Allah in Whose Name we begin, Most Beneficent, Most Merciful
A. THE EXCELLENCE OF DUROOD SHAREEF FOR THE UMMAH AS EXPLAINED IN THE HOLY QURAN AND AHADITH
This book contains valuable information about Durood Shareef (Salawat) on Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallim).
The message of Allah Ta'ala to Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallim) has come down to us in the form of the Holy Quran and the teachings of Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallim) have reached us in the form of the Ahadith. Let us see what both the Holy Quran and Ahadith say about Durood Shareef (Salawat):
Innal llaha wa Malaa'ikatahu Yu salluna allan nabiyi.
Ya Ayyuhal lazeena aamanu sallu alaihi wasallimu tasleema.
Almighty Allah says: "Surely Allah and His Angels send blessings on the Holy Prophet (Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallim). O you who believe! Send Blessings (Durood) and Salutations (Salaams) on the Prophet with worthy Salutation".(Surah al-Ahzab: 56)
In this verse of the Holy Quran, Almighty Allah, His Malaa'ikah and the Muslims have been mentioned as sending Durood upon Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallim). So, Durood Shareef is actually "a Du'a in praise of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallim)."
B. WHAT IS DUROOD SHAREEF AND THE IMPORTANCE OF DUROOD SHAREEF
Divine blessings on Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallim) is the highest and the most meritorious act in our Deen. This "Divine Blessings" is called Durood Shareef.
When Almighty Allah sends Durood and Salaams upon Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallim), He is actually blessing him. When the Malaa'ikah and the Muslims send Durood and Salaams to Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallim), they are actually showing Almighty Allah their respect for the Holy Prophet (Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallim).
Muslims hope that, through the blessings of the Durood and Salaams, Almighty Allah will forgive them of their sins and increase their status in this world and in the Aakirah. The Malaa'ikah hope that Almighty Allah will increase their status.
Durood is a sure means of Allah Ta'ala granting blessings, peace, prosperity and favours of great magnitude on one who recites Durood Shareef on the Holy Prophet (Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallim). The reciter of Durood Shareef receives all the benefits in this world and utmost gain in the next world with addition to the love of the Holy Prophet (Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallim).
The reciter of Durood Shareef will, after some time, come to realise by himself that it is the spontaneous outpouring of his heart before the Great Prophet (Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallim) of Islam, whose love and attachment is needed to get all the present day problems solved and obtain mercy in the next world.
The more Durood Shareef we recite, the greater the gain and benefit will be achieved in both the worlds. Hazrat Shaikh-e-Akbar Mo'inuddin ibn Arabi (radi Allahu anhu) has stated that, "Those who claim to love and revere the Holy Prophet (Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallim) should increase their recital of the Durood Shareef in patience and perseverance until, through the mercy of Rasoolullah (Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallim), they have the opportunity of witnessing his blessed countenance".
Muslims are a very fortunate people. Allah Ta'ala chose for them the name of Islam as a religion, declared to be comprehensive and final for mankind. The person chose to deliver this message in this specific form and extra-ordinary style of love and hope was the most beloved of Allah Ta'ala and became the Light of Divinity to be shed upon the entire universe. This Light devastated all the domains of darkness and depression. By reciting Durood Shareef (Salawat) we invite Light and drive away all darkness from our inner soul. Our mind becomes soft and love saturated. If there is softness in everything, it tends beauty to it. People become ugly owing to lack of this essential beauty of the inner part of the mind. This ugliness cannot be glossed over by any amount of cosmetics. It is the Durood Shareef on the Holy Prophet (Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallim) which works wonders.
In the same manner, the Holy Prophet (Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallim) taught us Durood Shareef to attain salvation, perfect peace and maximum gain in this world as well as the next. The soul is the soil where the faith of Allah is to be implanted firmly and faithfully which requires continuous recitation of Durood Shareef to thrive and flourish.
We have been told by Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallim) that Durood Shareef is itself Light and when Light enters the soul every aspiration is achieved and every goal is won. Nothing remains thereafter to worry about.
Human spirit today is depressed everywhere and mankind has come to the edge of destruction, decay and devastation. Everyone is engulfed in untold miseries and tragedies of a very great magnitude. Troubles and tortures, pain, poverty, hunger, ill-health, frustrations and accidents have broken the back of a human being. All this can evaporate with the recitation of Durood Shareef on the Holy Prophet (Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallim) who has clearly proclaimed that Durood Shareef is the panacea of all ills and that if any one comes across a calamity he should recite Durood Shareef in the maximum number. Allah Ta'ala has promised that if anyone recites Durood only once, He showers ten blessings on the reciter immediately.
From the above fact it is quite clear that Allah Ta'ala has given orders even to his Ambiya to recite Salawat on the last and final Prophet of Islam, and that Durood Shareef is not only panacea and a solution to the ills of this world but in the next too.
In another story, it is narrated that when Hazrat Adam (alaihis salaam) saw Bibi Hawa (radi Allahu anha) he wanted to be close to her, but Allah Ta'ala sent Hazrat Jibrael (alaihis salaam) to stop him. Allah Ta'ala told him that if he wanted to take Bibi Hawa (radi Allahu anha) as his wife, he should first pay Mahr (dowry). On his inquiry as to what the Mahr was, Allah Ta'ala told Hazrat Jibrael (alaihis salaam) to inform him that the best way of paying the dowry is for him to recite Durood Shareef 3 times on His last Prophet, Hazrat Muhammad (Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallim). Hazrat Adam (alaihis salaam) did so, Bibi Hawa (radi Allahu anha) was granted to him as his legal and legitimate wife.
As Muslims we should recite Durood Shareef in the Arabic language. Islam seeks to create a unified outlook and it is in the Arabic language alone which welds all Muslims into one great brotherhood. Besides, Arabic is the language of Heaven, it is the language of Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallim), it is the language of the Angels and it is the language of Hazrat Abu-Bakr, Hazrat Umar, Hazrat Uthman and Hazrat Ali (radi Allahu anhuma).
The daily recitation of Durood Shareef has a tremendous effect on the human head, heart, mind and person. It purifies thoughts and intensifies actions. It makes passages for perfect peace and personal satisfaction.