and the ever-increasing of Your salutations upon Muhammad, Your servant and Messenger, the opener of what was shut. It is also reported from Ali that he would say: “May the prayers of Allah, the Benign, the Merciful, together with those of the angels drawn near, the prophets, the siddiqin (ever-truthful), the martyrs, and the righteous, and of whoever among creation You will, O Lord of all worlds, rest upon Muhammad son of Abd Allah, the Seal of the prophets and the leader of the God-fearing …” (*). Abd Allah ibn Masud used to say: “O Allah, place Your prayers, Your blessings, and Your mercy upon Muhammad, Your servant and Messenger, the leader of goodness and the Messenger of mercy …” (**). Al-Hasan al-Basri said: “Whoever wishes to drink the most refreshing draft from the Pool of the Chosen One should say: O Allah, bless Muhammad and his family, Companions, wives, children, offspring, household, in-laws, helpers, followers, and lovers.” This is what I have selected from al-Shifa concerning the wording of the salat upon him as transmitted from the Companions and those who came after them; other material is mentioned there as well. It is true that a report from Ibn Masud states that he used to say in his invocation for the Prophet: “O Allah, place the most excellent of Your prayers, mercy, and blessings upon the master of the messengers …” It was recorded by Ibn Majah, but its chain of transmission is weak (**). (*) Al-Sakhawi says in Al-Qawl al-Badi (p. 70): “I have found no original source for it,” and on p. 71 he quotes the forthcoming report of al-Hasan al-Basri, merely attributing it to Qadi Iyad; so it appears to have no basis. (**) Shaykh al-Albani likewise declared it weak in Daif al-Targhib (1/515) and rejected al-Munziri’s grading of it as hasan, saying: “Certainly not, for it contains al-Masudi, whose narration became confused.”