THE STORY OF UBAYY IBN KA‘B (RA): THE POWER OF SENDING SALAWĀT UPON THE PROPHET ﷺ

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

THE BLESSED NIGHT OF JUMU‘AH AND THE VIRTUE OF SENDING SALAWĀT UPON THE PROPHET ﷺ.

The night preceding Friday is a special time for Muslims. It begins immediately after sunset on Thursday and is known as Laylat al-Jumu‘ah (the night of Friday).

It is an excellent opportunity to increase our remembrance of Allah SWT and, particularly, to send abundant blessings and salutations upon our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

Therefore, let us prepare our hearts and engage our tongues in sending Salawāt upon the noble Messenger of Allah ﷺ, beginning from Thursday evening and continuing throughout Friday.

One simple way of doing this is to recite:

اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ عَلَى نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدٍ

Allahumma salli wa sallim 'ala Nabiyyina Muhammad.

(O Allah, send Your blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad.)

WHY SHOULD WE DO THIS?

Did you know that Allah SWT Himself sends blessings upon Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and that His angels do likewise?

This is explicitly mentioned in the Holy Qur'an, where Allah SWT commands the believers to do the same.

Allah SWT says:

"Indeed, Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. O you who have believed, ask Allah to send blessings upon him and greet him with peace."

📚 Qur'an 33:56.

Think about this magnificent honour! Allah SWT mentions His blessings upon His Messenger ﷺ, His angels send blessings upon him, and we, as believers, are also commanded to send blessings and peace upon him.

What a beautiful act of worship!

Let us therefore make abundant Salawāt a regular part of our daily lives, with particular attention to Thursday evening and Friday.

A STORY THAT WILL TOUCH YOUR HEART

Ubayy ibn Ka‘b (RA) was one of the noble Companions of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

He loved the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and frequently sent blessings upon him.

On one occasion, he approached the Prophet ﷺ and asked a remarkable question:

"O Messenger of Allah, I send abundant blessings upon you. How much of my supplication should I devote to sending blessings upon you?"

The Prophet ﷺ replied:

"As much as you wish."

Ubayy asked:

"Should I devote one-quarter of my supplication to you?"

The Prophet ﷺ replied:

"As much as you wish. But if you increase it, that will be better for you."

Ubayy then asked:

"Should I devote half of it?"

The Prophet ﷺ gave the same response.

Ubayy continued:

"Should I devote two-thirds of it?"

Again, the Prophet ﷺ encouraged him to increase it if he wished.

Finally, Ubayy said:

"Should I devote all of my supplication to sending blessings upon you?"

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied with words of tremendous encouragement:

"Then your worries will be taken care of, and your sins will be forgiven."

📚 Jami‘ at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2457.

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL LESSON FOR US!

Consider the profound lesson contained in this narration.

Ubayy ibn Ka‘b (RA) was asking how much of his supplication he should devote to sending blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ encouraged him to increase it, until he eventually asked whether he should devote all of it to Salawāt.

And the Prophet ﷺ gave him this remarkable glad tiding:

1. Your worries will be taken care of.

كُفِيتَ هَمَّكَ

2. Your sins will be forgiven.

وَيُغْفَرُ لَكَ ذَنْبُكَ

Subhanallah!

What a tremendous virtue of sending blessings upon our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ!

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, let us take this narration as encouragement to increase our Salawāt. Let us not allow our tongues to remain idle when we can occupy them with this beautiful remembrance.

May Allah SWT make us among those who frequently send blessings and peace upon His beloved Messenger ﷺ. Ameen.

FINALLY: LET US REMEMBER OUR MASJIDS

There is another important responsibility I would like to remind myself and my fellow Muslims about.

Allah SWT has entrusted human beings with responsibilities towards His religion and our communities. The maintenance of our mosques, provision of essential facilities, payment of necessary expenses and support for Islamic activities are among the responsibilities that require our collective contributions.

The angels are not going to descend from the heavens to undertake the maintenance of our mosques or provide the financial resources required to run their daily activities. These are responsibilities that we, as members of the Muslim community, should willingly support.

Therefore, I use this medium to encourage myself and everyone reading this message to cultivate the habit of contributing something reasonable, according to our individual financial capacities, to the Ṣadaqah Fī Sabīlillāh boxes in our respective mosques.

Let it become a daily habit, whenever possible, particularly on Fridays when we attend Jumu‘ah prayers.

Remember, it is not necessarily the amount that matters, but the sincerity of our intentions and our willingness to contribute towards the pleasure of Allah SWT.

Our little contributions, when combined, can go a long way in maintaining our mosques, supporting Islamic education, facilitating religious activities and propagating the beautiful religion of Islam.

Allah SWT says:

"Who is it that would loan Allah a goodly loan so He may multiply it for him many times over?"

📚 Qur'an 2:245.

May Allah SWT accept our Salawāt, forgive our shortcomings, remove our worries, bless our wealth and make us among those who contribute generously towards the establishment and propagation of His religion.

ĀMĪN YĀ RABBAL-‘ĀLAMĪN.