"Indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [ Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [ Allah to grant him] peace." (Soorah al-Ahzaab, 33:56)
"There is a difference of opinion over the meaning of the salaat of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى upon a person. There are two types of salaat of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى. One is general for all of the believers, as in the verse:
"It is He who confers blessing upon you, and His angels [ask Him to do so] that He may bring you out from darknesses into the light. And ever is He, to the believers, Merciful." (Soorah al-Ahzaab, 33:43)
The second type of salaat of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى is that exclusively upon the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم, as mentioned in Soorah al-Ahzaab verse 56, quoted above.
The dispute over the meaning of the salaat of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى derives from the fact that salaat essentially has two meanings:
1) Supplication and extolling blessings (as in Soorah at-Tawbah 103 and 84), and
2) Worship.
The latter is definitely not its meaning here; furthermore, the supplication of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى upon His slaves is problematic.
A number of views have been expressed concerning the meaning of the salaat of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى upon the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and the salaat of the angels عليهم الصلاة والسلام. These include the following: [1]
1) The salaat of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى is His praising the Messenger of Allaah صلى الله عليه وسلم to those angels in His presence. The salaat of the angels عليهم الصلاة والسلام is their making du'aa or supplications for the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. This has been narrated from Abul Aaliyah رحمة اللہ علیه (as recorded by al-Bukhari in mualaq form).
2) The salaat of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى is His forgiveness for the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم while the salaat of the angels عليهم الصلاة والسلام is their seeking forgiveness from Allaah for the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. This has been narrated from Sa'eed Ibn Jubair رحمة اللہ علیه.
3) The salaat of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى is His mercy upon the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم while that of the angels عليهم الصلاة والسلام is their prayers for mercy for him. This has been narrated from al-Hasan al-Basri رحمة اللہ علیه and something similar has come from 'Ataa Ibn Abi Ribaah (may Allaah have mercy opon him). [2]
Imaam Ibn al-Qayyim رحمة اللہ علیه describes this opinion as 'well-known among the later [scholars].' [3]
4) The salaat of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى is His honouring and being generous to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. This view has been ascribed to Sufyaan ath-Thawri رحمة اللہ علیه.
5) Their salaat upon the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is that they bless him. This has been narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn 'Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with them). [4]
Abu Ubaidah رحمة اللہ علیه is also said to have held this view. This is the view that at-Tabari رحمة اللہ علیه seems to prefer. [5]
Imaam Ibn al-Qayyim رحمة اللہ علیه has a lengthy discussion on this question and he refutes many of the views stated above. [6]
He says, for example, Allaah سبحانه و تعالى distinguished between His salaat and His mercy in Soorah al-Baqarah 156-157. Hence, they cannot be the same. He also noted that Allaah's salaat is special for the Messengers عليهم الصلاة والسلام and believers while His mercy encompasses all things. He also argues that if mercy and salaat were synonymous, it would be acceptable to say, 'Allaah have mercy on the Messenger,' instead of the traditional, 'salaat of Allaah be on the Messenger.' He argues that people would object to that change in wording because the two are, in fact, not synonymous.
Ibn al-Qayyim رحمة اللہ علیه concludes that the strongest opinion is the view of Abul Aaliyah رحمة اللہ علیه: The salaat of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى is His praising the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم to those angels in His presence. The salaat of the angels عليهم الصلاة والسلام is their making du'aa (supplication) for the Messenger (peace be upon him). [7]
Explaining further the salaat of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى, Ibn al-Qayyim رحمة اللہ علیه states that this implies Allaah praising the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم, making the Messenger's place and honour apparent and known and extolling the virtues of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. Then Ibn al-Qayyim رحمة اللہ علیه states that there is no contradiction between this view and the view reported from Sayyiduna Ibn 'Abbaas رضي الله عنهما, that Allaah سبحانه و تعالى and the angels عليهم الصلاة والسلام bless the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم. The first view is simply a specific type of blessing and, hence, the two opinions are compatible.
The conclusion is that the salaat of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى for the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is a special blessing from Allaah سبحانه و تعالى. It is the blessing of Allaah's praising the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم to His angels and of raising his honour, rank and name. [8]
A word also needs to be stated about the second component of the expression one says after mentioning the Prophet's name صلى الله عليه وسلم. Besides making salaat for the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, one also asks for salaam for him. The word salaam is most often translated as, 'peace'. Some people have objected to this translation because in the phrase used, it actually means, 'keep him safe from every form of evil or harm.' [9]
When speaking about a nation, 'peace,' first and foremost means a nonwarring condition. However, when speaking about an individual this is not what is implied. When speaking about an individual, as in the expression, 'peace be upon him,' 'peace' implies its other connotations of, 'freedom of the mind from annoyance, distraction, anxiety, an obsession, etc.; tranquility; serenity; a state of tranquility or serenity...'" [10] [11]
Notes:
[1] Cf., Abdur Rahmaan Ibn al-Jauzi رحمة اللہ علیه, Zaad al-Maseer fi Ilm at-Tafseer (Beirut: Daar al-Fikr, 1987), vol. 6, p. 205; Ali al-Maawardi, an-Nukat wa al-Uyoon Tafseer al-Maawardi (Beirut: Daar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 1992), vol. 4, p. 421
[2] ad-Dahhaak رحمة اللہ علیه is also reported to have said, "The salaat of Allaah is His mercy and the salaat of the His angels is supplication." According to Salmaan, though, the chain for that report is very weak. See Mashhoor Hasan Salmaan, footnotes to Muhammad Ibn al-Qayyim رحمة اللہ علیه, Jalaa al-Afhaam fi Fadhl as-Salaat was-Salaam ala Muhammad Khair al-Anaam (ad-Dammam, Saudi Arabia: Daar Ibn al-Jauzi, 1997), p. 257
[3] Muhammad Ibn al-Qayyim رحمة اللہ علیه, Jalaa al-Afhaam fi Fadhl as-Salaat was-Salaam ala Muhammad Khair al-Anaam (ad-Dammam, Saudi Arabia: Daar Ibn al-Jauzi, 1997), p. 257
[4] al-Bukhari recorded this report from Ibn 'Abbaas in mualaq form but in the English translation of Saheeh al-Bukhari, it was not translated.
[5] Muhammad Ibn Jareer at-Tabari رحمة اللہ علیه, Jaami' al-Bayaan an Taweel Aayi al-Qur'aan (Beirut: Daar al-Fikr, 1988), vol. 12, part 22, p. 43
[6] See his complete discussion in Ibn al-Qayyim's Jalaa al-Afhaam fi Fadhl as-Salaat was-Salaam ala Muhammad Khair al-Anaam, pp. 253-276
[7] This is also the conclusion of Shayh Muhammad Ibn 'Uthaymeen رحمة اللہ علیه, Shaykh Saalih al-Fauzaan, Shaykh 'Abdul 'Azeez ar-Rasheed and Shaykh Muhammad Khaleel Harraas. See Shaykh Muhammad Ibn 'Uthaymeen, Sharh al-Aqeedah al-Waasitiyyah (ad-Dammam, Saudi Arabia: Daar Ibn al-Jauzi, 1415 A.H.), vol/ 1, p. 46; Shaykh Saalih al-Fauzaan, Al-Aqeedah al-Waasitiyyah li-Shaykh al-Islaam Ahmad Ibn Taimiyah (Riyadh: Maktabah al-Maarif, 1987), p. 9; Shaykh Muhammad Khaleel Harraas, Sharh al-Aqeedah al-Waasitiyyah (ath-Thuqbah, Saudi Arabia: Daar al-Hijrah, 1995), p. 58; Shaykh 'Abdul 'Azeez ar-Rasheed, at-Tanbeehaat asSanniyyah alal-Aqeedah al-Waasitiyyah (Daar ar-Rasheed, n.d.), p. 11
[8] Cf., Ibn al-Qayyim رحمة اللہ علیه, Jalaa, p. 265
[9] Cf., Harraas, Sharh al-Aqeedah al-Waasitiyyah, p. 59
[10] Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language (New York: Portland House, 1989), p. 1060
[11] Shaykh Jamaaluddeen Zarabozo, Commentary on the Forty Hadeeth of an-Nawawi رحمة اللہ علیه, Volume 1, pp. 63-66