Among the greatest means of obtaining ease in times of hardship is invocating blessings and peace upon the Prophet of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace), which the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) himself clarified for us how in a tradition narrated by Ubai bin Ka’ab (may Allah be pleased with him), who said; ‘I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I supplicate often, so how much of my supplication should I devote to you?’ He replied, ‘as you desire’. I said, ‘a quarter of it?’ He said ‘as you desire, but if you were to increase upon this, it would be better for you.’ I said, ‘half of it?’ He said, ‘as you desire, but if you were to increase upon this, it would be better for you.’ I said, ‘two-thirds of it?’ He said again, ‘as you desire, but if you were to increase upon this, it would be better for you.’ Finally I said, ‘and if I dedicate my supplication in its entirety to you?’ He said, ‘then your needs will be satisfied, and your sins forgiven.’[1]
It is clear that he whom Allah satisfies his worldly needs has been truly blessed with Allah’s kindness and mercy. He also has been given security from all that he fears, and has attained the utmost protection from all harm and evils; indeed he is carried aboard the ship of salvation. This means he is secure from all things which create worries and needs, secure from poverty, debt, subjugation, weakness, disease, fear, and all other calamities and disasters; he has guaranteed that his worldly affairs will be upright and good. . And should he obtain, alongside this, forgiveness from the sins and salvation from the perils of the Day of Resurrection, so that he may enter Paradise in peace, he has most certainly guaranteed that his affairs in the Hereafter will be good and upright, too.
What more could the worshipper require besides this? And all of this is obtained through invoking blessings and peace upon the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace); with it lies the key to guaranteeing goodness in the affairs of this life, and in the Hereafter.
We will now give mention to some of the benefits of invocating blessings and peace upon our Master Muhammad (may Allah bless him and give him peace), by way of drawing from the works of the scholars of Islam, namely Sheikh ibn al-Qayyim, and Sheikh ibn Hajar al-Haytami. Deifying Muhammad (more)
Mark Alexander
