Should he send blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when he makes du’aa’ in his sujood?

According to Islamic teaching, du’aa’ (supplication) may be divided into two categories, general and specific.

 General du’aa’ is that which may be initiated by the individual, in which he may say whatever he wants, at certain times or in certain places prescribed by sharee’ah, such as making du’aa’ in the last third of the night, or making du’aa’ between the adhaan (call to prayer) and iqaamah (second call immediately preceding the prayer), or making du’aa’ at ‘Arafaah, and so on.

 The specific kind of du’aa’ is du’aa’s which are said when entering or leaving a place, when certain things happen, and so on, such as when entering and leaving the toilet, when the wind blows strongly, and so on.

 The first kind, general du’aa’s, are those in which blessings should be sent upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). They should also include praise of Allaah. Faddaalah ibn ‘Ubayd said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) heard a man making du’aa’ in his prayer, but he did not praise Allaah or send blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘This man is in a hurry.’ Then he called him or someone else and said, ‘When any one of you prays, let him begin by praising his Lord, then let him send blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), then let him pray for whatever he wants after that.’”

(Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 3477, and Abu Dawood, 1481) 

The context of sending blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was mentioned by the great scholar Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him), who said:

“Blessings should be sent upon him before supplication and after praising Allaah.

The second place is to send blessings upon him at the beginning of the du’aa’, in the middle and at the end.

The third place is to send blessings upon him at the beginning and at the end, and to mention one’s need in the middle.”

(Jalaa’ al-Afhaam, p. 375) 

With regard to the reason for sending blessing upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in du’aa’, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

“Sending blessings upon him is one of the greatest means of having du’aa’s answered, and this has been enjoined by Allaah. Sending blessings upon him in du’aa’ is what is indicated by the Qur’aan, Sunnah and ijmaa’ (scholarly consensus). Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning);

‘Allaah sends His Salaah (Graces, Honours, Blessings, Mercy) on the Prophet (Muhammad), and also His angels (ask Allaah to bless and forgive him). O you who believe! Send your Salaah on (ask Allaah to bless) him (Muhammad), and (you should) greet (salute) him with the Islamic way of greeting (salutation, i.e. As‑Salaamu ‘Alaikum)’

[al-Ahzaab 33:56].”

(Majmoo al-Fataawa, 1/347)

 Ibn al-Qayyim said:

In these contexts in which it is prescribed to send blessing upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), it is prescribed to send blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) before starting the du’aa’. The key to du’aa’ is sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), just as the key to salaah (prayer) is purity. So may Allaah send blessings and peace upon him and his family. 

With regard to the specific kind of du’aa’s mentioned above, these do not include sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), except in a few cases such as the du’aa’ for entering the mosque and the du’aa’ after the adhaan, as will be quoted below. 

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) taught his ummah specific du’aa’s for certain times and certain actions, in which there is no sending blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). These include:

Du’aa’ al-istikhaarah:

 It was narrated that Jaabir ibn ‘Abd-Allaah (may Allaah be pleased with them both) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) taught us to pray for guidance in all our affairs, just as he would teach us a soorah from the Qur’aan. He said: “If any of you intends to undertake a matter, then let him pray two non-obligatory rak’ahs, then let him say:

‘Allaahumma inni astakheeruka bi ‘ilmika wa astaqdiruka bi qudratika, wa as’aluka min fadlik al-‘azeem fa innaka taqdiru wa laa aqdir, wa ta’lamu wa laa a’lam, wa anta ‘allaam ul-ghuyoobi. Allaahumma in kunta ta’lamu anna haadha’l-amra – and here he mentions his need – khayrun li fi deeni wa ma’aashi wa ‘aaqibati amri (or he said, ‘aajil amri wa aajilihi), faqdirhu li wa yassirhu li thumma baarik li fihi. Wa in kunta ta’lam anna hadha’l-amra sharrun li fi deeni wa ma’aashi wa ‘aaqbiti amri (or he said, ‘aajil amri wa aajilihi), fasrifhu ‘anni wasrifni ‘anhu waqdir li al-khayr haythu kaana thumma ardini bihi

(O Allaah, I seek Your guidance by Your knowledge and I seek strength by Your power. I ask you of Your great Bounty. You have power, I have none, You know, I know not. You are the Knower of the Unseen. O Allaah, if You know that this matter – and here he should mention it – is good for me in my religious commitment, my livelihood and my affairs (or he said, immediately and in the distant future), then decree it for me, make it easy for me and bless it for me. And if you know that this matter is bad for me in my religious commitment, my livelihood and my affairs (or he said, immediately and in the distant future), then turn it away from me, and turn me away from it, and decree for me whatever is good, wherever it may be, and make me content with it).’”

(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1113) Du’aa’ when entering the toilet:

 It was narrated that Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “Whenever he entered the toilet, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to say, ‘Allaahumma inni a’oodhu bika min al-khubthi wa’l-khabaa’ith (O Allaah, I seek refuge with You from all evil and evildoers).”

(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5963; Muslim, 375)

Du’aa’ when there are high winds:

 It was narrated that ‘Aa’ishah, the wife of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whenever there was a wind-storm, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) would say, “Allaahumma inni as’aluka khayrahaa wa khayra ma fihaa wa khayra maa ursilat bihi, wa a’oodhu bika min sharrihaa wa sharri maa fihaa wa sharri ma ursilat bihi (O Allaah, I ask You for its goodness, the goodness within it and the good with which it was sent, and I seek refuge with You from its evil, the evil within it and the evil with which it was sent.”

 And there are other du’aa’s which he taught us, in which there is no mention of sending blessings upon him, (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). We should recite them as he has taught them to us, without adding anything or taking anything away. This ruling also applies to making du’aa’ in sujood, which is mentioned in the question. Several du’aa’s have been reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said in his sujood, none of which contain blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). These du’aa’s include the following:

 It was narrated that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) often used to say in his sujood and rukoo’: ‘Subhaanaka Allaahumma Rabbanaa wa bi hamdika, Allaahumma ighfir li (Glory and praise be to You, O Allaah our Lord; O Allaah, forgive me).’” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 874; Muslim, 484).

And it was narrated that ‘Aa’ishah said: “one night I noticed that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was not in his bed, so I reached out looking for him, and my hand touched the soles of his feet; he was in his prayer place and his feet were upright (i.e., he was prostrating), and he was saying, ‘Allaahumma a’oodhu bi ridaaka min sakhatika wa bi mu’aafaatika min ‘aqoobatika wa a’oodhi bika minka laa uhsi thanaa’an ‘alayka anta kamaa athnayta ‘ala nafsika (O Allaah, I seek refuge in Your good pleasure from Your wrath, and I seek refuge in Your pardon from Your punishment. I seek refuge in You from You. I cannot enumerate Your praise, You are as You have praised Yourself).’”

(Narrated by Muslim, 486)

Let us not forget also that the person who is praying will recite al-salaah al-Ibraaheemiyyah when he sits to recite the Tashahhud in his prayer; thus his prayer will include sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

The specific du’aa’s which include sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) include the following:

-Du’aa’ when entering the mosque:

It was narrated that Abu Humayd and Abu Usayd said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When any one of you enters the mosque, let him greet the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) with peace, then let him say, ‘Allaahumma aftah li abwaab rahmatika (O Allaah, open to me the gates of Your Mercy).’ And when he leaves, let him say, ‘Allaahumma inni as’aluka min fadlika (O Allaah, I ask You of Your Bounty).’”

(Narrated by Abu Dawood, 466).

(This hadeeth was classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) in Tamaam al-Minnah, p. 290)

Du’aa’ following the adhaan:

 It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn’Amr ibn al-‘Aas heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “When you hear the muezzin, say what he says, then send blessings upon me, for whoever sends blessings upon me, Allaah will send ten blessings upon him. Then ask Allaah to grant me al-waseelah, which is a position in Paradise which will only be attained by one of the slaves of Allaah, and I hope that I will be the one. Whoever asks for al-waseelah for me, my intercession will be granted for him.”

(Narrated by Muslim, 384)

 And Allaah knows best.