Is it Permissible to recite the Salawat known as Durud al-Taj?

To begin with, let it be known that the Shariah has not fixed a specific method of sending peace and blessings (salat and salam) upon the beloved Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace). The obligation of sending blessings upon the beloved of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) is a general one, hence in whichever wording (seegha) blessings are sent, one would be fulfilling one’s responsibility.

Yes, the wording for the Salawat of prayer has been fixed by the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace), thus one must not send blessings in prayer in a different manner.

Imam Hafidh Shams al-din al-Sakhawi (Allah have mercy on him) states in his al-Qawl al-Badi’ fil-Salat ala al-Habib al-Shafi’ (The commendable doctrine concerning the sending of blessings upon the beloved intercessor), quoting from Imam Majd al-Din:

“Some have chosen other methods of sending blessings upon the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace)……hence this is an indication that there is leniency in the matter in terms of adding and subtracting words from the salutations (salawat), and that the salutations are not restricted to specific words or specific times. However, it is more virtuous and better to send blessings upon the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) with the words that he taught us.” (al-Qawl al-Badi’, P: 89)

In light of the above text and the general understanding of the scholars, it becomes clear that to recite the Salawat in any form or wording is permitted and rewarding. Sending blessings upon our beloved Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) is not restricted to any time or any specific wording. One may send blessings upon him by using any wording, as long as there is nothing wrong in the wording itself. It is not necessary that the wording (seegha) of the salutations be established and narrated from the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace).

In view of this, we see many scholars compiling supplications and salutations years after the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace), such as the renowned Dala’il al-Khayrat by Imam al-Jazuli (Allah have mercy on him). Dala’il al-Khayrat wa Shawariq al-Anwar fi Dhikr al-Salat ala al-Nabi al-Mukhtar is a compilation that consists of supplications and salutations (salawat/durood), some of it is established from the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) and some of it is from the author’s heart. In a similar manner, we have poems and Qasa’id in praise of the beloved of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace), such as the renowned poem of the scarf (Qasida al-Burda) by Imam al-Busiri (Allah have mercy on him).

Having said that, one must always consider the established and narrated forms of sending blessings upon the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) to be superior, as stated by Imam al-Sakhawi in his text quoted above. It is also wrong to consider non-established forms of salutations to be specifically established through the Sunna. One should keep in mind that the recitation of salutations that are not narrated from the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) are not superior to reciting the ones established from him, and that the non-established forms are not Wajib or Sunna, although there are great rewards in reciting them.

Shaykh Khalil Ahmad Saharanfuri (Allah have mercy on him) sums this up by stating:

“It is desirable according to us to send blessings upon the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) abundantly and this is among the best of acts and the most beloved of recommendations, whether it is through the recitation of the Dala’il (al-Khayrat) and the Awrad of Salawat composed in that book, or with other texts. However, it is better according to us (to send blessings) with whatever wording is authentically established from the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace). However, if one sends blessings using other than what was narrated from the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace), then that will not be devoid of merit and it will deserve the glad tidings of (the hadith) “Whosoever invokes one blessing upon me, Allah blesses him ten times.” (al-Muhannad, P: 56)

The Salutation of the Crown (Durood al-Taj) was compiled and drafted many years after the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) and his Companions (Allah be pleased with them). In light of the above explanation, there is nothing wrong in reciting it and one will be rewarded for doing so insofar as the aspect of it not being established from the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) is concerned.

However, the condition for its permissibility and recommendation is that one avoids considering it to be established through the Sunna, and that it is not regarded to be superior than other forms of salutations that are narrated from the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace).

2) The second point of discussion here is that normally many virtues and benefits are cited upon the recital of Durood al-Taj. Its recitation is regarded to be extremely helpful in removing black magic, repelling the evils of the Jinn and Shayatin, safeguarding one’s self from one’s enemies and the jealous, cleansing one’s heart and being blessed with the vision of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) in a dream.

With regards to this, one should keep in mind that virtues and benefits are of two types. One is a benefit that is connected to this world (dunyawiyya), such as the examples given above. Such benefits can be based on personal experience (tajraba) or spiritual intuition (kashf). Benefits like the ones mentioned above are prescribed by the scholars and Awliya in relation to their personal experiences. Some found a particular act or recitation to be extremely helpful in curing black magic, so they prescribed it for others. Some scholars found a particular method of sending blessings upon the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) to be useful in being blessed with his vision in a dream, others experienced a particular recital to help remove calamities, and so on and so forth. There is nothing wrong with mentioning such worldly benefits; hence we see many such benefits and virtues being prescribed for the popular Qasida al-Burda also.

The second type of benefit is that which is connected with specific Hereafter (ukhrawiyya) benefits–such as saying that a particular act or recital would give you such and such reward in the hereafter, or reciting a particular form of salutation would guarantee the intercession of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace). It is wrong to mention and believe in such specific benefits and virtues unless they are established from Allah Most High or the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace).

Keeping this in mind, there is nothing wrong in mentioning the various virtues and benefits attached to the Durood al-Taj as long as they are benefits of this world. It would be wrong, however, to mention virtues that are connected to specific hereafter reward.

3) The third point of discussion with regard to the Durood al-Taj is that it has the following wording in it:

“O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our Master and Patron Muhammad, the owner of the Crown (taj), and the Ascent (me’raj), and the Buraq, and the Standard (alam). The Averter of affliction (bala), and disease (waba), and drought (qaht), and illness (maradh), and pain (alam)…..”

Referring to the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) as the “Averter of affliction, disease, drought, illness and pain” can be understood in two ways:

If the intention is to say that the Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace) alone repels affliction, heals sicknesses and removes difficulties, then that, without doubt, is unlawful, a false belief and considered to be Shirk. It is a basic understanding of Islam that we ascribe all actions to Allah Most High in absolute terms. He Most High says: “Say everything is from Allah.” (Surah an-Nisa, V: 78)

As such, every believer must be sure of the fact that it is only Allah Most High Who creates affliction and removes it in an absolute sense. It is only Allah Most High Who repels diseases, droughts, illnesses, pain and other such calamities. If one has this principle firmly in one’s mind, then there is nothing to worry about.

However, if the intention is to ask Allah to remove affliction, disease, pain, etc, through the intermediary and intercession (wasila) of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace), then there is nothing wrong with using these words.

Many scholars have understood such phrases to mean that through the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace), afflictions and illnesses are removed, although the remover is only Allah. It is a way of begging the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) to ask Allah to repel afflictions from us. In other words, the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) is considered to be a means of afflictions, illnesses, diseases, droughts and the like being removed.

As such, when the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) is described as the “Averter of affliction, disease, drought, illness and pain” it is in this metaphorical and non-absolute sense.

This is the reason why in many Urdu translations of the Durood al-Taj, the above passage is translated by mentioning the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) to be a means of averting affliction and the like (jinke wasila se). And this is why in another version, this passage reads as “yadafi’u bihi al-bala’ wa’l waba’ wa’l qaht wa’l maradh wa’l alam” (O the One Who repels affliction, disease, drought, sickness and pain through him (the Messenger, Allah bless him & give him peace).

Therefore, if one recites this passage with the intention of considering the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) to be a means of removing affliction, drought, etc, then this is allowed, for the Ulama of the Ahl al-Sunna have unanimously agreed upon the permissibility and recommendation of Tawassul. (See: Kifayat al-Mufti, 2/71, Khayr al-Fatawa, 1/338 & Fatawa Rahimiyya, 2/298)

In conclusion, there are three conditions for the permissibility of reciting the Salawat known as Durood al-Taj. If these three points are taken care of, then one will be rewarded for sending blessings upon the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) and achieve proximity to him in this world and the next.

a) This Salawat should not be considered to be specifically established through the Sunna, neither should it be considered superior to other forms of Salawat that are established and narrated from the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace).

b) One should avoid attaching benefits of reciting this Salawat that are connected to the hereafter. However, there is nothing wrong in mentioning the many worldly benefits of reciting it, as they are based upon experience.

c) The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) must be considered a “means” of removing afflictions, sicknesses, droughts and the like, whilst Allah Most High must be regarded the absolute remover of all pains and calamities.

Some individuals may not be giving due attention to one, two or all three of the abovementioned conditions; hence it would be wise to explain the matter to them. It is in this context that some scholars of the past prohibited its recitation, for they saw the non-observance of these conditions. However, if these conditions are taken care off, then there is nothing wrong whatsoever in reciting this Salawat (Durood al-Taj), and one will be rewarded for doing so.

And Allah knows best