The phrase
صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ
Ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam
May Allah send blessings and peace upon him.
Said after the Prophet's ﷺ name
Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and the ﷺ sign
Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam means "may Allah send blessings and peace upon him". Muslims say it, or write ﷺ, whenever the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is named. Allah commands it in the Quran (33:56), and the Prophet ﷺ said that whoever sends one blessing on him receives ten from Allah.
The sign
ﷺ
Ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam
The same words as one character, used in writing. Read it in full.
Unicode character U+FDFA
Quran 33:56In the Quran
إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ وَمَلَٰٓئِكَتَهُۥ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى ٱلنَّبِىِّ ۚ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ صَلُّوا۟ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا۟ تَسْلِيمًا
Innal laaha wa malaaa'i katahoo yusalloona 'alan Nabiyy; yaaa aiyuhal lazeena aamanoo salloo 'alaihi wa sallimoo tasleemaa
Indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [Allah to grant him] peace.
Quran 33:56, Sahih International translation
Our teachers will check the Arabic and transliteration on this page before launch.
Guide
Meaning, use and source
Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) means "may Allah send blessings and peace upon him". It is the salawat Muslims say after the name of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, out loud or under the breath, and write as ﷺ. Short forms in English are SAW, SAWS and PBUH ("peace be upon him").
Meaning, word by word
- Salla Allahu alayhi: may Allah send His salah upon him. Abu al-Aliyah explained Allah's salah on the Prophet ﷺ as His praise of him before the angels (reported by al-Bukhari in his commentary on 33:56).
- Wa sallam: and grant him peace, safety from every harm.
The command in the Quran
"Indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [Allah to grant him] peace" (33:56, translation by Sahih International). So the salawat is something Allah does, the angels do, and the believers are told to do.
The reward
- "Whoever sends one blessing on me, Allah sends ten blessings on him" (Sahih Muslim 408).
- "The miser is the one in whose presence I am mentioned and he does not send blessings on me" (Jami at-Tirmidhi 3546, graded hasan sahih).
- "Send many blessings on me on Friday, for your blessings are shown to me" (Sunan Abi Dawud 1047, graded sahih).
Is it obligatory?
Hanafi position
Sending salawat on the Prophet ﷺ is fard at least once in a lifetime. Hanafi scholars differ on whether it becomes wajib every time his name is mentioned: al-Tahawi held that it does, while al-Karkhi held that once in a lifetime is the duty and every other time is strongly recommended. In salah, Durood Ibrahim in the last sitting is sunnah.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- The salawat in the final tashahhud is a pillar (rukn) of the prayer; without it the prayer is not valid. Outside the prayer it is recommended whenever he is mentioned.
- Hanbali
- In the well-known view of the school, the salawat in the final tashahhud is a pillar of the prayer.
- Maliki
- Obligatory once in a lifetime. In salah it is sunnah.
Writing it: ﷺ, SAW and PBUH
Hadith scholars, from Ibn al-Salah onward, urged writers to write the salawat in full and not to cut it to a few letters. The ﷺ sign keeps the full words in one character, so it is a good way to write it. If you see SAW or PBUH, still say the full salawat when you read it aloud. On this site we write ﷺ after every mention of the Prophet.
For other prophets and for the Companions
For the other prophets and the angels, Muslims say alayhis salam (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ), "peace be upon him", as in "Musa alayhis salam". For the Companions they say radiallahu anhu. For the full salawat said in the prayer, see Durood Ibrahim.
- Quran 33:56, translation by Sahih International; Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Tafsir, Surat al-Ahzab, the saying of Abu al-Aliyah.
- Sahih Muslim 408.
- Jami at-Tirmidhi 3546.
- Sunan Abi Dawud 1047.
- Ibn al-Salah, Muqaddimah (Ulum al-Hadith), on writing the salawat in full.
- Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar, on the salawat in salah and outside it. The other madhhabs' positions are summarised from their standard manuals.
The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.
Questions
Good to know
What does sallallahu alayhi wa sallam mean?
May Allah send blessings and peace upon him. It is said after the name of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
What does ﷺ mean?
It is one character that spells sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Read it in full when you see it.
Can I write SAW or PBUH?
They are understood, but scholars encourage writing the salawat in full or with the ﷺ sign, and saying it in full when you read.
Do I have to say it every time I hear his name?
Sending salawat is obligatory at least once in a lifetime. Hanafi scholars differ on whether it is wajib each time his name is mentioned, and it is strongly encouraged every time. The Prophet ﷺ called the one who hears his name and does not send salawat a miser (Tirmidhi 3546).
What is the reward for saying sallallahu alayhi wa sallam?
Allah sends ten blessings on you for each one you send (Muslim 408).