Another thing is as-Salatu ‘ala an-Nabi (the sending of prayers and blessings to the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam). This is also a very important matter. We do not train ourselves to practice this Salatu ‘ala an-Nabi, sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam. We just write it as SAW or an alphabet after mentioning the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam. We even shorten the phrase “subhanahu wata’ala”. These are mistakes because du’a cannot be abbreviated. This is common sense. Why do we abbreviate? Is it to save our time? Or to save the ink? We have to practice saying/writing “sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam” in full because we are encouraged to do so.
The Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam, said: “Do you know the greedy? The one whom my name is mentioned in front of him or her, and he does not say “sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam”. In another narration the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam, said that if we practice as-Salatu ‘ala anNabi, Allah will send His “prayers” and blessings upon us (yusalli ‘alaih). What does this imply? The scholars explain this by saying that Allah will guide the person who practices as-Salatu ‘ala an-Nabi and give him the light by which to differentiate between the good and the evil. It is a nur(light) that will be in the heart. This is referred as as-solatu minallah ‘ala al-‘abd. Moreover each time we say or recite “sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam” we will be rewarded ten times. Hence we should strive not to lose out on obtaining all these good things. We should love the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam, more than all othe beings, ourselves, our families, our parents or our children.
The scholars explain this by saying that Allah will guide the person who practices as-Salatu ‘ala an-Nabi and gives him the nur by which to distinguish between the good and the bad. It is a light that will be in the heart. This is termed as as-solatu minallah ‘ala al-‘abd. Moreover each time we say “sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam” we will be rewarded a ten times. Hence we should strive to not lose out on obtaining all these good things. We should love the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam, more than everything; ourselves, our families, our parents or our children.
To summarize, there are doubtful matters that a Muslim might come across in his/her everyday dealings and activities. This hadith assists the Muslim in dealing with such matters. There is an early continuous preparation which is needed in such a case – to purify one’s heart. There are some actions that can assist us achieve this task, like: hayya’ (modesty), murakabah (self reckoning), muhasabah (self accountability), dzikr (remembrance of Allah), and as-Salatu ‘ala an-Nabi, sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam. These are things that, insha Allah, can help us and enlighten and purify our heart, and also help us to find out and avoid the doubtful matters – this is the main theme, the key, the principle of the hadith.
“Beware; in the body there is a flesh; if it is sound, the whole body is sound, and if it is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt, and behold, it is the heart.”
So we need to work very hard in other to avoid the corruption of the heart