Aslam

Praise be to Allah.According to Islamic teaching, du’aa’ (supplication)

may be divided into two categories, general and specific.

General du’aa’ is that which may be

initiated by the individual, in which he may say whatever he wants,

at certain times or in certain places prescribed by sharee’ah, such

as making du’aa’ in the last third of the night, or making du’aa’ between

the adhaan (call to prayer) and iqaamah (second call immediately preceding

the prayer), or making du’aa’ at ‘Arafaah, and so on.

The specific kind of du’aa’ is du’aa’s

which are said when entering or leaving a place, when certain things

happen, and so on, such as when entering and leaving the toilet, when

the wind blows strongly, and so on.

The first kind, general du’aa’s, are

those in which blessings should be sent upon the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). They should also include

praise of Allaah. Faddaalah ibn ‘Ubayd said: “The Messenger of Allaah

(peace and blessings of Allaah

be upon him) heard a man making du’aa’ in his prayer, but he did not

praise Allaah or send blessings on the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). The Messenger of Allaah

(peace and blessings of Allaah

be upon him) said: ‘This man is in a hurry.’ Then he called him or someone

else and said, ‘When any one of you prays, let him begin by praising

his Lord, then let him send blessings on the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), then let him pray for whatever

he wants after that.’”

(Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 3477, and Abu Dawood, 1481)

The context of sending blessings on the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah

be upon him) was mentioned by the great scholar Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah

have mercy on him), who said:

“Blessings should be sent upon him before supplication

and after praising Allaah.

The second place is to send blessings upon him at the

beginning of the du’aa’, in the middle and at the end.

The third place is to send blessings upon him at the

beginning and at the end, and to mention one’s need in the middle.”

(Jalaa’ al-Afhaam,

p. 375)

With regard to the reason for sending blessing

upon the Prophet (peace and blessings

of Allaah be upon him) in du’aa’, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may

Allaah have mercy on him) said:

“Sending blessings upon him is one of the greatest means

of having du’aa’s answered, and this has been enjoined by Allaah. Sending

blessings upon him in du’aa’ is what is indicated by the Qur’aan, Sunnah

and ijmaa’ (scholarly consensus). Allaah says (interpretation of the

meaning);

‘Allaah

sends His Salaah (Graces, Honours, Blessings, Mercy) on the Prophet

(Muhammad), and also His angels (ask Allaah to bless and forgive him).

O you who believe! Send your Salaah on (ask Allaah to bless) him (Muhammad),

and (you should) greet (salute) him with the Islamic way of greeting

(salutation, i.e. As‑Salaamu ‘Alaikum)’

[al-Ahzaab 33:56].”

(Majmoo al-Fataawa,

1/347)

Ibn al-Qayyim said:

In these contexts in which it is prescribed to send blessing

upon the Prophet (peace and blessings

of Allaah be upon him), it is prescribed to send blessings upon the

Prophet (peace and blessings of

Allaah be upon him) before starting the du’aa’. The key to du’aa’ is

sending blessings upon the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), just as the key to salaah

(prayer) is purity. So may Allaah send blessings and peace upon him

and his family.

With regard to the specific kind of du’aa’s mentioned

above, these do not include sending blessings upon the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), except in a few cases such

as the du’aa’ for entering the mosque and the du’aa’ after the adhaan,

as will be quoted below.

The Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) taught his ummah

specific du’aa’s for certain times and certain actions, in which there

is no sending blessings on the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). These include:

Du’aa’

al-istikhaarah:

It was narrated that Jaabir ibn ‘Abd-Allaah

(may Allaah be pleased with them both) said: The Messenger of Allaah

(peace and blessings of Allaah

be upon him) taught us to pray for guidance in all our affairs, just

as he would teach us a soorah from the Qur’aan. He said: “If any of

you intends to undertake a matter, then let him pray two non-obligatory

rak’ahs, then let him say:

‘Allaahumma inni astakheeruka

bi ‘ilmika wa astaqdiruka bi qudratika, wa as’aluka min fadlik al-‘azeem

fa innaka taqdiru wa laa aqdir, wa ta’lamu wa laa a’lam, wa anta ‘allaam

ul-ghuyoobi. Allaahumma in kunta ta’lamu anna haadha’l-amra

– and here he mentions his need – khayrun

li fi deeni wa ma’aashi wa ‘aaqibati amri (or he said, ‘aajil amri wa aajilihi), faqdirhu

li wa yassirhu li thumma baarik li fihi. Wa in kunta ta’lam anna hadha’l-amra

sharrun li fi deeni wa ma’aashi wa ‘aaqbiti amri (or he said,

‘aajil amri wa aajilihi),

fasrifhu ‘anni wasrifni ‘anhu waqdir

li al-khayr haythu kaana thumma ardini bihi

(O Allaah,

I seek Your guidance by Your knowledge and I seek strength by Your power.

I ask you of Your great Bounty. You have power, I have none, You know,

I know not. You are the Knower of the Unseen. O Allaah, if You know

that this matter – and here he should mention it – is good for me in

my religious commitment, my livelihood and my affairs (or he said, immediately

and in the distant future), then decree it for me, make it easy for

me and bless it for me. And if you know that this matter is bad for

me in my religious commitment, my livelihood and my affairs (or he said,

immediately and in the distant future), then turn it away from me, and

turn me away from it, and decree for me whatever is good, wherever it

may be, and make me content with it).’”

(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1113) Du’aa’ when entering

the toilet:

It was narrated that Anas ibn Maalik

(may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “Whenever he entered the toilet,

the Prophet (peace and blessings

of Allaah be upon him) used to say, ‘Allaahumma

inni a’oodhu bika min al-khubthi wa’l-khabaa’ith (O Allaah,

I seek refuge with You from all evil and evildoers).”

(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5963; Muslim, 375)

Du’aa’ when there are high winds:

It was narrated that ‘Aa’ishah, the

wife of the Prophet (peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whenever there was a wind-storm,

the Prophet (peace and blessings

of Allaah be upon him) would say, “Allaahumma

inni as’aluka khayrahaa wa khayra ma fihaa wa khayra maa ursilat bihi,

wa a’oodhu bika min sharrihaa wa sharri maa fihaa wa sharri ma ursilat

bihi (O Allaah, I ask You for its goodness, the goodness

within it and the good with which it was sent, and I seek refuge with

You from its evil, the evil within it and the evil with which it was

sent.”

And there are other du’aa’s which he

taught us, in which there is no mention of sending blessings upon him,

(peace and blessings of Allaah

be upon him). We should recite them as he has taught them to us, without

adding anything or taking anything away. This ruling also applies to

making du’aa’ in sujood, which is mentioned in the question. Several

du’aa’s have been reported that the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said in his sujood, none

of which contain blessings upon the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). These du’aa’s include the

following:

It was narrated that ‘Aa’ishah (may

Allaah be pleased with her) said: “The Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) often used to say in his

sujood and rukoo’: ‘Subhaanaka Allaahumma

Rabbanaa wa bi hamdika, Allaahumma ighfir li (Glory and praise

be to You, O Allaah our Lord; O Allaah, forgive me).’” (Narrated

by al-Bukhaari, 874; Muslim, 484).

And it was narrated that ‘Aa’ishah said: “one

night I noticed that the Messenger of Allaah

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was not in his bed, so I

reached out looking for him, and my hand touched the soles of his feet;

he was in his prayer place and his feet were upright (i.e., he was prostrating),

and he was saying, ‘Allaahumma a’oodhu

bi ridaaka min sakhatika wa bi mu’aafaatika min ‘aqoobatika wa a’oodhi

bika minka laa uhsi thanaa’an ‘alayka anta kamaa athnayta ‘ala nafsika

(O Allaah, I seek refuge in Your good pleasure from Your wrath, and

I seek refuge in Your pardon from Your punishment. I seek refuge in

You from You. I cannot enumerate Your praise, You are as You have praised

Yourself).’”

(Narrated by Muslim, 486)

Let us not forget also that the person who

is praying will recite al-salaah

al-Ibraaheemiyyah when he sits to recite the Tashahhud in

his prayer; thus his prayer will include sending blessings upon the

Prophet (peace and blessings of

Allaah be upon him).

The specific du’aa’s which include sending

blessings upon the Prophet (peace

and blessings of Allaah be upon him) include the following:

-Du’aa’ when entering the mosque:

It was narrated that Abu Humayd and Abu Usayd

said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace

and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When any one of you enters

the mosque, let him greet the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) with peace, then let him

say, ‘Allaahumma aftah li abwaab rahmatika (O Allaah, open to me

the gates of Your Mercy).’ And when he leaves, let him say, ‘Allaahumma

inni as’aluka min fadlika (O Allaah, I ask You of Your Bounty).’”

(Narrated by Abu Dawood, 466).

(This hadeeth was classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani

(may Allaah have mercy on him) in Tamaam

al-Minnah, p. 290)

Du’aa’

following the adhaan:

It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn’Amr

ibn al-‘Aas heard the Prophet (peace

and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “When you hear the muezzin,

say what he says, then send blessings upon me, for whoever sends blessings

upon me, Allaah will send ten blessings upon him. Then ask Allaah to

grant me al-waseelah,

which is a position in Paradise which will only be attained by one of

the slaves of Allaah, and I hope that I will be the one. Whoever asks

for al-waseelah for me,

my intercession will be granted for him.”

(Narrated by Muslim, 384)

And Allaah knows

best.