to me.” They asked, “How can our invocations of blessing be presented to you when you have decayed—that is, when you have become dust?” He replied:
“Indeed, Allah has forbidden the earth to consume the bodies of the prophets.” (1)
Thus, what is well established from him in the Sunan is the invocation of blessings and peace upon him, as Allah Most High commanded in His Book:
“O you who believe, invoke blessings upon him and greet him with peace.”
[Surah al-Ahzāb: 56]
It is also authentically established that he said:
“Whoever invokes blessings upon me once, Allah will bless him tenfold.” (2)
However, if a person invokes blessings and peace upon him from afar, this reaches him; and if he greets him with peace from nearby, he himself hears that person’s greeting.
For this reason, whenever one of the Companions—may Allah be pleased with them—came to his grave, he would greet him and his two companions with peace. Ibn Umar, for example, would say, “Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah. Peace be upon you, Abū Bakr. Peace be upon you, my father.” None of them would stand facing the grave to supplicate for himself.
(1) The hadith is narrated from Aws ibn Aws—may Allah be pleased with him—in *Sunan Abī Dāwūd* 1/378 (Book of Prayer, “Chapter on the Merit of Friday and the Night Before Friday”); *al-Musnad* (al-Halabī ed.), vol. 4; and *Sunan Ibn Mājah* 1/524 (Book of Funerals, “Chapter on the Account of the Prophet’s Death and Burial—may Allah bless him and grant him peace”). Reports conveying the same meaning are also narrated in *Sunan Ibn Mājah* from Abū al-Dardā'—may Allah be pleased with him—on the same page cited above, and from Shaddād ibn Aws—may Allah be pleased with him—1/345 (Book of Establishing the Prayer, “Chapter on the Merit of Friday”).
(2) Muslim narrated the hadith from Abū Hurayra—may Allah be pleased with him—1/306 (Book of Prayer, “Chapter on Invoking Blessings upon the Prophet”), with the wording: “Whoever invokes blessings upon me once…” Ahmad also narrated it from him in his *Musnad* (al-Ma'ārif ed.), 13/285–86 (nos. 7551 and 7552), but with the wording: “Whoever invokes blessings upon me once, Allah, Mighty and Majestic, will record ten good deeds for him thereby.” In his commentary, Shaykh Ahmad Shākir—may Allah have mercy on him—stated that Muslim, Abū Dāwūd, al-Tirmidhī, al-Nasā'ī, and Ibn Hibbān narrated the hadith with the wording: “Allah will bless him tenfold.” The hadith is found in *Sunan Abī Dāwūd* 2/117 (Book of Witr, “Chapter on Seeking Forgiveness”). Ahmad also included in his *Musnad* (al-Halabī ed.), 3/102, 161, a hadith conveying the same meaning from Anas ibn Mālik—may Allah be pleased with him.