Salawat

Not to be confused with the five daily prayers, ṣalāh (and its plural ṣalawāt) refer to the servant asking Allah (subḥānahū wa taʿālā) to send all good upon the Messenger ﷺ and praise him amongst the loftiest assembly of angels. Ṣalāh is often translated as ‘salutation’ or ‘blessing’. However, the word ‘ṣalāh’ encompasses more than that. Ibn Ḥajar (raḥimahullāh) writes: “Salāh also means ‘honour him’ i.e. honour him in the world by elevating his mention, granting victory to his dīn and preserving his sharī‘ah; and honour him in the hereafter by rewarding him abundantly, accepting his intercession on behalf of his ummah and granting him the loftiest station of glory (maqām mahmūd).” We should invoke ṣalāh on our beloved Messenger of Allah ﷺ as frequently as possible. Similarly, we include it at the beginning of our duʿā’. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “When one of you supplicates, he should start by exalting and praising his Lord, then send ṣalāh on the Prophet ﷺ. Thereafter he should ask for whatever he wants” (Abū Dāwūd).