Question:
Is it suitable to use abbreviations like “SAW” and “SWT”? Also, is the sunna to write out these laudatory expressions in written form, or does the sunna refer to using them when speaking about the prophets, scholars, etc.?
Answer:
In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
Imam al-Nawawi, the great muhaddith and Shafi’i faqih (Allah have mercy on him) states in his introduction to the commentary of Sahih Muslim:
“It is praiseworthy (mustahab) for a person writing Hadith that…..at the mentioning of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace), he writes “Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam” in full and not merely using abbreviations, and neither sufficing on one of the two, i.e. Salat & Salam.” (Sharh Sahih Muslim, 1/39)
Thus, when one writes the name of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace), one should avoid using abbreviations such as SAW or something similar. It is inappropriate and disrespectful to do so. The love for the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) requires that one never tires, both verbally or in writing, from sending blessings and salutations upon him (Allah bless & and grant him eternal peace).
Qadhi Iyadh al-Maliki (Allah have mercy on him) mentions a Hadith wherein the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) said: “Whosoever sends blessings upon me in a book, the angels seek forgiveness for him until my name remains in that book.” (Narrated by al-Tabrani in his al-Awsat, with a weak chain of transmission. See: al-Shifa’ by Qadhi Iyadh, P: 557)
Hence, although the requirement would be fulfilled if one verbally sent blessings and salutations upon the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & grant him peace), but when one writes the name of the beloved of Allah, one should also send blessings upon him in writing.
This is very important. It is something many of us do not know. We should abbreviate or shorten the written blessings sent upon our Prophet (Salallahu Alayhe wa Sallam) by writing PBUH or SAS. Refer to the following:
Islam Questions & Answers www.islam-qa.com
Question Reference Number:: 47976 Title: Ruling on writing (S) or (SAWS) etc
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Question:
Is it permissible to write (S) or (SAWS) etc when mentioning the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), instead of writing out the blessing in full?.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
What is prescribed is to write “salla Allaahu ‘alayhi wa salaam (May Allaah send blessings and peace upon him)” in full, and not to write it in abbreviated form, such as writing (S) or (SAWS) etc.
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
As it is prescribed to send blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in prayer when saying the tashahhud, and it is prescribed when giving khutbahs, saying du’aa’ and praying for forgiveness, and after the adhaan, 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 blessing in full so as to fulfil the command that Allaah has given to us, and so that the reader will remember to say the blessing when he reads it. So we should not write the blessing on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah 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 Allaah in His Book, where He says (interpretation of the meaning):
“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 ‘Alaykum)”
[al-Ahzaab 33:56]
And that (writing it in abbreviated form) does not serve that purpose and is devoid of the virtue of writing “salla Allaahu ‘alayhi wa salaam (May Allaah send blessings 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.
Thanks for posting the article, However I have "other" opinion on this. The reasons indicated by the respondant are weak. Writing PBUH does not contradict with the saying of Allah[SWT]. The reader is able to understand the abbrevated form.
I heard Dr. Zakir and another Imam [from Malaysia i think - famous imam], say that its not neccessary to send Salam everytime - if you have sent it at the beginning. This was said in respect to the Imam sending Salam to the listners, and Listners sending Salam back to Imam before the start of the Speech.
I agree with you Muminah that they can be dodgy. There are many pious people for example Baba Fariduddin an Nizamuddeen Aulia who have deen on the end of their names. If it was haram to put deen on the end of the name these saints would have definetely changed their names. As with the parents of Rasulallah there is no way they could of been kuffar. There is no authentic evidence that they worshipped idols. All muslims hold the parents of Rasulallah in high esteem. I mean if we all think rationally how can Rasulallah's parets be kuffar. We are mot talking about an ordinary being> We are talking about Rasulallah. Do I make myself clear? I'm sorry for getting a little bit steamed up. Sorry.
I don't know why those Sheiks said that, but read the following and then ask yourself if it would be better for you to take advantage of every opportunity to receive a blessing. The answer for me if yes, because I need all the blessings I can get in order to tip the scale on the Day Of Judgement so that I may enter the Paradise, Insha Allah!
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There is no one who sends salaams upon me, but Allaah will restore to me my soul so that I may return his salaams.”
(Saheeh Sunan Abi Dawood, 1795)
It was narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Abi Talhah from his father that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came one day with evident signs of happiness on his face, and he said: “Jibreel (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came to me and said, ‘Would it not please you, O Muhammad, to know that no one among your ummah will send blessings upon you but I will send ten blessings upon him, and no one among your ummah will send salaams upon you but I will send ten salaams upon him.”
(Saheeh Sunan al-Nasaa’i, 1228)
Sending salaams upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is one of the rights that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has over his ummah. The Muslim is commanded to do this either in general word or in the specific phrases narrated in the reports, such as sending salaam on him in the Tashahhud, and when entering or leaving the mosque. The command to send salaams upon him (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) even in his absence is one of the unique blessings that Allaah has bestowed upon him alone, which he does not share with anyone else, for it is not prescribed to send salaams upon any specific person in his absence apart from him (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Another of his unique privileges is that the salaams of his ummah are conveyed to him, so a person may attain the virtue of sending salaams upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and it reaching him even if he did not have the opportunity to meet him during his lifetime and even if a person is not able to go to his grave after he died.
With regard to praying for blessing for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), this is also prescribed in Islam. One of the reports that prove that it is prescribed is the saheeh report from Abu Mas’ood al_Ansaari who said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came to us when we were sitting with Sa’d ibn ‘Ubaadah, and Basheer ibn Sa’d said to him: ‘Allaah has commanded us to send blessings upon you, O Messenger of Allaah. How should we send blessings upon you?’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) remained silent until we wished that he had not asked him. Then the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Say: Allaahumma salli ‘ala Muhammad wa ‘ala aali Muhammad kamaa salayta ‘ala aali Ibraaheem. Wa baarik ‘ala Muhammad wa ‘ala aali Muhammad kama baarakta ‘ala aali Ibraaheem fi’l-‘aalameen innaka hameedun majeed (O Allaah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent blessings upon the family of Ibraaheem, and bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You blessed the family of Ibraheem among the nations. Verily You are Most Praiseworthy, Full of Glory). And the salaam is as you know.”
(Narrated by Muslim, 405)
Sending salaams upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) may be done by saying “Al-salaamu ‘alayka ayyuha’l-Nabiyyu wa rahmat Allaahi wa barakaatuhu (peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allaah and His blessings). Or it may take the form of a du’aa’, praying that Allaah may keep him sound, such as saying Sall Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam (may Allaah send blessings and peace upon him [i.e., the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)]. A person’s sending salaam upon the Prophet may be done by mentioning Allaah’s name al-Salaam by way of seeking the blessing of that name and this name is suited to the context because you are asking Allaah to keep him safe and sound, as if one is saying “O Allaah, Whose name is al-Salaam, keep your Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) safe and sound.” When the word Salaam refers to the name of Allaah, it appears with the definite article al-, unlike when the word salaam appears in the context of praying for peace, tranquility and soundness to be bestowed by Allaah upon His slaves, in which case it appears without the definite article. “Because salaam from Him means any amount of salaam, and any amount of salaam from Him will be sufficient to make any slave of Allaah have no need of salaam from anyone else and no need for any greeting from anyone else; and any salaam from Allaah will be sufficient to grant him all of his wishes. So the least salaam from Allaah – and nothing can be described as least when it comes from Allaah – will bring the greatest blessings and will ward off all causes of misery, and will make life good and will ward off all causes of doom and destruction. Therefore in this context, when speaking of salaam from Allaah, there is no need for the definite article.”
See Dabaa’i’ al-Fawaa’id, 2/143
What is meant by salaam is being free from evil and faults. So the one who sends salaams upon the Prophet is praying for him (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in this sense, asking for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to be protecte from evil, faults and shortcomings. As for blessings (barakah), what this means is steadfastness and stability. Blessing means growth and increase.
Your first post was regarding the abbrevation, the second one is about sending Salam to Prophet.
If I am correct, No Where in the Quran or Hadith it says that whenever you mention Muhammad, Ibrahim, Musa, Isa [PBU Them] (i.e. Prophet Name) that we must send salam*. Yes, it is compulsary to send Salams to the Prophets, however being redudant is not required. I was really displeased with the article as it gives wrong message.
* like i said earlier: Say it once and then you do not need to say it again.
It's Jubba, not Bubba. I sent the post in response to another comment. I never said, nor does it imply that you have to do it over and over. It merely states the blessings you will receive from sending both blessings and salaams upon the Prophet (Salallahu Alayhe wa Sallam). How easy it is to receive this blessing and why not take advantage of this as much as possible? If you want to say it once, fine, but like I said, what an easy way to receive a benefit. Read this one more time:
It was narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Abi Talhah from his father that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came one day with evident signs of happiness on his face, and he said: “Jibreel (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came to me and said, ‘Would it not please you, O Muhammad, to know that no one among your ummah will send blessings upon you but I will send ten blessings upon him, and no one among your ummah will send salaams upon you but I will send ten salaams upon him.”
i would say that when writing (S) or (SAWS) then in your mind and heart you are saying it in full, not just SAWS.
As long as we are invoking the blessings is there anythign wrong with it...unless i suppose the person readin it does not undertsnad the abbreviation. But for the majority of people they would naturally invoke blessings upon the Prophet(saw) anyway.
"1. Qull huwa Allahu ahad Allahu alssamad Lam yalid walam yoolad Walam yakun lahu kufuwan ahad"
Say: He is Allah the One and Only Allah, the Eternal Absolute He begetteth not nor is He begotten And there is none like unto Him.
(112)
As’salaamu3laykum Wa Rahmatullaahee Wa BarakaatuhuBismillaah,
Inshaa’Allaah you and your families are doing well in health and great in eemaan.Just wanted to share the ruling o*n using abbreviations after mentioning the Prophet ((May Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him)) or other Islaamic terminology for that matter.
And please keep in mind that Arabic can not be replaced or substituted by any other language in the Transliteration form.
Question:
Is it permissible to write the letter (S) [Saad] instead of (writing) ((sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam)), and why?
Response:
The Sunnah is to write the entire phrase ((sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam)) - since it is a supplication; And the supplication is a (form of) worship, such as verbally saying it (the phrase), and the abbreviation for it using the letter (S) [Saad] or (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) [Saad 'Ayn Waaw] (or (SAAW) or the like) is not (constitute) a supplication, and nor a (form of) worship, whether it be by speech or writing. And because of this, this abbreviation was not used by those of the first three generations about whom the Prophet (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam) bore witness to their excellence.And with Allaah lies all success and may Allaah send prayers and salutations upon our Prophet (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam) and his family and his companions.
The Permanent Committee for Islaamic Research and Fataawa, comprising -
Head: Shaykh 'Abdul 'Azeez Ibn Abdullaah Ibn Baaz; ((Raheemahullaah))
Member: Shaykh 'Abdur-Razzaaq 'Afeefee;
Member: Shaykh 'Abdullaah Ibn Ghudayyaan;
Member: Shaykh 'Abdullaah Ibn Qu'oodFataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa.imah lil-Buhooth al-'Ilmiyyah wal-Iftaa., - Volume 12, Page 208, Question 3 of Fatwa No.5069 www.fatwa-online.com
In the Name of Allaah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy. By the time! Verily mankind is at loss – except for those who believe and perform righteous deeds, and advise one another towards the truth and advise one another towards patience.’
Can We Write "SAWS" in Place of Sallallaahu 'Alayhe wa Sallam"?
Can We Write "SAWS" in Place of
"Sallallaahu 'Alayhe wa Sallam"? [1]
In the Name of Allaah, may the Salaah and Salaam of Allaah be upon His Final Messenger, to proceed:
Muslims are obliged to send Allaah's Salaah [2] and Salaam [3] upon Muhammad (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) when his name is mentioned. Allaah has commanded us [4]:
( Verily Allaah and His Angels send salaah on the Prophet. O you who believe! Invoke salaah upon him, as well as a complete salaam! )
And the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) said:
"For each time someone invokes salaah upon me, Allaah writes for him ten good rewards because of it." [5]
And the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) had described the one who does not send salaah upon him when he is mentioned as "the stingiest of people." [6]
And he exclaimed "Aameen!" to Jibreel's supplication, "May Allaah repel the one who hears mention of you and does not invoke any salaah upon you!" [7]
So here is the issue that needs to be clarified: Many people use the abbreviation "SAWS" or "PBUH" to fulfill this obligation in their writing. Is this something that fulfills the obligation of sending the salaah and salaam on the Messenger? Let us look now to some of the statements of the scholars regarding this practice.
The Committee of Major Scholars in Saudi Arabia headed by 'Abdul-'Azeez ibn 'Abdillaah ibn Baaz issued the following verdict when asked about the validity of abbreviating the salaah on the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam): "The Sunnah is to write the entire phrase "sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam," since it is a kind of supplication, and supplication is worship, (in one's writing) just as it is in one's speech. So to abbreviate it using the letter SAAD or the word SAAD-LAAM-'AYN-MEEM is not a supplication nor it is worship, whether it occurs in speech or writing. For this reason, this abbreviation was not used by the the first three generations, those that the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) testified to their goodness." [8]
"SAAD" and "SAAD-LAAM-'AYN-MEEM" are often used in some 'Arabic books. The English equivalents of these abbreviations would be: SAW, SAWS, SAAWS, PBUH, and the likes.
Al-Fayrooza-abaadee said, "It is not appropriate to use symbols or abbreviations to refer to salaah and salaam, as some of the lazy ones do, as well as some ignorant people and even some students of knowledge - they write 'SAAD-LAAM-'AYN-MEEM' instead of writing 'sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam.'" [9]
Ahmad Shaakir said, "It is the absurd tradition of some of the later generations that they abbreviate the writing of 'sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam.'" [10]
Wasee Allaah 'Abbaas said, "It is not permissible to abbreviate the salaams in general in one's writing, just as it is not permissible to abbreviate the salaah and salaam on the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam). It is also not permissible to abbreviate either of these in one's speech." [11]
And Allaah knows best. May the most perfect and complete salaah and salaam be upon our beloved Messenger, and upon his noble family and companions.
[2] Sending salaah on the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) means that one invokes Allaah to praise him and mention his high status to the angels. See Jalaa' Al-Afhaam (p.253) of Ibn Al-Qayyim, Fat-hul-Baaree (11/179-197) of Ibn Hajr, or Ibn Katheer's tafseer to verse 33:56.
[3] salaam: security
[4] the meaning of Soorah Al-Ahzaab (33):56
[5] an authentic hadeeth collected by Ibn Hibbaan in his Saheeh (#906, 3/187) on the authority of Aboo Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him). Al-Albaanee declared it to be saheeh in Silsilatul-Ahaadeeth As-Saheehah (#3359, 7/1080).
[6] from a hasan hadeeth collected by Ibn Abee 'Aasim in As-Salaah 'Alan-Nabee (p.30-31) on the authority of Aboo Tharr (may Allaah be pleased with him). Hamdee As-Salafee called it hasan in his checking of the book.
[7] from an authentic hadeeth collected by At-Tabaraanee in Al-Mu'jam Al-Kabeer on the authority of Jaabir ibn Samurah (may Allaah be pleased with him). Al-Albaanee authenticated it in his checking of Al-Munthiree's At-Targheeb wat-Tarheeb (#1677, 2/298).
[8] Fatwaawaa Al-Lajnatid-Daa'imah #18770 (12/208-209)
[9] From his book As-Salaatu wal-Bushr, as quoted in Mu'jam Al-Manaahee Al-Laf-thiyyah (p.351)
[10] the Musnad of Imaam Ahmad (#5088, 9/105)
[11] from a handwritten answer provided by the shaykh, file no. AAWA004, dated 1423/6/24
In the Name of Allaah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy. By the time! Verily mankind is at loss – except for those who believe and perform righteous deeds, and advise one another towards the truth and advise one another towards patience.’
Re: Can We Write "SAWS" in Place of Sallallaahu 'Alayhe wa Sallam"?
mashaAllah thats very beneficial ukhtee, athaabaki Allah!
we got the same fawaa'id and qawl of Ahmed Shakir iand IBn salaa7 also right? (In baa7ith al 7atheeth) i'm glad you mentioned this sis..
Re: Can We Write "SAWS" in Place of Sallallaahu 'Alayhe wa Sallam"?
format_quote Originally Posted by umm-sulaim
salaa7 also right? (In baa7ith al 7atheeth)
Why are there numbers instead of letters in these words?
I've been wondering, 'cause it seems as if more members write instead of some letters a number... I don't understand.
Anyways, great post sister madeenahsh!!
JazakAllah khair for sharing!! :rose:
“If only I had checked myself”
—
Guy who wrecked himself
True leaders don't create followers...
.... They create new leaders.
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