Why do we send blessings upon the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)?

Firstly:

Sending
blessings upon the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is one
of the best and noblest acts of worship by means of which one may draw
closer to Allah. Allah, may He be exalted, has enjoined that upon His
believing slaves. He, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the
meaning):

“Allah
sends His Salât (Graces, Honours, Blessings, Mercy) on the Prophet (Muhammad
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) and also His angels (ask Allah
to bless and forgive him). O you who believe! Send your Salât on (ask Allah
to bless) him (Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)), and
(you should) greet (salute) him with the Islamic way of greeting (salutation
i.e. As¬Salâmu ‘Alaikum)”

[al-Ahzaab
33:56].

The Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) also urged us to do that and
explained that it brings a multiple reward and that it is a means of
attaining forgiveness of sins and having one’s needs met. He (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever sends blessings upon me once,
Allah will send blessings upon him tenfold and will erase from him ten
misdeeds and raise him ten degrees in status.” Narrated by an-Nasaa’i
(1297); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Sunan an-Nasaa’i.

At-Tirmidhi
(2457) narrated that Ubayy ibn Ka‘b (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I
said: O Messenger of Allah, I want to send more blessings upon you (before
offering supplication); how much of my supplication should I allocate to
that? He said: “Whatever you wish.” I said: One quarter? He said “Whatever
you wish, but if you do more, it will be better for you.” I said: Half? He
said: “Whatever you wish but if you do more, it will be better for you.” I
said: Two thirds? He said: “Whatever you wish, but if you do more, it will
be better for you.” I said: Shall I make all of my supplication for that? He
said: Then your worries will be taken care of and your sin will be
forgiven.”

Classed as hasan
by al-Albaani in Sunan at-Tirmidhi.

Secondly:

You said that
the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is perfect and
infallible, so why does he need us to send many blessings and salaams upon
him so that he might be admitted to Paradise, whereas we are in greater need
of that than him, because we are not perfect? This objection on your part is
not appropriate, for several reasons, as follows:

1.

Sending
blessings and salaams upon the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) is something that is enjoined. Allah, may He be exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“O
you who believe! Send your Salât on (ask Allah to bless) him (Muhammad
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)), and (you should) greet (salute)
him with the Islamic way of greeting (salutation i.e. As¬Salâmu ‘Alaikum)”

[al-Ahzaab
33:56].

So it is an act
of worship, and what is required of the Muslim is to comply with the command
of Allah, and not to object to His command.

2.

The virtue of
sending blessings upon the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) does not benefit the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
only; rather it also benefits the one who sends blessings on him. The virtue
mentioned in the hadiths quoted above and in other hadiths benefits the one
who sends blessings upon the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him).

Shaykh Ibn
‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said, in his commentary on the
hadith: The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
“Whoever sends blessings upon me once, Allah will send blessings upon him
tenfold” means: If you say “Allahumma salli ‘ala Muhammad (O Allah,
send blessings upon Muhammad)”, Allah will send upon you a tenfold blessing
in return, and Allah will praise you before those on high ten times.

End quote from
Sharh Riyaadh as-Saaliheen.

3.

The rights of
the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) are the greatest
rights after those of Allah. Through him, Allah saved many people from the
depths of darkness and brought them into the light. Allah, may He be
exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“It
is He Who sends down manifest Ayât (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons,
signs, revelations, etc.) to His slave (Muhammad (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him)) that He may bring you out from darkness into light. And
verily, Allah is to you full of kindness, Most Merciful”

[al-Hadeed 57:9]

“(This is) a Book which We
have revealed unto you (O Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him)) in order that you might lead mankind out of darkness (of disbelief and
polytheism) into light (of belief in the Oneness of Allâh and Islâmic
Monotheism) by their Lord’s Leave”

[Ibraaheem 14:1].

If a person
frequently mentions the name of a doctor at whose hands Allah caused him to
be healed, and that is only concerning physical well-being, then how about
the one at whose hands Allah brings about both spiritual and physical
well-being?

It is one of the
rights of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) over his
ummah that they should send a lot of blessings upon him in response to that
favour and in fulfilment of some of his rights (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him).

Ibn al-Qayyim
(may Allah have mercy on him) said: Allah, may He be glorified, enjoined
sending blessings upon him straight after telling us that He and His angels
send blessings upon him. What is meant is that if Allah and His angels send
blessings upon His Messenger, then you should send blessings upon him, for
it is more appropriate that you should send blessings upon him and greet him
with salaam, because of what you have received of the blessing of his
message.

End quote from
Jalaa’ al-Ifhaam.

Shaykh ‘Abd
ar-Rahmaan as-Sa‘di (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

“O
you who believe! Send your Salât on (ask Allah to bless) him (Muhammad
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)), and (you should) greet (salute)
him with the Islamic way of greeting (salutation i.e. As¬Salâmu ‘Alaikum)”

[al-Ahzaab
33:56],

following the
example of Allah and His angels, as a reward to him for some of the rights
that he has over them, so as to perfect their faith and show respect, love
and honour for him (sa), and as a means of increasing their good deeds and
expiating their bad deeds.

End quote from
Tafseer as-Sa‘di (1/671).

So blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him, constantly, until the Day of Judgement, so long
as night and day follow one another. Blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him so long as righteous people remember him.

Do not deprive
yourself of that virtue. May Allah help us and you to make the most of acts
of obedience, and protect us from the evil of our own selves, for He is Most
Munificent, Most Generous.

And Allah knows
best.