Du’aa’ is suspended between heaven and earth until you send blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)

This hadeeth was narrated by al-Tirmidhi (486) from ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him) who 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 Allaah be upon him).” Ibn Katheer said: Its isnaad is jayyid. It was classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi. 

It was narrated by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah (2035) from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and he mentioned corroborating reports, then he said: “In conclusion, when all these isnaads and corroborating reports are taken into account, the hadeeth is hasan at the very least, in sha Allaah.” 

What was narrated by al-Tirmidhi is mawqoof, with an isnaad ending at ‘Umar, but it is regarded as coming under the heading of marfoo’ (i.e., it may be regarded as attributable to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)). 

Al-Haafiz al-‘Iraaqi said: 

Although this report is mawqoof, such matters cannot be spoken of on the basis of personal opinion (i.e., the Sahaabah did not speak on the basis of personal opinion on matters of worship), rather this is a tawqeefi matter (i.e., we must adhere to what is prescribed in the Qur’aan and Sunnah and not worship Allaah in any way except that which has been prescribed), so it is regarded as coming under the heading of marfoo’ (i.e., it may be regarded as attributable to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)). Al-Qaadi Abu Bakr ibn al-‘Arabi commented, after quoting these words from ‘Umar: ‘Umar would not have said such a thing unless he had heard it from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), because this is not a matter that can be worked out by means of human reasoning. 

This hadeeth indicates that it is mustahabb to send blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when making du’aa’. 

It seems that this is not a condition of du’aa’, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not do this in all his du’aa’s; rather it may be understood that this is mustahabb. 

And the scholars have stated that three categories of sending blessing upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when making du’aa’. 

Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd said in his book Tasheeh al-Du’aa’ (p. 23): 

The best category of sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is at the beginning of the du’aa’, in the middle and at the end. It is like wings for the du’aa’ with which it soars up to the clouds of the sky. 

The second category is sending blessings upon him at the beginning and end of the du’aa’. 

The third category is sending blessings upon him at the beginning. 

These categories were also mentioned by Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) in his book Jala’ al-Afhaam, p. 531-535. 

Al-Tirmidhi (3477) narrated from Fadaalah ibn ‘Ubayd (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When any one of you prays, let him begin by praising Allaah, then let him send blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), then let him ask for whatever he wants.” 

Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi. 

Al-Tabaraani narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood said: If any one of you wants to ask (of Allaah), let him begin by praising Allaah as He deserves to be praised, then let him send blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), then let him ask after that, for that is more likely to be answered. 

This was quoted by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 3204. 

Abu Sulaymaan al-Daaraani said: Whoever wants to ask Allaah for what he needs, let him start by sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), then ask for what he needs, then end his prayer with blessings upon the Prophet, for his sending blessings upon the Prophet will be accepted, and Allaah is too generous to refuse what comes in between. 

And Allaah knows best.