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Fatwa CenterPraying for Salah for the Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, before supplicating
Question
salam alaykum.what is the authenticity of the hadith that no supplication is accepted until salat is sent on the prophet peace be upon him.and how is it that there are many supplications from the prophet himself and his companions as well as righteous salaf in which they did not start or end with salat.may Allah reward you
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
Some Ahaadeeth have indeed been reported which state that the supplication is not accepted until one prays for blessing (Salah) for the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. For instance, ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab 
said: "The supplication is suspended between the heavens and the earth; nothing of it ascends until you pray for Salah for your Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam." [At-Tirmithi]
This Hadeeth has been classified as Dha‘eef (weak) by several scholars, among whom is Shaykh Al-Albaani in his revision of the Ahaadeeth reported in Abu Daawood. He also classified it as Hasan (good) or Saheeh (sound) in other places in his books.
Shaykh Ibn Baaz 
also classified its chain of narrators as weak. He said about it, as occurs in the Majmoo‘ Al-Fataawa: "At-Tirmithi reported this Hadeeth as a Mawqoof Hadeeth (i.e. a Hadeeth narrated by a Companion in which the chain of narration does not reach the Prophet ), and Al-Ismaa‘eeli related it with the wording: 'It was mentioned to us that the supplication is suspended between the heavens and the earth, nothing of it ascends until you pray for Salah for your Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.' This Hadeeth is a Mawqoof Hadeeth as mentioned by the prominent scholar Ibn al-Qayyim in his book Jalaa' Al-Afhaam. I said: In both chains of transmission there is Abu Qurrah Al-Asadi, who was an unknown Bedouin, as stated in the Taqreeb (At-Tahtheeb of Ibn Hajar). He reported it from Sa‘eed ibn Al-Musayyib, from ‘Umar …. Therefore, this Hadeeth is considered Dha‘eef, because its narrator Abu Qurra is unknown." [End of quote]
Besides, Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen was asked: "Is it true that the supplication does not ascend to the heavens to be accepted unless one prays for Salah for the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. What is the evidence for this? Please advise us?"
He replied: "Glorifying and praising Allaah before supplicating and praying for Salah for the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, before supplicating is best and this is what is prescribed. So if one wants to supplicate Allaah, one should start by glorifying and praising Allaah and then praying for Salah for the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Then, one may supplicate however one wishes. But if one supplicates without doing so, there is nothing wrong with it. Not glorifying and praising Allaah and not praying for Salah for the Prophet do not prevent one's supplication from being answered; rather, one's supplication may be answered even if one does not do so.
"As regards the Hadeeth which you referred to - that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said that the supplication is suspended between the heavens and the earth until you pray for Salah for your Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam - I do not recall now the extent of the authenticity of this Hadeeth." [End of quote]
There is no doubt it is of good conduct when supplicating to begin by praising Allaah and praying for Salah for the Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, based on a Hadeeth from Fudhaalah ibn ‘Ubayd, a Companion of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, who said that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, heard a man supplicating during the prayer but he neither mentioned Allaah, The Almighty, nor prayed for Salah for the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, so the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: "This man was hasty." Then he called him and said to him and to others: "If one of you prays, let him start by glorifying and praising his Lord, and then praying for Salah for the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and then let him supplicate however he wishes.” [Ahmad, Abu Dawood and others]
Allaah Knows best.
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