Kitaab At-Tawheed, Chapter: 50

One Should Not Say: Peace Be Upon Allah

It is authentically reported on the authority of Ibn Mas'ood (ra) that he said: "Whenever we prayed behind the Prophet , we used to recite: "As-Salaam (Peace) be upon Allah from His slaves and As-Salaam be upon so-and-so and so-and-so, until the Prophet told us: "Do not say: "As-Salaam be upon Allah ," for verily, He is As-Salaam." ¹

Ibn Mas'ood (ra) informs us that when he and the other Companions prayed with the Messenger of Allah , they used to invoke Allah's Peace and Blessings upon Allah and then upon a number of people during tashahhud (sitting). But then he forbade them from doing so, informing them that As-Salaam is one of Allah's Names, therefore it is not acceptable that they should invoke Allah's Peace and Blessings upon Himself, for He is not in need of peace or blessings rather He is the Owner and Source of all peace and blessings.

Benefits Derived From This Hadith

 

1. The forbiddance of invoking peace upon Allah .

2. That when Islam forbids a thing, it guides us to that which is better.

3. That As-Salaam is one of the Names of Allah .

4. The permissibility of supplicating Allah on behalf of His slaves in prayer.

That it proves that it is forbidden to invoke peace and blessings upon Allah .

Relevance of This Hadith to the Subject of Tawheed

That it proves that invoking peace and blessings upon Allah is contrary to Tawheed, because As-Salaam is a form of supplication on behalf of the weak, and those in need and Allah is neither of these things.

Footnotes

1. Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim.