Allohumma shalli ala Muhammad



O noble believers, humbly and constantly request Divine Benediction for him,saluting him repeatedly with utmost love and respect.
- Holy Quran 33.56

Salawat are the prayers of angels and humanity praising and invoking blessing upon the Prophet Muhammad, the Crown of Creation and the Axis of Manifest Being, may Allah the Exalted bestow His grace ceaselessly upon him. Know that Allah desires the salawat prayer from our heart and greatly rewards it. For in actuality it is Allah who is praising the Prophet with the tongue of humanity. In the love between Allah, the Prophet and his ummat, humanity, resides the great secret of Creation. Allah is praised, the Prophet is praised and humanity is praised on the breath of Love coursing though the salawat, bringing all back to the Source of Love.

In the practice of Sufism everything is witnessed as part of oneself. Allah Most High and His noble prophets are within one’s being, as is the entire creation, from the angelic heavens to the lowest realms. Therefore when we pray for blessings upon the Prophet Muhammad, we may envision him before us or inside our self, either in his human form or as brilliant light. His being is our own inner heart, he is the precious pearl of our self. All humanity is his body. We beseech Allah to offer him the peace and blessings so that they originate from the Source of All Blessedness.

Whenever the name of the holy Prophet is mentioned we invoke blessings upon him: salallahu ‘alayhi wa salam, ‘Blessings and peace be upon him.’

When offering the Fatiha outside of the salat prayer, we begin with the salawat:

Allahumma salli ‘ala sayyidina Muhammad
O Allah bless our master Muhammad,
wa ‘ala ali Muhammad
the family of Muhammad,
wa sahbihi wa sallim
and all of his companions througout time,
and shower them with great peace.


O Allah, You Who are the only Reality and the loving foundation of our existence, please send Your blessings which are inestimable and beyond our understanding, to the Prophet Muhammad who is the soul of our being, and upon his family, and upon his intimate lovers, and upon the entire human family which is his blessed community.

This shorter version is also used:

Allahumma salli ‘ala sayyidina Muhammad salallahu ‘alayhi wa salam

Our love for the Prophet expands our Fatiha to inconceivable dimensions: “Disappear with ecstatic love into the Prophet of Allah, and you will disappear into Allah in mystic union (Nur al-Jerrahi, Atom).”

When Holy Quran revealed that the believers should send praises upon the Prophet, the companions came to him asking how they should praise him. After a long silence, the Prophet responded with the following salawat. Since that time, it has been recited in the seated portion of salat. It may also be recited outside of salat.

Allahumma salli ‘ala sayyidina Muhammadin
O Allah, shower your Grace upon our Master Muhammad
wa ‘ala ali Muhammadin
and upon his family
kama sallayta ‘ala Ibrahim wa ‘ala ali Ibrahim
as you have showered Your Grace upon Abraham
and the family of Abraham,
innaka Hamidun Majid
indeed You are Most Praiseworthy and Glorious.
Wa barik ‘ala sayyidina Muhammadin
And bless our Master Muhammad
wa ‘ala ali Muhammadin
and his family
kama barakta ‘ala Ibrahim wa ‘ala ali Ibrahim
as You have blessed Abraham and the family of Abraham,
innaka Hamidun Majid
truly You are Most Praiseworthy and Glorious.


Allah Most High has revealed that when we pray for blessings upon Muhammad, Allah sends ten blessings upon us.