Salat al-Shaykh Abu al-Mawahib al-Shadhili
Salat al-Shaykh Abu al-Mawahib al-Shadhili (Arabic: صلاة الشيخ أبي المواهب الشاذلي) is a prayer upon the Prophet ﷺ attributed to the eminent Shadhili master Shaykh Abu al-Mawahib Muhammad al-Shadhili. A distinguished scholar and spiritual guide, he was regarded among the great saints and was renowned for his eloquence, refined expression, and writings on the inner sciences of the spiritual path. He was also known for his deep devotion to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and is reported to have seen him frequently in dreams, a blessing attributed to his abundant recitation of prayers upon the Prophet ﷺ. This prayer is traditionally recommended during the ziyarah of the Prophet ﷺ in Madinah, with the reciter bringing to mind that they are standing before the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. It may, however, be recited at any time and place.
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About This Prayer
Abd al-Wahhab al-Sha’rani wrote in his Tabaqat about Abu al-Mawahib al-Shadhili:
Among them is my master, Shaykh Muhammad Abu al-Mawahib al-Shadhili. He was one of the noble and distinguished masters, and among the pious scholars firmly grounded in knowledge. He was granted an eloquence akin to that of my master Ali Abu al-Wafa, and he composed refined, rhythmic, and elevated poetry, as well as authoring remarkable works on divinely bestowed knowledge.
Among his writings is Qawanin Hikam al-Ishraq (“The Canons of Luminous Wisdoms”), in which he expounds the sciences of the Sufis. It is a magnificent work, unmatched in its kind, and a clear indication of the author’s lofty spiritual rank.
He would frequently see the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in his dreams, and many teachings were conveyed to him through these visions. He said:
“I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and he said to me, ‘You will intercede for one hundred thousand.’ I asked, ‘By what, O Messenger of Allah?’ He replied, ‘By sending blessings upon me.’”
He also said:
“Whoever wishes to see the Prophet ﷺ should increase sending blessings upon him day and night, together with love for the awliya, for otherwise the door to seeing him will be closed.”
On one occasion, he said:
“I said to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, ‘People accuse me of lying and do not believe that I see you in my dreams.’
He replied, ‘By Allah’s Might and Majesty, whoever denies you and rejects what you have seen will not die except as a Jew, Christian, or Magian.’”
He also said:
“I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and he placed his hand upon my heart and said, ‘My son, backbiting is forbidden. Have you not heard the saying of Allah: Do not backbite one another?’
I said, ‘There were people sitting with me who were backbiting.’
He ﷺ said, ‘If you hear backbiting, recite Surat al-Ikhlas, Surat al-Falaq, and Surat al-Nas, and gift their reward to the one being spoken about.’”
He also recounted:
“I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in a dream, and he said to me, ‘When you go to sleep, recite Aʿūdhu bi-Llāhi mina sh-shayṭāni r-rajīm 5 times and Bismi Llāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm 5 times, then say: Allāhumma bi-ḥaqqi Muḥammadin arinī wajha Muḥammadin ḥālan wa-maʾālan. If you do this, I will come to you and will not fail to appear.’”
On another occasion, he said:
“A dispute arose between me and a man from al-Azhar concerning the verse of the author of the Burda, may Allah have mercy on him:
‘The utmost of our knowledge is that he is a man, yet he is the best of Allah’s creation.’The man objected, saying, ‘There is no proof for this.’ I replied, ‘There is consensus on it,’ but he refused to retract his view.
Then I saw the Prophet ﷺ seated upon the pulpit of al-Azhar, with Abu Bakr and Umar beside him. He called out to me, ‘Welcome, beloved.’ Then he said to his Companions, ‘Do you know what happened today?’
They replied, ‘No, O Messenger of Allah.’He said, ‘This miserable man claims that the angels are superior to me.’
They responded, ‘O Messenger of Allah, there is no one on earth better than you.’The Prophet ﷺ said, ‘What is wrong with this wretched man, devoid of true life, and if he lives it will be in humiliation, obscurity, and constraint, without honour in this world or the next, that he denies the consensus regarding my superiority? Does he not know that the disagreement of the Mutazilites does not invalidate the consensus of Ahl al-Sunna?’”
He also said:
“I once saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said, ‘Do not leave me, O Messenger of Allah.’
He replied, ‘I will never leave you until you come to me at the Pond of Kawthar and drink from it. You recite Surah al-Kawthar and send prayers upon me, so I have granted you the reward of those prayers, while I have reserved for you the reward of Kawthar.’Then he instructed me, ‘Whenever you notice faults in your actions or speech, persist in saying:
I seek the forgiveness of Allah, the Tremendous, there is no god but Him, the Living, the Self-Subsisting, and I repent to Him. I ask Allah for repentance and forgiveness, for He is the Relenting, the Merciful.’”
He also said:
“I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he kissed my mouth, saying, ‘I kiss this mouth that sends one thousand prayers upon me by day and one thousand by night.’
Then he said, ‘How excellent it would be if Indeed, We have granted you al-Kawthar were your nightly litany. Let your supplication be: O Allah, lessen my faults; O Allah, forgive my slips, then send prayers upon me and conclude with: Peace be upon the Messengers, and all praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds.’”
He also recounted:
“Once I hastened through my recitation of prayers upon the Prophet ﷺ, one thousand in total, in order to complete my litany. He said to me, ‘Do you not know that haste is from Satan? Invoke with calmness and deliberation: O Allah, send prayers upon our master Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad.
If time is short, there is no blame in hastening. What I have mentioned is best, though any form of prayer upon me is accepted. Begin with a complete prayer, even once, and end with another.’
Then he said, ‘The most complete and perfect form is:
O Allah, send prayers upon our master Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, just as You sent prayers upon our master Ibrahim and the family of our master Ibrahim; and bless our master Muhammad and the family of our master Muhammad, just as You blessed our master Ibrahim and the family of our master Ibrahim in all the worlds. Truly, You are the Praiseworthy, the Glorious. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.’”
He also said:
“I asked, ‘Is the multiplied reward for sending blessings only for one who is present in heart?’
He ﷺ replied, ‘No. Even the heedless one receives it. If he is heedless, Allah appoints angels as numerous as mountains to send blessings and seek forgiveness for him. If he is present, then the reality of his reward is with Allah.’”
He also said:
“I once said: Muhammad is a man, but not like other men; rather, he is like a ruby among stones.
Then I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he said, ‘Allah has forgiven you and those who said this with you.’”
He also said:
“I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and he said, ‘I am not dead. My death is only a concealment from those who do not know Allah. As for those who know Him, they see me and I see them.’”
He also said:
“I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I gift the reward of my deeds to you.’
He replied, ‘Yes, but leave some deeds for yourself, for I have no need of them.’”
He also said:
“Your shaykh sends abundant complete blessings upon me. Tell him that when he finishes, he should conclude with praise of Allah.”