WE HAVE RELATED in the Sunans of Abū Dāwūd, at-Tirmidhī and an-Nasā’ī from Fuḍālah ibn ‘Ubayd
that the Messenger of Allah
heard a man supplicating in his ṣalāh who did not magnify Allah or pray for blessings on the Messenger
. So the Messenger of Allah
observed: “This man has rushed.” Then he called him and told him him or someone else: “When any one of you performs ṣalāh, he should begin with the magnification of his Lord
and extol Him; next he should pray for blessings on the Messenger
; and after that he should supplicate for whatever he wants.” [1].At-Tirmidhī describes this as a ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ hadith.
We related in the book of at-Tirmidhī that ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb
said: “Du‘ā’ is halted between Heaven and Earth; none of it will ascend [to Allah] until you have prayed for blessings upon your Prophet
.” [2].
I say: the ‘ulamā’ are unanimous that it is mustaḥabb to start du‘ā’ by praising Allah
and extolling Him, and then to invoke blessings upon the Messenger of Allah
. The du‘ā’ should also be concluded with them. The narrations in this regard are many and well-known.”
References
[1] At-Tirmidhī (3473), Abū Dāwūd (1481), an-Nasā’ī (3/44), and al-Ḥākim (1/231), who grades it as ṣaḥīḥ and adh-Dhahabī agrees.
[2] At-Tirmidhī (486) and al-Futūḥāt (3/334). It is mawqūf and its chain contains Abū Qurrah al-Asadī, about whom neither his name nor his trustworthiness are known.