Q: Some Muslims in India send peace and blessings on the Prophet in a special way while standing after the Five Obligatory Daily Prayers and Jumu`ah (Friday) Prayer and during their public and private gatherings. They use words such as "O Messenger! Peace be upon you! O Prophet! Peace be upon you!" apart from another long formula they use believing that the Messenger (peace be upon him) comes when they do so. Those Muslims insist on receiving a Fatwa (legal opinion issued by a qualified Muslim scholar) from Makkah and will not settle for anything else. Please give us a detailed answer in this regard.

A: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and any other dead person do not come back to life or attend assemblies of Dhikr (Remembrance of Allah) or birthday celebrations of righteous men as deluded people claim. Allah says, Do they not see how many of the generations We have destroyed before them? (Part No. 24; Page No. 164)  Verily, they will not return to them. Allah (Exalted be He) also says, After that, surely, you will die. Then (again), surely, you will be resurrected on the Day of Resurrection. In regard to the formula used in sending blessings on the Prophet, it is as he taught us, "O Allah! Send prayers on Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, just as You sent prayers on Ibrahim and on the family of Ibrahim. Verily, You are full of praise and majesty. And send blessings on Muhammad and on the family of Muhammad, just as You sent blessings on Ibrahim and on the family of Ibrahim Verily, You are full of praise and majesty." There are other formulas related in other Hadith Sahih (authentic Hadith). As for deliberately sending peace and blessings on the Prophet while standing and believing it is lawful and that the Messenger (peace be upon him) attends is a Bid`ah (innovation in religion) that has no origin in Shari`ah (Islamic law). The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) does not attend their assemblies as they claim. The same applies to sending peace and blessings on him or saying Dhikr collectively and loudly, all of these are baseless Bid`ahs. It is confirmed that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, Anyone who does something in this matter of ours (the religion) that is not from it, it will be rejected. (Agreed upon its authenticity by Al-Bukhari and Muslim) In another narration related by Muslim (may Allah be merciful to him), the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, Whoever does an action which is not in accordance with this matter of ours (Islam), will have it rejected. May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.