(*) The hadith of Ali referred to above was transmitted by al-Tabarani with a chain that, on the face of it, is unobjectionable, though it contains some unusual phrases whose explanations are given in Abu l-Hasan Ibn Faris’s Fadl al-Nabi. Shafi‘i jurists state that if a man swears to invoke the very best salat (invocation of blessing) upon the Prophet, the way to fulfil his oath is to say: “O Allah, bless Muhammad whenever those who remember him remember him, and whenever the heedless fail to remember him.” Al-Nawawi, however, held that the sound, definitive formula is: “O Allah, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad as You blessed Ibrahim …” and so on. Some later scholars replied that there is no transmitted proof that either formulation is superior, although, in terms of meaning, the first is clearly preferable. The question is well known in the books of fiqh, and what concerns us here is that none of the jurists who discussed it ever inserted the phrase “our master.” Had this addition been recommended it would not have escaped every one of them. All good lies in following the precedent, and Allah knows best. I say: The position of al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar—that describing him as “our master” in the salat is not prescribed, in obedience to the divine command—and which is also the Hanafi view, is the stance that should be adopted, for it is the true proof of love for him: “Say: If you love Allah, then follow me; Allah will love you” (Al Imran 3:31). For this reason Imam al-Nawawi said in al-Rawda (1/265): “The most complete salat upon the Prophet is: ‘O Allah, bless Muhammad …’” to the end, following the third form cited earlier, and he did not include “our master” in it. Abu Bakr Ibn al-‘Arabi, as mentioned previously, also indicated its inadmissibility; several scholars affirmed this explicitly, while others allowed it. (*) In reality the chain is weak, containing an unknown transmitter and a break; see Al-Qawl al-Badi, pp. 69–70.