Question:

Is Salatul Hajah established and legislated in Islam or is there any authentic hadeeth that indicates the authenticity of this Salah. Please benefit us, may Allaah benefit you.

Answer:

In the name of Allaah, the Benevolent, the Merciful. All praise is due to Allaah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allaah, his family, companions, and those loyal to him. Verily, Salah is an act of worship. And no act of worship can be performed without a proof in the religion. There are some ahadeeth that mention Salatul Hajah, but all of their chains are questionable. However, some people of knowledge accepted these ahadeeth while others stood against them. From those who accepted them is Imam An-Nawawi who titled one section in his known book Al-Adhkar with “Section of Adhkar of Salatul Hajah”. It seems that he concluded this title from the hadeeth that mentioned this Salah. Then he [An-Nawawi] mentioned the hadeeth, which is: Abdillah bin Abi Awfa, may Allaah be pleased with him, said, “The Prophet (SAW) said, ‘Whoever has a need with Allaah, or with any human being, then let him make wudu well and then pray two rakat. After that, let him praise Allaah and send blessings on the Prophet (Allaah bless him and give him peace). After this, let them say, ‘There is no god but Allaah, the Clement and Wise. There is no god but Allaah, the High and Mighty. Glory be to Allaah, the Lord of the worlds. I ask you (O Allaah) everything that leads to Your Mercy, and Your tremendous Forgiveness, enrichment in all good, and freedom from all sin. Do not leave a sin of mine (O Allaah), except that You forgive it, nor any concern except that You create for it an opening, nor any deed in which there is Your good pleasure except that You fulfill it, O Most Merciful!” Related by Al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah [in their Sunan books]. Al-Tirmidhi said, “The chain of narration of this hadeeth is questionable, but there are other supportive routes of this hadeeth that may make it less weak. Also, it is a hadeeth concerning virtuous deeds and some of the people of knowledge said that it is permissible to act upon the weak ahadeeth that are concerning the virtuous deeds, so long the weakness is not severe and not opposed with more authentic narrations. On the other hand, other scholars opposed this view and said that weak ahadeeth cannot be taken as proof, therefore unsuitable to act upon and this is the issued fatwa of the Permanent Committee in the land of the two Harams, i.e. the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The conclusion for all this is derived from the command and the direction in the Qur’an to seek definite assistance in patience and Salah, such as in the Ayah, {“Seek help in patience and prayer”}.The Prophet  would immediately rush to pray whenever he was troubled with a matter, whether this was a voluntary or an or obligatory Salah, because all that is covered in the Ayah that mentions Salah. So the more voluntary Salawat one offers, the more likely his supplication is answered, because Salah is made of supplications and direct silent talking to Allaah. It is also obvious that one is closest to his Lord when he is prostrating to Him. Based on that, this might be the most correct view that clarifies the actual purpose of Salatul Hajah, and that it is not a specific Salah that has its own adhkar and supplications. And Allaah, the Most High, knows Best.