A Divine Command: God and His Angels Send Blessings

﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا﴾

Indeed, God and His angels confer blessings upon the Prophet. O you who have believed, ask [God to confer] blessings upon him and ask [God to grant him] peace.

The practice of Salawat is not merely a cultural custom — it originates as a direct command from God in the Quran. In this verse, God reveals that He Himself and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet, and He invites believers to join in this heavenly act.

Sheikh Abdullah Siraj al-Din explains that the verse contains two forms of news (khabar) before the command: the first is that God Himself sends blessings (salah) upon the Prophet — meaning His mercy, exaltation, and praise of him in the Highest Assembly (al-Mala' al-A'la); the second is that the angels, all of them without exception, also send blessings upon him — meaning their supplication and seeking of forgiveness on his behalf. The use of the present tense (yusalluna, يُصَلُّون) indicates that this blessing is continuous, perpetual, and unceasing — not a one-time event.

Scholars note that it is one of the rare instances in the Quran where God describes an action He performs and then invites humanity to participate in it — a unique honor accorded to no other act of worship in quite this way.

• From God: His salah upon the Prophet means mercy, divine pleasure, and praise in the Highest Assembly
• From the Angels: their salah means continuous supplication and seeking forgiveness on his behalf
• From the Believers: their salah means supplication to God asking Him to bless and exalt the Prophet
• The command addresses all believers across all times and places — making it a universal, permanent obligation