Often we are reminded to send peace and blessings on the Prophet, whether it is after the mention of his name, or on a Friday, or when making duaa. But why is it so important,

and what benefits can we reap from repeating a few words in honour of the greatest man who ever lived.

As human beings, we always look for our personal benefit, I mean, there must be something in it for me and you?! Perhaps that sounds selfish, but our Lord the All-Knowing is aware of every thought that ever crossed our minds, and He is the Most Generous, Most Merciful and He does not let anything go amiss, every deed is recorded, and every atom’s weight will be weighed. Though we should rise above that, and worship Allah simply to please Him and earn His reward. But nonetheless, to answer the question, what’s in it for me?’ read on, dear readers!

Firstly, before we look at the benefits, let us answer another question. To know the benefits of something without knowing what it is worthless. So, What does it mean to send blessings? To send peace and blessings upon the Prophet is to ask Allah to confer his mercy and forgiveness upon him. It is also a form of praise of the Prophet, for he was the greatest of creation.

In answer to the question why is it so important, and what benefits are in it for us, here’s a little list:
It is obedience to the command of Allah, as mentioned in Surah Al-Ahzab:
“Indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [Allah to grant him] peace.” (33:56)

It is an act that the angels do: wouldn’t you want to imitate these perfect beings?

It is a means by which to earn Allah’s pleasure: Following Allah’s command naturally entails His pleasure.

Allah sends blessing upon you:
The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “whoever sends blessings upon me, Allah will send blessings upon him tenfold.” (Muslim 384)

Narrated Abu Hurayrah: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: If anyone invokes blessings on me once, Allah will bless him ten times. (Abu Dawud, Sahih by Sh Al-Albaani)

There’s everything to gain, and nothing to lose.

You get a supplication from the angels in return:
Abud-Darda’ reported: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “The supplication of a Muslim for his (Muslim) brother in his absence will certainly be answered. Every time he makes a supplication for good for his brother, the angel appointed for this particular task says: Ameen! May it be for you, too’.” (Muslim)
By making supplication for the Prophet in his absence, the angels, make duaa for you too.

Saves you from being stingy:
The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “May his nose be rubbed in the dust (i.e. dishonour), one in whose presence I am mentioned and he does not send blessings upon me.” (At-Tirmidhi (3545); Sahih by Sh Al-Albaani in Sahih Sunan At-Tirmidhi)

It was narrated from al-Husayn ibn ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “The miser is the one in whose presence I am mentioned and he does not send blessings upon me.” (At-Tirmidhi (3546); Sahih by Sh Al-Albaani in Sahih Sunan At-Tirmidhi)

It is conveyed to the Prophet:
Aws bin Aws reported the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) as saying: ‘Among the most excellent of your days is Friday; so invoke many blessings on me on that day, for your blessing will be submitted to me.’ They (the Companions) asked: ‘Messenger of Allah, how can our blessings be submitted to you, when your body has decayed?’ He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Allah has prohibited the earth from consuming the bodies of Prophets.’ (Abu Dawud, Sahih by Sh Al-Albani)

Abdullah ibn Mas’ud said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Allah has angels who go around on earth, conveying to me the salaam of my ummah.” (An-Nasaa’i, 1282; Sahih by Sh Al-Albaani in Sahih al-Targheeb)

Increases the likelihood of your duaa being accepted:
“The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) heard a man making du’aa’ in his prayer, but he did not praise Allah or send blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘This man is in a hurry.’ Then he called him or someone else and said, ‘When any one of you prays, let him begin by praising his Lord, then let him send blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), then let him pray for whatever he wants after that.’” (At-Tirmidhi, 3477, Abu Dawood, 1481)

Umar ibn al-Khattaab said: “Du’aa’ is suspended between heaven and earth and none of it is taken up until you send blessings upon your Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).” (Hasan by Sh Al-Albaani in Sahih At-Tirmithi)

Sins forgiven and concerns taken care of:
It was narrated that Ubayy ibn Ka‘b said, I said: O Messenger of Allah, I send a great deal of blessings upon you; how much of my du‘aa should be sending blessings upon you? He said: “Whatever you wish.” I said: One quarter? He said: “Whatever you wish, and if you do more, that will be better for you.” I said: One half? He said: “Whatever you wish and if you do more, that will be better for you.” I said: Two thirds? He said: “Whatever you wish and if you do more, that will be better for you.” I said: I will make all of my du‘aa for you. He said: “Then your concerns will be taken care of and your sins will be forgiven.”

(At-Tirmidhi (2457), Ahmad (20736), Ibn Abi Shaybah in al-Musannaf (8706), ‘Abd ibn Humayd in al-Musnad (170) and al-Bayhaqi in ash-Shu‘ab (1579): At-Tirmidhi said: A Sahih Hasan hadith. Hasan by al-Mundhiri in at-Targheeb wa’t-Tarheeb, and by al-Haafiz in al-Fath (11/168). In ash-Shu‘ab 2/215, al-Bayhaqi indicated that it is qawiy. Sahih by Sh Al-Albaani in Sahih at-Targheeb 1670)

• Intercession of the Prophet:
  The Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) said, “whoever recites blessings upon me ten times in the morning and ten times in the evening will obtain my intercession of the Day of Resurrection,” (At-Tabarani, Sahih by Sh Al-Albaani)
  These Ahadith are motivation for us to send salutations upon the Prophet peace be upon him. Sending peace and blessings upon the Prophet is general, and one should not restrict themselves to a specific time (unless mentioned in an authentic hadith), nor a specific number. To do so would be to innovate something in the religion which is not prescribed, and the consequences of which are severe.