DenicePitcairn: Added the excessive citations format. There are at least 3 instances of sentences with 10 citations.

2026-02-20T03:37:04Z

Added the excessive citations format. There are at least 3 instances of sentences with 10 citations.

Amol kolhe: Islamic Prayers: More befitting title

2023-09-30T02:21:13Z

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{{short description|Laudatory religious phrases in Islam}}
{{Redirect|Peace be upon him|the Jewish honorific|Honorifics for the dead in Judaism#Peace be upon him/her}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2022}}
{{Fiqh |etiquette}}

Islam uses a number of conventionally complimentary phrases praising [[Allah]] (e.g., {{transliteration|ar|Subḥānahu wa-taʿālā}}), or wishing good things upon [[Muhammad]] or other [[Prophets and messengers in Islam|prophets]] and chosen figures of God (e.g., {{transliteration|ar|ʿalayhi s-salām}}). These phrases are encompassed by a number of terms: Prayers upon Muhammad may be referred to simply as {{lang-ar|صَلَوات|ṣalawāt}}, "prayers", {{lang-fa|{{nq|درود}}|dorud}}, "greetings", or {{lang-ur|{{nq|درود}}|durūd}}.

==Applied to God==
After mentioning one of the [[Names of God in Islam|names of God]], such as ''Allah'', an expression of worship is used as opposed to the phrases of supplication used for regular individuals. These include:

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|-
! style="width:50%;"| Arabic {{hr}} Transliteration || style="width:35%;"| Meaning || style="width:15%;"| Abbreviation
|-
|{{lang|ar|سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ}}|| rowspan="2" |Glorified and Exalted||rowspan="2"|(swt), (s.w.t.)
|-
|{{transliteration|ar|subḥānahu wa-taʿālā}}
|-
|{{lang|ar|تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَىٰ}}|| rowspan="2" |Blessed and Exalted||rowspan="2" style="background:gray"|
|-
|{{transliteration|ar|tabāraka wa-taʿālā}}
|-
|{{lang|ar|عَزَّ وَجَلَّ}}|| rowspan="2" |Prestigious and Majestic||rowspan="2"|(azwj), (a.z.w.j.)
|-
|{{transliteration|ar|ʿazza wa-jall{{smallsup|a}}}}
|}

==Applied to Muhammad and his family==
[[File:Mohamed peace be upon him.svg|thumb|220px|right|{{transliteration|ar|Sallā -llāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam}} ("blessings of God and peace be upon him") written in Arabic]]
[[File:لیگاتور صلی الله علیه و سلم.png|thumb|"Blessings of God be upon him and his progeny" in Arabic.]]
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:35%;"| Arabic {{hr}} Transliteration {{hr}} Meaning|| style="width:50%;"| Usage || style="width:15%;"| Abbreviation
|-
|style="text-align: center;"|{{lang|ar|عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ}}|| rowspan="3" |This expression follows after naming [[prophets and messengers in Islam]], [[Companions of the Prophet|companions in Sunni Islam]] and [[The Twelve Imams|Imams in Shia Islam]]|| rowspan="3" |(as), (a.s.)
|-
|style="text-align: center;"|{{transliteration|ar|ʿalayhi as-salām{{smallsup|u}}}}
|-
|style="text-align: center;"|Peace be upon him
|-
|style="text-align: center;"|{{lang|ar|عَلَيْهِ ٱلصَّلَاةُ وَٱلسَّلَامُ}}|| rowspan="3" |This expression follows after naming prophets and messengers, companions in Sunni Islam, Imams in Shia Islam.|| rowspan="3" |(asws), (a.s.w.s.), (pbbuh), (p.b.b.u.h.)
|-
|style="text-align: center;"|{{transliteration|ar|ʿalayhi ṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salām{{smallsup|u}}}}
|-
|style="text-align: center;"|Blessings and peace be upon him
|-
|style="text-align: center;"|{{lang|ar|سَلَامُ ٱللَّٰهِ عَلَيْهِ}}|| rowspan="3" |This expression follows after naming Imams in Shia Islam or angels. The feminine version ({{lang|ar|سَلَامُ ٱللَّٰهِ عَلَيْهَا}}) is commonly used for historical Islamic women (e.g. [[Fatimah]], [[Khadija bint Khuwaylid|Khadijah]], [[Mary in Islam|Maryam]], [[Asiya]], [[Sarah]], [[Eve]], etc.).|| rowspan="3" |(sa), (s.a.)
|-
|style="text-align: center;"|{{transliteration|ar|salāmu -llāhi ʿalayh{{smallsup|ī}}}}
|-
|style="text-align: center;"|Peace of God be upon him
|-
|style="text-align: center;"|{{lang|ar|صَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ}}|| rowspan="3" |This expression follows specifically after uttering the name of Muhammad, although "peace be upon him" may be used instead. .|| rowspan="3" |(saw), (s.a.w.), (sa), (s.a.), (sm)
|-
|style="text-align: center;"|{{transliteration|ar|ṣallā -llāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam{{smallsup|a}}}}
|-
|style="text-align: center;"|Blessings of God be upon him as well as peace
|-
|style="text-align: center;"|{{lang|ar|صَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ}}|| rowspan="3" |This expression follows specifically after uttering the name of the Islamic prophet [[Muhammad]]. It is used by all Muslims, .|| rowspan="3" |(saww), (s.a.w.w.), (saws), (s.a.w.s.), (saw), (s.a.w.), (sa), (s.a.), (pbuh), (p.b.u.h)
|-
|style="text-align: center;"|{{transliteration|ar|ṣallā -llāhu ʿalayhī wa-ʾālihī wa-sallam{{smallsup|a}}}}
|-
|style="text-align: center;"| Blessings of God be upon him and his [[Ahl al-Bayt|progeny]] and grant him peace
|-
|style="text-align: center;"|{{lang|ar|صَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ}}|| rowspan="3" |This expression follows specifically after uttering the name of Muhammad. It is more commonly used by Shia Muslims.||rowspan="3"|(sawa), (s.a.w.a.), (saww), (s.a.w.w.), (sa), (s.a.)
|-
|style="text-align: center;"|{{transliteration|ar|ṣallā -llāhu ʿalayhī wa-ʾālih{{smallsup|ī}}}}
|-
|style="text-align: center;"| Blessings of God be upon him and his progeny
|-
|style="text-align: center;"|{{lang|ar|رَحِمَهُ ٱللَّٰهُ}}|| rowspan="3" |This expression is used when mentioning historic and contemporary Muslims.|| rowspan="3" |(ra), (r.a.), (r.h)(rah), (r.a.h.), (raa), (r.a.a.)
|-
|style="text-align: center;"|{{transliteration|ar|raḥimahu -llāh{{smallsup|u}}}}
|-
|style="text-align: center;"|God have mercy on him
|-
|style="text-align: center;"|{{lang|ar|رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ}}|| rowspan="3" |This expression is used when mentioning the [[companions of the Prophet|companions of Muhammad]] but sometimes used with other religious persons,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.islamweb.net/ar/fatwa/10967/|title = هل يقال رضي الله عنه لغير الصحابة - إسلام ويب - مركز الفتوى}}</ref> the feminine version {{lang|ar|رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهَا}}.|| rowspan="3" |(ra), (r.a.)
|-
|style="text-align: center;"|{{transliteration|ar|raḍiya -llāhu ʿanh{{smallsup|ū}}}}
|-
|style="text-align: center;"|God be pleased with him
|}

In the above, {{lang-ar|عليه|ʿalayhi}} "upon him" may be replaced by {{lang-ar|عليه وعلى آله|ʿalayhi wa-ʿalā 'ālihi}} "upon him and upon his family."

Usually, {{transliteration|ar|ṣallā}} or "blessings" is used exclusively for Muhammad to distinguish between him and other prophets (and Imams in Shia Islam), but theoretically, it is used for all prophets equally.

===Scriptural and hadith basis for prayers upon Muhammad===
====Qur'ān====
[[File:إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ ۚ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْل.svg|thumb|Verse 33:56 in Arabic.]]
The honorifics for Muhammad are enjoined by Surat [[al-Ahzab]]:
{{blockquote|{{lang|ar|{{Script|Arab|إِنَّ ٱل‍لَّٰهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَىٰ ٱلنَّبِيِّ يَا أَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا۟ صَلُّوا۟ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا۟ تَسْلِيمًا}}}}

"Surely Allah (God) and His angels bless the Prophet; O you who believe! Send blessings on him and salute him with a (becoming) salutation."{{Cite quran|33|56|translator=s}}}}

====[[Hadith]]====

[[Al-Tirmidhi]] recorded that [[Abu Hurairah]] said, "The Messenger of Allah said, 'May he be humiliated, the man in whose presence I am mentioned and he does not send Salaam upon me; may he be humiliated, the man who sees the [[Ramadan (calendar month)|month of Ramadan]] come and go, and he is not forgiven; may he be humiliated, the man whose parents live to old age and they do not cause him to be granted admittance to Paradise.'" Al-Tirmidhi said that this hadith was {{transliteration|ar|[[hasan (hadith)|ḥasan gharib]]}}, "good but only reported once".

In {{transliteration|ar|[[Sahih Muslim]]}}, {{transliteration|ar|[[Sunan Abu Dawood]]}}, {{transliteration|ar|[[Jami' at-Tirmidhi]]}} and {{transliteration|ar|[[al-Sunan al-Sughra]]}}, four of the [[Kutub al-Sittah|six major hadith collections]] recorded that Abu Hurairah said, "The Messenger of Allah said: 'Whoever sends one Salaam upon me, Allah will send ten upon him.'"

[[Ahmad ibn Hanbal]] reported in his {{transliteration|ar|Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal}} that the Companion of Muhammad, Abu Talha ibn Thabit, said:

{{blockquote|One morning the Messenger of Allah was in a cheerful mood and looked happy. They said, "O Messenger of Allah, this morning you are in a cheerful mood and look happy." He said, "Of course, just now someone [an angel] came to me from my Lord [Allah] and said, 'Whoever among your Ummah sends Salaam upon you, Allah will record for him ten good deeds and will erase for him ten evil deeds, and will raise his status by ten degrees, and will return his greeting with something similar to it.'"}}

[[Al-Bayhaqi]] reports that Abu Hurairah said that Muhammad said, "Send the Salaam on Allah's messengers and prophets for Allah sent them as He sent me."

This point is further founded in the saying by Muhammad, "The miser is the one in whose presence I am mentioned, then he does not send the Salam upon me." This was recorded in {{transliteration|ar|[[Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal]]}}.

{{blockquote|Anas bin Malik said, "The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: 'Whoever sends salah upon me once, Allah (SWT) will send salah upon him tenfold, and will erase ten sins from him, and will raise him ten degrees in status.'" |Collected by [[Al-Nasa'i]] |{{transliteration|ar|[[Al-Sunan al-Sughra]]}}, Book 13, Hadith 119<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sunnah.com/nasai:1297 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502152819/https://sunnah.com/nasai:1297 |archive-date=2021-05-02 |website=sunnah.com |title=The Book of Forgetfulness (In Prayer) (55) Chapter: The virtue of sending salah upon the Prophet (SAW) }}</ref>}}

===Salafi ruling on abbreviating prayers upon Muhammad===
Scholars of the [[Salafi]] branch of Islam practised in [[Saudi Arabia]] have instructed their followers not to abbreviate the {{transliteration|ar|[[salawat]]}} upon Muhammad. For example, [[Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz]], the [[Grand Mufti]] of Saudi Arabia, said:

{{blockquote|1=As it is prescribed to send prayers upon the Prophet (peace and prayers of Allah be upon him) in prayer when saying the {{transliteration|ar|[[tashahhud]]}}, and it is prescribed when giving {{transliteration|ar|[[khutbah]]s}}, saying {{transliteration|ar|[[Du'a]]}} and praying for forgiveness, and after the {{transliteration|ar|[[Adhan]]}}, and when entering and exiting the mosque, and when mentioning him in other circumstances, so it is more important to do so when writing his name in a book, letter, article and so on. So it is prescribed to write the prayers in full so as to fulfil the command that Allah has given to Muslims, and so that the reader will remember to say the prayers when he reads it. So one should not write the prayers on the Prophet (peace and prayers of Allah be upon him) in short form such as writing (S) or (SAWS) etc, or other forms that some writers use, because that is going against the command of Allah in His Book, where He says (interpretation of the meaning):

{{lang|ar|{{Script|Arab|صَلُّوا۟ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا۟ تَسْلِيمًا }}}}

Send blessings on him and salute him with a (becoming) salutation."{{Cite quran|33|56|translator=s}}

And that (writing it in abbreviated form) does not serve that purpose and is devoid of the virtue of writing "{{transliteration|ar|salla Allaahu 'alayhi wa salaam}} (May Allah send prayers and peace upon him)" in full. Moreover the reader may not take notice of it and may not understand what is meant by it. It should also be noted that the symbol used for it is regarded as disapproved by the scholars, who warned against it.{{citation needed|date=January 2015}}{{year needed|date=January 2015}}}}

==Applied to angels and prophets==
[[File:Ar-عليه السلام.svg|thumb|{{transliteration|ar|'Alay-hi 's-salām}} in Arabic script]]

Some honorifics apply to the archangels ([[Gabriel#Islam|Jibril]], [[Michael (archangel)#Quran|Mikhail]], etc.) as well as any other Islamic prophets preceding Muhammad ([[Jesus in Islam|Isa]] as, [[Moses in Islam|Musa]] as, [[Abraham in Islam|Ibrahim]] as etc.). Group of modern scholars from [[Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University]], Yemen, and Mauritania has issued fatwa that the angels should be invoked with blessing of {{transliteration|ar|alaihissalam}}, which also applied to human prophets and messengers.<ref name="Saying 'Peace be upon him' to Angels">{{cite web |author1=Abdullaah Al-Faqeeh |title=Saying 'Peace be upon him' to Angel Gabriel |url=https://www.islamweb.net/en/fatwa/86115/saying-peace-be-upon-him-to-angel-gabriel |website=Islamweb.net |publisher=Fatwa center of Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Yemen, and Mauritania Islamic educational institues |access-date=14 March 2022 |language=en |date=2003}}</ref> This fatwa was based on the ruling from [[Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya]].<ref name="Saying 'Peace be upon him' to Angels" />

*{{transliteration|ar|'Alay-hi 's-salām}} ({{lang-ar|عليه السلام}})
** Translation: "Peace be upon him"
** Abbreviation: "AS"<ref name="IT">{{cite web|title=Islamic Terminology|url=http://islamic-dictionary.tumblr.com/post/7030248513/islamic-honorifics|website=islamic-dictionary|access-date=8 December 2016}}</ref>
* {{transliteration|ar|Alaihissalatu Wassalam}}
** Translation: "On him are the blessings and the peace of Allah"
** Abbreviation: "ASW"

==Applied to companions of Muhammad ==
[[File:Ar-رضى الله عنه.svg|thumb|"May Allāh be pleased with him" in Arabic.]]
Some honorifics are used after [[Sahabah|companions]] ({{transliteration|ar|Aṣ-Ṣaẖābah}}) of Muḥammad:

*{{transliteration|ar|Raḍiya 'llāhu 'an-hu}} ({{lang-ar|رضي الله عنه}})
**Translation: "May Allāh be pleased with him"
**Abbreviation: "RA"
**Example: {{transliteration|ar|"Uthman Ibn Affan (Raḍiya 'llāhu 'an-hu) ..."}}
*{{transliteration|ar|Raḍiya 'llāhu 'an-hā}} ({{lang-ar|رضي الله عنها}})
**Translation: "May Allāh be pleased with her"
**Example: {{transliteration|ar|"Khadījah (Raḍiya 'llāhu 'an-hā) ..."}}
*{{transliteration|ar|Raḍiya 'llāhu 'an-huma}} ({{lang-ar|رضي الله عنهما}})
**Translation: "May Allāh be pleased with both of them"
**Example: {{transliteration|ar|"Umar and Abu Bakr (Raḍiya 'llāhu 'an-huma) ..."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://islamtics.com/radi-allahu-anhu-meaning/|title=Radi Allahu Anhu in Arabic, Meaning |access-date=February 4, 2023}}</ref>}}
*{{transliteration|ar|Raḍiya 'llāhu 'an-hum}} ({{lang-ar|رضي الله عنهم}})
**Translation: "May Allāh be pleased with them"
**Example: {{transliteration|ar|"aṣ-Ṣaḥābah (Raḍiya 'llāhu 'an-hum) ..."}}

== Applied to enemies of Muhammad ==
Some honorifics are not used in the sense of "honoring" a person, and are instead used after the mention of the enemies ({{lang-ar|العَدُوّ|al-'aduww}}) of Muḥammad:

*{{transliteration|ar|La'anatu 'llahi 'alay-hi}} ({{lang-ar|لعنة الله عليه}})
**Translation: "May the curse of Allāh be upon him"
**Example: {{transliteration|ar|"[[Abū Lahab]] (La'anatu 'llahi 'alay-hi)..."}}

==Applied to scholars and saints==
[[File:رحمه الله.png|thumb|"May Allah's mercy be upon him" in Arabic.]]

Some honorifics apply to highly revered scholars and people thought to be of high spiritual rank who have died:

*{{transliteration|ar|Raḥmatu 'llāhi 'alay-hi}} ({{lang-ar|رَحْمَةُ الله عليه}})/{{transliteration|ar|Raḥima-hu 'llāh}} ({{lang-ar|رَحِمَهُ الله}})
**Abbreviation: "RH"
**Translation: "May Allah's mercy/ blessing be upon him"
**Example: {{transliteration|ar|"Al Suyuti (Raḥmatu 'llāhi 'alay-hi) ..."}}
*{{transliteration|ar|Raḥmatu 'llāhi 'alay-ha}} ({{lang-ar|رَحْمَةُ الله عليها}})/{{transliteration|ar|Raḥima-hā 'llāh}} ({{lang-ar|رَحِمَها الله}})
**Translation: "May Allah's mercy/ blessing be upon her"
**Example: {{transliteration|ar|"Fatima al-Fihri (Raḥmatu 'llāhi 'alay-hi) ..."}}
*{{transliteration|ar|Raḥmatu 'llāhi 'alay-him}} ({{lang-ar|رَحْمَةُ الله عليهم}})
**Translation: "May Allah's mercy/ blessing be upon them"

If a revered scholar is still alive, the following is custom:
*{{transliteration|ar|Ḥafiḏahu 'llāh}} ({{lang-ar|حفظه الله}})
**Abbreviation: "HA"
**Translation: "May Allah preserve him"
*{{transliteration|ar|Faraja 'llāhu 'anhu}} ({{lang-ar|فرج الله عنه}})
**Abbreviation: "FA"
**Translation: "May Allah grant him relief"

== Unicode ==
{{see also|Arabic script in Unicode#Word ligatures}}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan="6"|Unicode
|-
!UTF-8 Encoding
!Symbol
!Unicode Name
!Transcription
![[Arabic]]
!English
|-
|<code>&#1553;</code>
|{{huge|ؑ}}
|Arabic sign ALAYHE ASSALLAM
|{{transliteration|ar|ʿalayhī s-salām}}
|{{lang|ar|عليه السلام}}
|peace be upon him
|-
|<code>&#1554;</code>
|{{huge|ؒ}}
|Arabic sign RAHMATULLAH ALAYHE
|{{transliteration|ar|raḥmatu Llāhi ʿalayh}}
|{{lang|ar|رحمة الله عليه}}
|God have mercy upon him
|-
|<code>&#1555;</code>
|{{huge|ؓ}}
|Arabic sign RADI ALLAHOU ANHU
|{{transliteration|ar|raḍī Llāhu ʿanh}}
|{{lang|ar|رضي الله عنه}}
|God be pleased with him
|}

==See also==
*{{transliteration|ar|[[Subhanahu wa ta'ala]]}}
*{{transliteration|ar|[[Salawat]]}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==

{{DEFAULTSORT:Islamic Honorifics}}
[[Category:Islamic honorifics| ]]

Islamic honorifics - Revision history

DenicePitcairn: Added the excessive citations format. There are at least 3 instances of sentences with 10 citations.

Amol kolhe: Islamic Prayers: More befitting title