Al-Tirmidhī, al-Ṭaḥāwī, and Aḥmad all relate the report through several routes from Kaʿb ibn ʿAlqamah, who heard it from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Jubayr, who in turn heard it from ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAmr. Al-Tirmidhī commented, “A ḥadīth that is ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ (good and sound).”

The authentic formulas for invoking blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ are many. I compiled them in Kitāb al-Ṣalāh under three principal versions; here we quote the briefest and most comprehensive of them:

“O Allah, send Your blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, and bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, just as You sent blessings and bestowed Your blessing upon Abraham and upon the family of Abraham. Truly, You are Praiseworthy, Glorious.”

Al-Ṭaḥāwī and others recorded this wording, as will be shown, and its chain is sound.

How excellent was Ḥāfiẓ Ibn al-Sunnī—may Allah have mercy on him—who, immediately after the chapter on invoking blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ at the time of the adhān (which he cited through this ḥadīth of Ibn ʿAmr), devoted a separate chapter entitled “How to invoke blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ.” There he traced his chain to Kaʿb ibn ʿUjrah, who said, “I asked, ‘Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless you, we already know how to greet you, but how should we invoke blessings upon you?’ He replied, ‘Say: O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad…,’ ” and so on.

This narration is found in the Six Books and elsewhere and will be cited later in the chapter on Prayer.

Through this arrangement Ibn al-Sunnī indicated that after the adhān one ought to use the specific formula taught by the Prophet ﷺ to his community. Although any form of blessing technically suffices, our discussion concerns the superior form—one that most people have unfortunately overlooked in this setting.