to pray for him, and that he taught the blind man to supplicate and instructed him to say in his supplication:
“O Allah, accept his intercession for me.”
This supplication is made only when the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—is praying and interceding for the person, unlike someone for whom this is not the case. Thus, it accords with his intercession and supplication for people during his earthly life and on the Day of Resurrection, when he intercedes for them.
The hadith also includes his words:
“And accept my intercession concerning him.”
This does not mean that the blind man intercedes on behalf of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—to fulfil a need of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—even though we are commanded to invoke blessings and peace upon him and to ask Allah to grant him al-wasīlah. In Sahīh al-Bukhārī, Jābir ibn Abd Allāh reports that the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:
“Whoever says upon hearing the call to prayer, ‘O Allah, Lord of this perfect call and the prayer to be established, grant Muhammad al-wasīlah and eminence, and raise him to the praised station You have promised him,’ will be entitled to my intercession on the Day of Resurrection.”
In Sahīh Muslim, Abd Allāh ibn Amr reports that the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:
“When you hear the caller to prayer, repeat what he says, then invoke blessings upon me, for whoever invokes one blessing upon me, Allah will bless him ten times. Then ask Allah to grant me al-wasīlah, for it is a rank in Paradise befitting only one of Allah’s servants, and I hope to be that servant. Whoever asks Allah to grant me al-wasīlah will be entitled to intercession.”
The community’s asking Allah to grant him al-wasīlah is a supplication on his behalf, which is what intercession means. Thus, the reward corresponds to the deed: whoever invokes blessings upon him receives blessings from Allah, and whoever asks Allah to grant him al-wasīlah, which entails