Question:

What do the scholars and experts of religion say in regard to reciting salawat upon the Prophet ﷺ after the adhan?

Answer:

All perfect praise is for Allah ﷻ, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allahﷻ, and that Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is His Messenger.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar said, I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ saying: “When you hear the caller to prayer, repeat what he says and then send blessings upon me. Whoever sends blessings upon me once, Allah ﷻ will send ten blessings upon him. Then pray to Allah ﷻ that He grants me the wasila, which is a station in heaven. Allah ﷻ will grant this only to one of His servants. I hope to be that person. Whoever requests the wasila for me, my intercession will become Wajib for him.” (Musilm, Ahmad, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi)

There is a difference of opinion amongst the fuqaha about the ruling of reciting salawat after the adhan. The Shawafi’ consider it a sunnah for the caller to recite salawat upon the Prophet ﷺ after each adhan. It is a general command, so all are included. Some have associated a similar opinion to the Hanabila.

According to the Ahnaf, ‘Allama ibn Abidin mentions in his Radd al-Mukhtar that reading salawat after the adhan began in 781 Hijri and would take place after Isha . Them it began to be recited after the Jumma and the rest of the prayers except for Maghrib. It is classed as Bid’a Hasana. Imam Suyuti has mentioned in work ‘Husn al-Mahadhara’ that Imam Sakhawi said that this practice started in 791 Hijri following the instruction of Sultan Nasir Salah al-Din.

In conclusion, the schoalrs have differed whether this act is a Sunnah or a Bid’a Hasana. It is our opinion that if one is to recite salawat after the adhan then there should be a clear pause between the words of the adhan and the salawat being recited thereafter. Likewsie, there should be a clear difference in the melody and loudness of the salawat recited so it is not confused with the adhan.

And Allah ﷻ knows best.

This fatwa is written by Dr. Hafiz Muhammad Munir Al-Azhari