On Prayers Upon the Prophet ﷺ (Gems from the Shifa of Qadi Iyad)

Title: On Prayers Upon the Prophet ﷺ (Gems from the Shifa of Qadi Iyad)
Author: Qadi 'Iyad / Talut Dawood
ISBN: 978-1952306105
Publisher: Imam Ghazali Institute

Prayers upon the Prophet ﷺ are among the most important devotions by which the devout have approached Allah. Due to this, many scholars have written treatises and even books on its rulings and merits. It is also for that reason that Qāḍī 'Iyāḍ devoted to it a section of his celebrated work, al-Shifā’. While the section is short, it provides a valuable entry into such literature, distilling rules and benefits for the seeker in brief expressions and beneficial narrations. We selected this section for quick study and review, which will serve both the busy student and the working professional on the go.

Al-Shifā bi Taʿrīf Ḥuqūq al-Muṣṭafā, directly translated as, ‘The Remedy (or Cure) Through Recognizing the Rights of the Chosen One’, is one of the most celebrated works in the genre of Shamā’il. It stands uniquely amongst the works of Qāḍī ʿIyād as his most celebrated effort with many surviving manuscripts and commentaries found throughout the Islamic world. Shamā’il is a genre of works that deals with the life, characteristics, and descriptions of the Prophet ﷺ and his station.

Al-Shifā, as it is called for short, stands alone as perhaps the most thorough work in this genre, dealing with both the descriptions of the Prophet ﷺ, his station and his perfections, and with the rulings pertaining to one’s belief and treatment of him ﷺ. It is exhaustive in its treatment of the subject, expounding on topics that range from Allah’s praise of the Prophet ﷺ and his status and station before Him, to the obligation of loving him and what that entails. In short, the uniqueness of this work can be attributed to its holistic coverage of the Messenger ﷺ.