Durood – A welcome worship and a means of eternal felicity

 

Durood – A welcome form of worship and a means of eternal felicity

 

Weekly lecture of Mufti Syed Ziauddin Naqshbandi at Masjid Abul Hasanaat

 

Allah Most High has granted all kinds of greatness to the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam).  The mention of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) has been raised to such an extent that His name is mentioned along with the blessed name of Allah Most High.  The remembrance of Allah Most High is along with the mention of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam).  All believers have been ordered to present Durood (i.e. their greetings and salutations) to the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) and it has been declared that Allah Most High sends Durood on the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam).  All angels have been ordered to make Durood their daily litany.  Allah Most High says in Surah Ahzaab in the Holy Quran:

 

Surely, Allah Most High and (all) His angels send blessings and greetings on the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam).  O believers!  Invoke blessings on him and salute him with a worthy salutation of peace abundantly (and fervently).  Surah Ahzaab (33:56)

 

These are the words of Mufti Syed Ziauddin Naqshbandi, Professor, Islamic Law, Jamia Nizamia, Founder-Director, Abul Hasanaat Islamic Research Center, in the weekly lecture conducted under the aegis of AHIRC in Masjid Abul Hasanaat.

 

The revered Mufti explained the spiritual secrets of the verse.  The (Arabic) word Salaat is used for Almighty Allah.  This means that Allah Most High describes the greatness and grandeur of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam).  Imam Bukhari has related on the authority of the great Hadith-expert Hadhrat Abul A’aliya (May Allah shower His Mercy on them both) that Salaat means that Allah Most High describes the greatness of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) before the angels.  It is mentioned in the Holy Quran that Almighty Allah ordered the angels to prostrate to Hadhrat Adam (May peace be upon him).  Here, Allah Most High does not say:  …ordered the angels of Allah to prostrate to Adam.  However, in the verse of Durood, the words are:  Indeed, Allah Most High and His angels….  With this, Allah Most High expresses the greatness of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam).  This shows that Allah Most High likes the mention of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) and those who make mention of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) are also beloved to Allah Most High.  We see from the aforementioned verse that the angels have been honored with the mention of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam). 

 

In the aforementioned verse of the Holy Quran, Almighty Allah did not mention any of the attributes of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) except the attribute of Prophethood.  The revered Mufti quoted Hadhrat Ibraheem Adeeb (May Allah shower His Mercy on him) on this that Nubuwwah i.e. the attribute of Prophethood is a gentle attribute (Jamaali) of the Prophet.  As the Ummah looks up to His mercy after sending Durood and the mercy and grace of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) aids His Ummah, that is the reason Allah Most High has mentioned this attribute.

 

The revered Mufti further said that the word Nabi comes from the word Naba and means one who has knowledge of the unseen.  Thus, this word in this verse suggests that no matter whether the person who sends the Durood is near or far, the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) hears it.  Allah Most High has granted the knowledge of the unseen to the Prophet and distance of no matter to Him.  When a follower of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) sends Durood, the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) not only hears it, but even answers to it.

 

The revered Mufti said that it is well established in the Hadith that there are angels who hear the whole creation at once.  When the angels who themselves belong to the nation of the Prophet have such power, then the leader of all Prophets and the Master of all creation hears the creation all the more.  The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said:  I myself hear the Durood of the lovers.

 

Presenting one’s Durood is a form of worship which is always accepted and a means of eternal felicity.  We should try to deepen our relationship with the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam).  We should recite Durood profusely and make it binding on ourselves to follow Him.  We should offer Salaat regularly, as it is the (spiritual) ascension of the believers and the solace of the blessed eyes of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam).  The session ended with Durood and Salaam.