of the Messengers, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
The Book of Praising and Thanking Allah the Exalted.
Chapter: The Virtue of Praise and Gratitude.
Allah the Exalted said:
“Therefore remember Me, I will remember you. Give thanks to Me, and reject not Me.” (2:152)
And He the Exalted said:
"If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]."
And He the Exalted said:
"And say, 'Praise to Allah.'"
And He the Exalted said:
“Their prayer therein will be: Glory be to Thee, O Allah! and their greeting therein will be: Peace. And the conclusion of their prayer will be: Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds!” (10:10)
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him:
That the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was brought on the night he was taken on the Night Journey (Isra'),
two vessels, one containing wine and the other milk.
He looked at them both,
and he took the milk.
Gabriel said:
"Praise be to Allah, who has guided you to the natural disposition (fitrah).
Had you taken the wine, your Ummah would have gone astray."
Narrated by Muslim.
The fitrah:
Steadfastness upon the true religion.
From the benefits of the hadith:
Confirmation of the Night Journey (Isra') of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
Allah’s granting success to His Prophet, peace be upon him,
by choosing that which aligns with the fitrah.
Clarification of the superiority of milk over other foods.
Clarification that the worst of drinks is wine.
The destruction of nations through wine,
for it is the mother of all evils.
The recommendation of praising Allah the Exalted
whenever a servant receives a manifest or hidden blessing,
or when an evil is averted from him.
So, praise be to Allah in the beginning and the end.
And on the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him,
from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, who said:
"Every significant matter that does not begin with the praise of Allah
is severed [of blessing]."
Narrated by Abu Dawud.
"Significant matter" means any affair of importance in the Shari'ah.
"Severed" means deficient.
From the benefits of the hadith:
It is among the etiquettes of the Muslim to begin his speech or action with the praise of Allah the Exalted.
It is best to combine the Basmalah (saying Bismillah) and the praise of Allah.
It is recommended to begin with the Basmalah and the praise
if the action or speech is permissible, recommended, or obligatory.
It is disliked if the act is disliked,
and forbidden if the act is forbidden.
And on the authority of Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, may Allah be pleased with him:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"When a servant's child dies,
Allah the Exalted says to His angels:
'Have you taken the child of My servant?'
They reply, 'Yes.'
He says:
'Have you taken the fruit of his heart?'
They reply, 'Yes.'
He says:
'What did My servant say?'
They reply: 'He praised You and said, "To Allah we belong and to Him we shall return."'
Allah the Exalted says:
'Build for My servant a house in Paradise,
and name it the House of Praise.'"
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi.
And on the authority of Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"Indeed, Allah is pleased with the servant
who eats a meal and praises Him for it,
or drinks a drink and praises Him for it."
Narrated by Muslim.
The Book of Invoking Blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
Chapter: The Virtue of Invoking Blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
Allah the Exalted said:
“Lo! Allah and His angels shower blessings on the Prophet. O ye who believe! Ask blessings on him and salute him with a worthy salutation.” (33:56)
“Lo! Allah and His angels shower blessings on the Prophet. O ye who believe! Ask blessings on him and salute him with a worthy salutation.” (33:56)
On the authority of Abdullah Ibn 'Amr Ibn al-'As, may Allah be pleased with them both:
That he heard the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, say:
"Whoever invokes one blessing upon me,
Allah will invoke ten blessings upon him for it."
Narrated by Muslim.
From the benefits of the hadith:
Encouragement to invoke blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
because it contains great reward and abundant goodness.
A good deed is rewarded tenfold.
“The likeness of those who spend their wealth in Allah's way is as the likeness of a grain which groweth seven ears, in every ear a hundred grains. Allah giveth increase manifold to whom He will. Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing.” (2:261)
Invoking blessings and peace upon the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
is a cause for Allah's mercy upon the servant.
And on the authority of Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him:
That the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"The people closest to me on the Day of Resurrection
are those who invoked the most blessings upon me."
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi.
"The people closest to me"
means those most specific to me and nearest to me,
and most entitled to my intercession.
"Those who invoked the most blessings upon me"
means in this world.
From the benefits of the hadith:
The high status of the one who frequently invokes blessings upon the Prophet, peace be upon him, on the Day of Resurrection.
Ibn Hibban said:
"In this report is evidence that the people closest to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, on the Day of Resurrection
are the people of hadith,
for there is no group in this Ummah who invoke more blessings upon him than they do."
And on the authority of Aws Ibn Aws, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"Among the best of your days is Friday,
so invoke many blessings upon me on it,
for your blessings are presented to me."
They said, "O Messenger of Allah,
how will our blessings be presented to you when you have decayed?"
He said, "You mean worn away."
He said, "Indeed, Allah the Almighty has forbidden the earth to consume the bodies of the Prophets."
Narrated by Abu Dawud.
And on the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"May the nose of a man be rubbed in the dust in whose presence I am mentioned, yet he does not invoke blessings upon me."
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi.
"Rubbed in the dust" means stuck to the dirt [in humiliation].
From the benefits of the hadith:
The obligation of invoking blessings and peace upon the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, when he is mentioned.
Invoking blessings and peace upon the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, in word and deed
is a cause for honor and dignity in this world and the Hereafter,
and abandoning it is a cause for humiliation and insignificance.
And on the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"Do not make my grave a place of celebration (festival),
but invoke blessings upon me,
for your blessings reach me wherever you are."
Narrated by Abu Dawud.
"Do not make my grave a place of celebration"
means do not take it as a place of visitation to which you undertake journeys.
From the benefits of the hadith:
It is not permissible to undertake journeys specifically to the grave of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him;
rather, journeys are undertaken to his mosque,
because it is one of the three mosques for which there is textual evidence.
So, when a servant reaches the mosque of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
it is recommended for him to visit the grave.
The encouragement to invoke blessings and peace upon the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
wherever the servant may be,
for it reaches him, peace be upon him.
And on the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him:
That the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"There is no one who sends peace upon me
except that Allah restores my soul to me
so that I may return the greeting."
Narrated by Abu Dawud.
From the benefits of the hadith:
The soul of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
is not permanently settled in his noble body,
but it is restored to him so that he may return the greeting to those among the Muslims who greet him.
The life of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, in his grave
is the most perfect life a human experiences in the Barzakh (interspace),
but it is a life that does not resemble the life of this world,
so its reality is known only to Allah the Almighty.
The encouragement to invoke blessings and peace upon the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
so that the servant may be honored by the response of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
And on the authority of 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"The miser is the one in whose presence I am mentioned, yet he does not invoke blessings upon me."
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi.
From the benefits of the hadith:
Stinginess is a bad trait and an ugly quality,
which applies to both material things and personal attributes.
A man may be stingy regarding wealth,
and he may be stingy regarding mentioning his Lord
and invoking blessings and peace upon the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
The point of similarity:
The former is stinginess and withholding of dirhams and dinars,
and the latter is stinginess and withholding of beautiful praise for Allah the Exalted,
and supplication and glorification for the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
Thus, they share the trait of withholding and blocking goodness.
And on the authority of Fadalah Ibn 'Ubayd, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, heard a man supplicating in his prayer;
he did not glorify Allah the Exalted,
nor did he invoke blessings upon the Prophet, peace be upon him.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"This one has been hasty."
Then he called him,
and said to him or to someone else:
"When one of you prays,
let him begin by praising his Lord the Almighty and extolling Him,
then let him invoke blessings upon the Prophet, peace be upon him,
then let him supplicate after that with whatever he wishes."
Narrated by Abu Dawud and al-Tirmidhi.
From the benefits of the hadith:
The recommendation to begin supplication with the praise of Allah the Exalted
and the invocation of blessings and peace upon the Prophet of Allah, peace be upon him.
It is disliked to be hasty in supplication.
Invoking blessings upon the Prophet, peace be upon him,
is among the causes for the answering of supplication.
And on the authority of Abu Muhammad Ka'b Ibn 'Ujrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Prophet, peace be upon him, came out to us,
and we said, "O Messenger of Allah,
we have learned how to greet you,
so how should we invoke blessings upon you?"
He said:
"Say:
'O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad,
as You sent blessings upon the family of Abraham;
You are indeed Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory.'
'O Allah, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad,
as You blessed the family of Abraham;
You are indeed Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory.'"
Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
Abu Mas'ud al-Badri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came to us,
while we were sitting in the gathering of Sa'd ibn 'Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him).
Bashir ibn Sa'd said to him,
"Allah the Exalted has commanded us to invoke blessings upon you, O Messenger of Allah,
so how should we invoke blessings upon you?"
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) remained silent,
until we wished that he had not asked him.
Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said,
"Say:
'O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad,
as You sent blessings upon the family of Ibrahim.
And bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad,
as You blessed the family of Ibrahim.
Indeed, You are Praiseworthy, Glorious.'
And the salutation is as you have already been taught."
Narrated by Muslim.
Abu Humayd al-Sa'idi (may Allah be pleased with him) reported:
They said,
"O Messenger of Allah, how should we invoke blessings upon you?"
He replied,
"Say:
'O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad, his wives, and his offspring,
as You sent blessings upon the family of Ibrahim.
And bless Muhammad, his wives, and his offspring,
as You blessed the family of Ibrahim.
Indeed, You are Praiseworthy, Glorious.'"
Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
Among the benefits of the hadith:
The manner of invoking blessings and peace upon the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) is fixed by divine instruction (tawqifiyyah).
It is not permissible to add to it.
It is evidence of the virtue of invoking blessings upon the Prophet (peace be upon him),
in view of the command to do so,
and the concern of the Companions to ask about its proper form.
Riyadh al-Salihin.