Meaning of صَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ sallallahu alayhi wa sallam
Blessings of God be upon him as well as peace

Common transliterations and abbreviations used for صَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ” sallallahu alayhi wa sallam:
- Sallallahu alaihi wasallam
- salla allahu alayhi wasallam
- salla llahu alayhi wa-sallam
- SAW (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam)
- SAAW
- SAWS
- PBUH (peace be upon him)
- ﷺ
There are differences of opinion among scholars as to whether abbreviations such as “SAWS” can be used in writing, or if the phrase should always be spelled out entirely. And Allah knows best.
The short form Arabic symbol is ﷺ
Also read : Full Darood Sharif in Arabic and English
Virtue of darood : 5 Reason to Send darood on Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
1. Reading darood is a Command of Allah
By sending Darood on Prophet Muhammad sallalahu alaihe wa sallam, we carry out the command of Allah.
Allah SWT says in the Quran:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ ۚ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا
“Indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [Allah to grant him] peace.” (Surah Al-Ahzab, 33:56)
According to the tafsir of this verse, Muslims are here commanded to do two things: “Salloo ‘alayhi” which means love the Prophet (ﷺ), praise him and pray for mercy for him, and “sallimoo tasleemaa” which means to pray for his well-bein and security as well as to put our heart and mind at task of obeying him faithfully and sincerely.
2. Allah send Darood upon the person who send darood on Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
Hadhrat Abu Hurayrah τ reports that Rasulullaah ρ said, “The person who confers Durood upon me once, Allaah will confer Durood upon him ten times.”
Whereas even a single Durood and mercy from Allaah is sufficient for all of the world, yet Allaah sends ten mercies to the person who conveys a single Durood upon Rasulullaah ﷺ. What greater rewards can
one hope for? How fortunate then are those pious predecessors whose routine it was to recite Durood 125000 times daily.
Allaama Sakhaawi has narrated from Hadhrat Aamir bin Rabee’ah τ that Rasulullaah ρ said, “The person who confers Durood upon me once, Allaah will confer Durood upon him ten times. Those who therefore wish to do less may do so, and those who wish to do more, may also do so.”
A similar narration is narrated by Hadhrat Abdullaah bin Amr τ, with the addition that Allaah and His angels will confer Durood upon the person ten times. Allaama Sakhaawi has narrated several similar narration from various Sahabah ψ . He adds that just as Allaah has included the name of Rasulullaah ρ with His own name in the Kalimah and just as Allaah has stated that obedience and love for Rasulullaah ρ entails love and obedience to Allaah, so too has Allaah combined Durood for Rasulullaah ρ with His Durood. Therefore, just as Allaah says, “Remember Me and I shall remember you”, so too does He says, “Confer Durood upon Rasulullaah ρ once and I will confer Durood upon you ten times.”
A narration in Targheeb from Hadhrat Abdullaah bin Amr τ states that if a person confers Durood upon Rasulullaah ρ once, Allaah and His angels will confer Durood upon him seventy times. Ulema have stated
that whenever narrations differ in stipulating rewards (such as these Ahadeeth specifying ten and then seventy times), the higher figure will be deemed to have come afterwards because of the grace and favours that Allaah bestows upon the Ummah of Rasulullaah ρ. The promise of ten mercies was therefore the initial promise of rewards, which was later increased to seventy.
Other Ulema have stated that the difference in rewards varies according to the differences in people, circumstances and times. This difference has also been cited in the variation of rewards for performing salaah in Jamaa’ah, which is between 25 times to 27 times the reward. Mulla Ali Qaari is of the opinion that the reward of seventy mercies is specific for the day of Jumu’ah, because of a Hadith stating that the rewards of deeds are multiplies seventy times on the day of Jumu’ah.
3. sins are erased by virtue of Darood
Anas Ibn Malik reported that the Prophet of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Whoever sends blessings upon me once, Allah… will erase ten sins from him, and will raise him ten degrees in status.” (An-Nasa’i Sahih)
4. It will bring us closer to the Prophet (ﷺ)on day of Resurrection :
Abdullah ibn Masood narrated that Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said: “The closest of people to me on the Day of Resurrection will be those who sent the most blessings upon me.” (At-Tirmidhi)
5. Those who does not send darood on Prophet is considered stingy
`Ali bin Abi Talib narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “The stingy person is the one before whom I am mentioned, and he does not send Salat upon me.” (At-Tirmidhi)
When to recite Darood Sharif صَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ sallallahu alayhi wa sallam
Sheikh Muhammad zakariyya in his book fazail darood shareef says,
Ulema have also clearly stated that it is Mustahab to recite Durood on
the following occasions:
During the day on Fridays
During the night on Fridays
On Saturdays, Sundays and Thursdays
Every morning and evening
When entering a Masjid
When leaving a Masjid
When visiting the blessed grave of Rasulullaah ﷺ
When walking on Mounts Safa and Marwah during Hajj
During the Friday and other Khutbahs
When replying to the Adhaan
When reciting the Takbeer
At the beginning of a du’aa
During the du’aa
At the end of a du’aa
After the Du’aa Qunoot
After reciting the Talbiya
When joining a gathering
When dispersing from a gathering
When making wudhu
When experiencing earache
When something has been misplaced
Upon commencing a sermon
When propagating the Deen
When commencing and completing the reiteration of Ahadeeth
When asking for a Fatwa
When issuing a Fatwa
When writing a book or booklet
When learning
When teaching
When proposing for marriage
When getting married
When conducting the marriage of another person
When commencing important tasks
After saying or hearing the name of Rasulullaah ﷺ
When not to recite Darood Sharif صَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ sallallahu alayhi wa sallam
It is Makrooh to recite Durood on the following occasions:
When engaging in sexual relations
When relieving oneself
When advertising an item for sale
When falling down
When slaughtering an animal
When sneezing
When the name of Rasulullaah ﷺ is mentioned whilst one is reciting
the Qur’aan, then Durood should not be recited
Reference used : Fazail Darood sharif by Muhammad Zakariyya ( amazon link)
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