PRAYER UPON THE (TASLIYA): A MANIFESTATION THE

PROPHET MUHAMMAD OF ISLAMIC RELIGIOSITY

CRISTINA DE LA PUENTE Consejo Superior de InvestigacionesCientficas,Madrid ABSTRACT This article is a study of the supererogatory prayer called tasliya, uttered by the believer after the name of the Prophet and summarized in the expression salla allh wa-sallam.The topic is addressed from different perspectives: the meaning of alay-hi the prayer upon the prophet; the various aims of the tasliya; and, finally, its significance for the traditionists. The recitation of the tasliya is linked with the evolution of Muslim veneration of the prophet. This practice must be considered a manifestation of Islamic religiosity and not only a religious characteristic of Sufi circles. since have praised and venerated the Prophet Muhammad shortly after the Islamic revelation.' Displays of devotion to him constitute an important part of Islamic religiosity and some of its aspects have not been thoroughly studied yet, or, what is even more misleading, have been treated as extreme manifestations of that religiosity, as if they belonged to "heterodox" groups rather than to the creed professed by most Muslims. Although the Qur)n stresses the Prophet's human nature it also attributes to him a preponderant personality not only above the rest of creatures but also above those prophets who preceded him in the process of revelation. His charismatic allure becomes even more patent in the .sunna through the transmission of hadiths and anecdotes which describe him as an extraordinary being. The sunna is the tradition and transmission of Muhammad's sayings and deeds and conscthe direct result of his charisma. Muhammad's exemplary conduct quently becomes a model to be imitated by all Muslims because he is thought Muslims

' Tor Andrae, Die Person irt seinerCemeirtde lLTuhammads Lehreund Glauben (Stockholm: Archivesd'Etudes Orientales, 1918);Annemarie Schimmel,AndNfuhammad hislLTessenger: is Tlte Veneration the Prophetin IslamicPieo (C'hapel Hill: University of North C:arolina of The aA Viewed Beholder. Lifeof ?LTuIaarrtrraad Press, 1985); and Uri Rubin, The Eye of tlae the Earlylvfuslims (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995).

122 to be free from error, endowed with the exceptional virtues of infalliembodies the original pure Muhammad bility and impeccability state of human beings ( fitra) before the latter became gradually corrupt.:1 'I'he aim of this article is to study a specific manifestation of Islamic religiosity concerning the veneration of the Prophet: the prayer upon summarized in the expression salla A!Ih 'alay-hi wa-sallarn, Muhainmad translated as "God bless him and grant him salvation," uttered usually by the believer aftcr the name of Muhammad both orally and in written form. I will dcal only with the significancc of this expression, looking I believe in particular at its theological and intellectual transcendence. that any prayer has several values that go beyond its own content. The believer can ask for God's intercession through a specific prayer, reflecting on its significance, or he can also use those words because of the sense with the aim of they denote and their ritual-perhaps magicalvalue transmitting to the divinity or obtaining from it a request different to that sought with those words. Also, on occasions, the person who utters that prayer distinguishes himself consciously or unconsciously (and simply by uttering it) from other groups of worshippers or non-worshippers. This is not only because that act represents a type of choice and manifestation of his own religiosity, but also of the religiosity of his own social or intellectual group. For this reason I intend to addrcss the issue of the prayer upon the Prophet, a topic that exceeds the scope of this paper,4 from three different perspectives: 1) the significance of the prayer in itself; 2) the various aims pursued through it, apart from its role as prayer upon the Prophet; and 3) the significance of this expression for those who utter it, especially for hadi-tli transmitters for whom it has a much cherished religious value and serves as a mark of social distinction.

1. Does Goldpray for Muhamffiad or does He bless him? In spite of its relevance at first sight the topic of praycr, the second pillar of the Muslim faith, has only drawn scant attention. Not long ago G. Monnot lamcnted the fact that secondary literature had neglected About the theological discussion on this concept and its diachronic evolution, see ? IV (W. Madclung). 3 Seyyed Hossein Nasr, "Sunnah and hadith," Idealsand Realities Islarn(London: of Allen and Unwn, 1966), 101. 4 For a broader discussionsee Ibn Bashkuwal (d. 578/1183), Ital?tb al-qurbail Rabb al-'ilamin bi-salit 'ald Multammad al-mursalin acercamiento edici6n estudio, (El .sayyid traduccin Cristina de la Puente (Madrid: C.S.I.C., 1995). critica -y by

123 to study the role of prayer for the average Muslim and had turned its attention instead to the study of rituals among Sufi communities.' Countless references to prayer can be found in the Qur)n, the former expressed either as a request or imploration, or as a meditatioii.'? 1 he most common tcrm is that of sali7i and refers to the obligatory ritual prayer,' although other lormulas are also employed to denote the different aspects of prayer: ask for God's forgiveness, praise him, seek refuge in him, and so forth.a The practice of the saldt, together with the payment of the zakt, is perhaps the main way--not only theological but also which Muslims makc public display of their faith during worship-in and the one that separates them from other religions.`' The term saldt is used for the five daily prayers and also for the Friday prayer, alongside the variants used for special events, and also for the prayer upon In fact, the latter, though it is recited the Prophet of Islam independently as a supererogatory prayer (nqfila),11is a compulsory ingredient of ritual prayer as it is usually uttered between the profession off faith (sl2aladda)and the taslfm (al-salm 'alay-kum), after the last prostration (rakCa).12 without any noticeOnly in exceptional circumstanees-and able theological and social repercussions did some authors recommend this practice at the beginning of the ritual Muslims believe unanimously that the origin of the lasliya can be traced back to the Qur'dn, in verse fifty-six of the sura thirty-three: "God and His angels send blessings on the Prophet: 0 ye that believe! Send ye blessings on him, and salute him with all respect The verb 'ald presents numerous problems of interpretation, ?alla among them the ' See Guy Monnot, "Pricvres privees en lslam :Autour d'un texte de Rzi," Revue des d'Histoire Religions, ( 1 989)41-54 (4 1 ) . 206 , ). Ii S.D. Goitein, .Studies Islamic in Historyand Institutions (l.eiden: EJ. Brill, 1966), chapter 3 (74-75). 7 "Saldt," VIII (G. Monnnt); A. de Alveny, "La pri[r<. IV (AJ. Wensinck)and selon le Coran," Proclte OrientChrtien, (1960), 212-226, 307-317; 1 1 (1 961), 3-16. 10 a See for example 2:104, 136-40, 148, 286; 3:191, 192; 4:46, 102-4; 5:8, etc. 9 7akdt and saldi are mentioned together in Qur'an 2:3, 43, 83, 110, 177, 277; 4:77, 162; 5:12, 55; 8:3; 9:5, 11, 18, 54, 71, 103; 13:22; 14:31; 19:31, 55, 59; 21:73; 22:41, 78; 23:2, 9; 24:37, 56; 27:3; 31:4; 33:33; 35:29; 42:38; 58:13; 73:20; 90:5. 10Constance E. Devotions: 5tudyof Pra_yer-Martuals Common A in Padwick, ?Lluslirrt (London: S.P.C.K., 1961), 7. " A.K. Brohi, "The Foundations, Spiritual Dimension of Prayer," in IslamicSpiritualiry ed. Seyyed Hossein Nasr (London: Crossroad, 1987), 131-143 (136). 12Constance E. Padwick, Muslina 12-25. Devotions, Fritz Meier, "Dic Scgensprechungiiber Mohammed im l3ittgebetund in dcr Bitte," der 136 Zeitschrijt deutsclzen morgenla'rtdischen Gesellsclzaft, (1986), 364-401 (365). " 'l7te and Text, Translation Commentary Abdullah Holy Q,uran: by Yuslff Ali (Cambridge Mass.: Murray Printing Company, 1946),vol. 2.

124 possibility or the necessity for God to pray for himself through one of His creatures, even though His creature may be regarded as the most It is important to bear in mind that sura thirty-three is extraordinary. devoted to extolling Muhammad and highlighting his privileges and virtues before the rest of humanity and that this sura follows others in which God allows the Prophet to have more wives than other fellow Muslims, banning the latter from marrying again after his death. The tasliya is also a summary of a larger prayer known as al-salat alibrdhimiyya or, at a later date, also as "Cordovan prayer for comfort"'.' that runs like this: "Oh God, pray for Muharnmad and his family as You prayed for Abraham and his family, as you deserve praise and and his family as You did with glory; send blessings on Muhammad Abraham and his family, since you deserve praise and glory; say to and his family may you rest in peace as you did with Muhammad Abraham and his family, since you deserve praise and glory; be merciful with Muhammad and his family as you were with Abraham and his family since you deserve praise and glory; save Muhammad and his family as you saved Abraham and his offspring, since you deserve praise and glory." The verb salla cal is understood in this context by millions of Muslims as synonymous with baraka, "to bless."" However, many questions have arisen throughout the centuries in regard to its interpretation, and to translate it is a daunting task as it appears followed by the verbs baraka, rahhama, and .sallama that narrow down its possible meanings to that of "to pray." It must be pointed out that the theologian al-Muhasibi (d. 243/857) remarks in his commentary to the Qur'5ii that in one of the versions of the Qur'an circulating in the early days of Islam sura thirty-three was diflerent: "In the copy of the ?ur'an (mushaf ) owned rest his soul-established a canoni`A'isha, before ?Uthman -God by cal vcrsion the sura ran: "God and His angels pray for those on the first row" and later on "salute him with all respect."" It seems that God's blessings reached first of all those worshippers standing closest to '' Tor Andrae, Die Person 388. Muhammads, "' Al-Firuzabadi in sahal'ald (d. 817/1414) affirrmcd his work Mtdbal-,silat wa-l-busharfi 'A al-Khiyr and M. Muti al-I:Ifi? k-liaal-bashar, ed. by M.N. 'Adn>n are (Damascus, 1966), chapter 1, 10-12, that both terms yusallunaand yyubarrikuna syn33:56. onymous in 17 Al-'Aqlwa-jhmal-Qtr'drt, introd. and ed. H. a1-Qawwatal(n.p., 197 1),400. 'This expression is also quoted as a hadith, i.e. Ibn al-Kharrdt (d. 581/l 185), al-Salat 1992), 138. tahajjud

125 the mosque's qibla and that, as a result, Muhammad, considered to be closest to the divinity, was the worthiest to receive this grace. The Lisdn al-'arab explains the meaning of tasliya by stating the following : "Since God, praise be to him, exhorted us to bless him and we cannot fulfill this duty properly, we assigncd this task to God: Oh God, send blessings on Muhammad as You know exactly how much can be as sufficient for him." That is, taking into account human regarded adebeings' inability to fulfill the duty of prayer upon Muhammad quately, they ask God to bless him on their behalf." Some hadttlis supon port this idea: "He who said: may God reimbursc to Muhammad our behalf that which is owed to him, has exhausted seventy scribes of the during a thousand mornings."19 Another recent interpretation aforementioned Qur)anic text is that which regards this passage as an invocation in which God encourages believers to pray upon Muhammad."' For Muslims, therefore, the tasliya derives from the revelation itself, it is as old as Islam and no one suggests an origin other than the Qur'dn itself. Some hadiths even purport to date the moment when the exhortation to pray upon Muhammad was proffered to human beings: it was during the night of his ascension to heaven (isrd'), when he was closest to God, during the second year of the Muslim hegira. 21 Islamicists have also raised doubts about the meaning of the expression but have explaincd it differently. Moreover, they sternly refuse the possibility that this request appeared chronologically after the revelation and contend that it began to spread much later. It does not seem to have been employed during the first two centuries of Islam and the expression salla Alldh 'alay-hi z?a-sallam is not included in the call to prayer (adhdn). In an article which included the first bibliography of works on the tasliya, 1. Goldziher pointed out the problems involved when translating this expression into other languages22 and suggested that its use dated back to the third/ninth century.23 Nowadays we can state that literary and intellectual interest in the ?7? began at that 18See 1 James Robson, "Blessingson the Prophet," Muslim World,26 (1936), 365-71 (368-369). 'y Ibn Bashkuwal,Kiwb al-qurba,20 (edition)and 252 (trarlslation). 2' A.K. Brohi, "The Spiritual Dimension", 136. Constance E. Padwick, MuslimDevotions, 154. 22 "Uber die der deutschen Eulogien der Muhammedaner," rnorgenlandischen 50 Gesellschaft, (1896), 97-128 (100). Ignaz Goldziher, "Llber die Eulogicn," 105; scc also Louis Massignon, Z Passion de Halldj martyrmystique L'Islam de (Paris: Pditioiis Gallimard, 1973), 3:215-217 (216).

126 time,"' although it must be said that it is extremely difficult to draw conclusions from the extant ascetic any sociological or anthropological books and prayer manuals. Firstly, except when they are chapters devoted exclusively to the topic, it is difflcult to determine when the expression salla Allah `alay-hi wa,ia!lam was added to the name of the Prophet, as it could have been introduced by a later copist when its use was quite frequent. On occasions, furthermore, episodes describing past events are also incorporated into the work. Besides, even if we were certain that their date of composition is accurate, we would probably never know the exact influence exerted by these texts and the requests and prayers they contain among ordinary Muslims, outside the narrow intellectual circle of their authors. I will return to this point later. The diachronic study of the texts where these traditions arc c:omare the result of piled suggests that popular prayers upon Muhammad a gradual process of idealization of his personality." The literary precemust be sought in dent of the prayer upon the Prophet Muhammad believers to recite the the hadith collections where traditions encourage tasliya and commend his kindness as a spiritual means of approaching GOd.26 These traditions appear in several ascetic treatises from the third/ninth century, among them some devoted to prayer in general, with miscellaneous anecdotes (akhbar), admonitory moralizing together dream S,17 prayers (adcfy),ctc. These works appeared in Iraq, most probably as a compilation of traditions that hitherto had circulated orally and had become widespread between the fifth/eleventh and sixth/twelfth centuries 2" and in later centuries in other regions of the Muslim world, spread by travellers who flocked to the 'Abbasid capital." These tradi-

24 see for example the works by al-Slidfi'i(d. 204/820), Abu 'Isd al-Tirmidhi (d. 279/ 892), Ibn Abi 1-Dunya (d. 281/894), Isma'il al-Qal (d. 282/895), or al-Mubarrad (d. 285/898). 44. Constance E. Padwick, JtluslimDevotions, See the study of the diachronic evolution of the tasloa in Ibn Bashkuwal,Ktdb al-qurba,(introduction). rrtusulrrtarte See for example AJ. Wensinck, Concordanceindices la tradition et de (Leiden: 4:244. EJ Brill, 1936-88), 1:424; 2:133; 3:358; 4:215; Ibn Hanbal, ILTusnad, 2' Leah Kinberg, "'The Legitimizationof the Madhahibthrough Dreams," Arabica,32 (1985), 47-79;idem, "Interaction between this World and the Afterworldin early Islamic readTradition," Oriens,29-30 (1986), 285-308; idem, "The standardization of on of ings : the testimonial value of dreams," Proceedings the Colloquium Arabic Grammar (Budapest, 1991), 223-38. 2H the works al-Tabarani See by (d. 360/971), al-Bayhaqi(d. 458/1066), or al-Baghawi (d. 1 6 / 1 1 2 2) . 5 See Cristina de la Puente, "La tratistiiisi6iide hadiz y de tradiciones asceticas en

127 tions were gradually assembled by their authors or copists and arranged according to a single topic, thus forming the first tracts devoted solely to the prayer upon the Prophet. II. 7he charismatic value of the prayer upon the Prophet The as we have seen, is not only a part of the ritual prayer, it is also a supererogatory prayer. We must ask ourselves about the social uses of this prayer and why it is recited alongside the prayer upon the Prophet Muhammad, e.g. to obtain an answer to a request, heal, prevent evil eye, conclude a speech, give comfort, etc.30 The prayer does not only entail devotion and veneration to the divinity. It is also aimed at establishing a channel of communication. Men seek an answer to their requests and grievances, and do so not only through the ritual prayer but also through other devotional practices. Among them is that known as du'd', referred to by works about veneration to the Prophet. The concept of du'd' is opposed, in principle, to that of as it refers to the voluntary prayer not subject to a strict schedule or a pre-fixed set of sentences or gestures. These free prayers, however, are gradually ritualized,"' perhaps in an attempt to legitimize prayers through various symbols and actions, thus obtaining the blessing for which worshippers ask. 32 Another means of getting a favorable response or attracting God's favor, inextricably linked to the topic under discussion, is resorting to intercession (shqraa). Although the Qur'>nic origin of Muhammad's Muhammad's role as a mediator on Judgement Day has been disputed and Muslim theologians disagree about the authors and beneficiaries of

al-Andalusen el s. VI/XII a traves de la biografiade Ibn Baskuwal,"in E.rtudios Ortomasticode vol. Biogrjicos al-Andalus, 7, ed. Manuela Marin and Helena de Felipe (Madrid: C.S.I.C., 1995), 231-284, about diffusion and repercussion of these texts in Western Islam; and also "Vivre et mourir pour Dicu: Ocuvre et heritage d'Abu 'All StudiaIslamica, 88 (1998), 77-102. '30The most comprehensivestudy is the quoted work by Fritz Meier; see also Moshe Piamenta, 7fieMuslinaConception Godand Human Welfare of (Leiden: r;J. Brill, 1983),8791 (chapter 4.2); Ibn Bashkuwal,Yitabal-qurba,49-74 (introduction). 31 See William A. Graham, "Islam in the Mirror of Ritual," in I.?lam'v Understanding Levi cd. of Ilse f Eghth Giorgo della VidaBiennialGonference, Richard G. Hovannisian and Speros Vryonis Jr. (Malibu: Undena Publications, 1983),62-63, which also included the laslya among the ritualized pious practices. See also Ibn Bashkuwal,Kitiibal-rrtusta?_ltatltin, introd. by Manuela Marin, 54-62. 32Victor Act,ion HumanSociety in Turner, Dramas,Fieldsand MetaphorsSymbolic : (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1974).

128 that intercession, canonical hadith collections grant him that privilege.33 Here I wish to underline the fact that the significance of the expiresascetic literature, sion salla Alldlt 'alay-hi wa-sallam evolves throughout on numerous forms, uses, and benefits that go beyond the scope taking it begins to be regarded as of its original meaning. Simultaneously, something inherent to the Islamic creed itself, as if it had always been an integral part of it so that, without ever becoming obligatory, it comes interto be considered as indispensable in order to get Muhammad's reach Paradise. cession and, therefore, necessary to III. The elite if traditionists Lastly, we must inquire about those who utter the tasliya and those in charge of transmitting either orally or through ascetic tracts the (zadzth or data regarding this issue. Traditionists (muhaddithun) seem to have been the ones entrusted with publicizing and promoting its use. '1'heir insistence on the need to pray upon the Prophet leads us to think, first of all, that the tasliya was not common among the majority of Muslims and that they wished to instill in them feelings of respect and reverence for Muhammad. It appears, however, that the aim of those works written in the sixth/twelfth century devoted especially to the subject studied thus far was not merely didactic or edifying and that their authors did not only seek exclusively and altruistically the salvation of Muslims. 34 These works were composed by traditionists and they viewed the t,asliya as a religious commodity, necessary to approach God, and took upon themselves the as a godtask of upholding and safeguarding it. They regard the send handed down to mankind which, for the time bcing, is their preserve and distinguishes them from the overwhelming majority of believers. Some traditions show this aim clearly and draw parallels between the virtues of a famous muhaddith and the shortcomings and sins of the powerful ; others discuss the qualities of traditionists, prevalent among which are their rigor and insistence on the recitation of the prayer upon and their refusal to skip it under any circumstances. They Muhammad claim that, had it not been for the tasliya, they would have never trans33T. Huitema, De irt denIslam(Leiden: E;J. Brill, 1936);Tor Andrac, Voorspraak Die Person Devotion.s, 40-41 Jane 1. Smith ; Muhainmads, Constance E. Padwick,Muslim 235f:; and Yvonne Y. Haddad, The IslamicUrtderslarading (Albany: State of Deathand Resurrection University of New York Press, 1981), 141-42. 34See, for ed. 'A.M. albi-ta7ffhuqug example, al-(:?:aqi'Iyad, Bijawi, 2 vols. (Cairo, 1977).

129 mittcd hadith for that prayer will be the path that will lead them to Paradise.'-') The role of prayer in the chains of transmission, the way it is written or recited, becomes even more important than the content of the hadith that is being transmitted. The prayer upon Muhammad ceases to be a means, a way of transmitting hadith, and becomes an end in itself. Thus, traditionists must increase their own importance in the accurate and legitimate transmission of hadith as a means of enhancing their social merit. In order to reach that goal they gradually encourage ritualization of religiosity, by specializing transmissions. As an example, in these works we can find numerous musalsal hadiths.3`' I would rather prefer to think that some of these works were broadly diffused, reaching readers outside the strict scholarly circle of the authors. Actually, the influence of these works reached people, beyond mystic movements, and the thoughts contained in them circulated probably in an oral way. It is well documented that there was a tight relationship between the authors of some of these small treatises, and the stressing of the Prophet veneration, as well as with thc starting of some new popular ways of worshipping which last until today. It is the case with the mawlid celebration in Western Islam.3' I would like to conclude by stressing some points of my line of argument, mainly what I consider the principal ones. The ta,sliya, as any other form of prayer, has been tranformed since the Qur'nic revelation; it is in fact the result of a process of sunna transmission and evolution. We need to communicate with God as we need to communicate with every other being, and we pray in order to fulfill this need. Nevertheless has not been always the same; it has changed the the communication same way beliefs and mentalities have changed. The practice of praying upon Muhammad seems to be linked with the Muslim evolution of the veneration for the Prophet's charismatic personality, and especially with the belief that Muslims need the Prophet's mediation between his community and God. The tasliya is not only a eulogy but a request, and perhaps its actual meaning is so simple as to ask God for praying to Himself upon Muhammad, so that Muhammad can be aware of the believers' love and he will mediate for them on the I.ast Day. " Ibn Bashkuwal,K al-qurba,70-73 (introduction). 36Subhi 4th ed. cal-ha?th ze?a-mu,stalahuhu, (Beirut:Dar al- 'ilmli-l-maldyin, al-Salih,'UlUm 1988), 249-53. " Ibn Bashkuwal,A'Itdb see al-qurba,160-70 (introduc,tion); regarding the mawlid NJ.G. Festival: in Muslim LandsandDevolopment Birthday F'arly History theCentral Kaptein, Muhammad's in the MuslimWestuntil the IOlfal I b?lh Century (Leiden: E J. Brill, 1993).