Remembrance 1 from Chapter 74

WE HAVE MENTIONED praying for blessings upon the Messenger of Allah and matters related to it in the Book on the adhkār of ṣalāh. We have explained the most complete formulas as well as the minimum. Although some of our colleagues and the Mālikī Ibn Abī Zayd hold that it is mustaḥabb to add ‘And have mercy on Muḥammad and the family of Muḥammad’, it is a baseless innovation. The Mālikī Imam Abū Bakr Ibn al-‘Arabī has gone to some lengths in his book Sharḥ at-Tirmidhī to repudiate that and criticise Ibn Abī Zayd for it, and has declared those who practice it ignorant. He said this because the Messenger of Allah taught us the way to pray for blessings upon him, so any addition to that would amount to considering his words inadequate and to correcting a shortcoming on his part. And all success is by Allah.

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