S e c o n d Q u e s t i o n : The comparison at the end of the tashahhud: “O God! Grant blessings to Muhammad and to the Family of Muhammad, as You granted blessings to Abraham and to the Family of Abraham,”² appears to be contrary to the rules of comparisons, for Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) was greater than Abraham (Peace be upon him), and the recipient of greater mercy; so what is the reason for it? Since early times the same supplication has been repeated in all the ritual prayers; whereas if a prayer is accepted once, that is enough. If those for whom millions of prayers have been accepted are persistently prayed for, and especially if the thing sought has been promised by God... For example, Almighty God has promised: Soon will your Sustainer raise you to a station of praise and glory!,³ yet always after the call to prayer and iqama the narrated prayer: “And raise him up to the station of praise and glory that You have promised him”⁴ is repeated; the whole Umma pray for that promise to be fulfilled. What is the reason for this too?

T h e A n s w e r : There are three aspects and three questions within this question.

First Aspect: For sure Abraham (Peace be upon him) was not equal to Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him), but his family or descendants were prophets. Muhammad’s (Peace and blessings be upon him) family were saints, and saints cannot reach the level of the prophets. Evidence that this prayer for his family has been accepted in shining fashion is this:

The fact that the saints who, among three hundred and fifty million, emerged from the progeny of only two of the Family of Muhammad (PBUH), that is, Hasan (May God be pleased with him) and Husayn (May God be pleased with him), were in the great majority of cases the spiritual guides and leaders of the sufi paths of reality, was because they received the effulgence of the Hadith: “The learned of my community are like the prophets of the Children of Israel.”⁵ Those who guided the greater part of the Umma to the way of truth and reality of Islam —foremost Ja‘far al-Sadiq (May God be pleased with him), Gawth al-A‘zam (May God be pleased with him), and Shah Naqshband (May God be pleased with him)— were the fruits of the acceptance of this prayer for Muhammad’s (Peace and blessings be upon him) Family.

Second Aspect: The reason for benedictions of this sort being restricted to the ritual prayers is that they recall to one that he is on the way opened up and taken by the great caravan of the prophets and saints, who are the most luminous, perfect, and righteous of mankind and its eminent members. He has joined that vast congregation, which acquires strength through its hundredfold consensus and cannot confuse its way, and is accompanying it on the straight path. By recalling this, he is saved from satanic doubts and delusions. Evidence that the members of this caravan are the friends and acceptable creatures of the universe’s Owner, and its opponents and enemies are rejected, is that from the time of Adam, succour has always arrived from the Unseen for the caravan, while its opponents have always been visited by heavenly calamities.

Yes, just as opponents like the people of Noah, the Thamud and the ‘Ad, Pharaoh and Nimrod have all received blows from the Unseen that tell of Divine wrath and chastisement; so the sacred heroes of the mighty caravan, like Noah (Peace be upon him), Abraham (Peace be upon him), Moses (Peace be upon him), and Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him), have wondrously and extraordinarily manifested miracles and received dominical bounties from the Unseen. A single blow demonstrates anger, and a single bestowal, love, so thousands of blows being visited on opponents and thousands of favours and instances of assistance arriving for the caravan testify and prove self-evidently, as clearly as daylight, the rightfulness of the caravan and that it is on the straight path. The verse: The path of those whom You have blessed in Sura al-Fatiha looks to the caravan, while the verses: Not those on whom Your anger has been visited, nor those who have gone astray⁶ looks to their opponents. The point we have explained here is clearer in the discussion about the end of Sura al-Fatiha.

Third Aspect: The reason for repeatedly asking for something which shall certainly be given is this: the thing sought, for instance the ‘Station of Praise and Glory’ is the tip of something. It is a branch of a vast truth that comprises lofty and significant truths like thousands of Stations of Praise and Glory. It is a fruit of the most important result of the universe’s creation. To seek through prayer the tip, branch, and fruit is to seek indirectly the realization of that vast and general truth, and its finding existence, and the coming and realization of the eternal realm, the largest branch of the tree of creation, and the resurrection of the dead and Last Judgement and the opening up of the Abode of Bliss, which are the supreme results of the universe. By asking for these, one participates in the worship and prayers of all humanity, the most important causes of the existence of Paradise and the Abode of Bliss. These innumerable prayers are indeed few for an aim so unutterably vast. Moreover, Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) being awarded the Station of Praise and Glory points to his supreme intercession for all his community. He is concerned also with the happiness of all his community. It is therefore pure wisdom to seek endless benedictions and prayers for mercy for him from all his community.

Glory be unto You! We have no knowledge save that which You have taught us; indeed, You are All-Knowing, All-Wise.⁷

FOOTNOTES

1. “al-tahiyyat al-mubarakat al-salawat al-tayyibat lillah.” Bukhari, Adhan, 148, 150; al-Amal fi’l-salat, 4; Istidhan, 3, 28; Da’wat, 16; Tawhid, 5; Muslim, Salat, 56, 60, 62. Etc.

2. Bukhari, Anbiya’, 10.

3. Qur’an, 17:79.

4. ‘Station of Praise and Glory’ — al-Maqam al-Mahmud: Bukhari, Adhan, 8, 17; Tirmidhi, Mawaqit, 43; Salat, 42; Abu Da’ud, Salat, 37; Nasa’i, Adhan, 38; Ibn Maja, Adhan, 4; Iqama, 25; Musnad, iii, 354.

5. al-‘Ajluni, Kashf al-Khafa, ii, 64; Tecrid-i Sarîh Tercemesi (Turk. trans.) Diyanet Isleri, i, 107.

6. Qur’an, 1:7.

7. Qur’an, 2:32.