When a person loves someone, he keeps remembering him. Hence, asking Allah The Almighty to confer blessings upon the Prophet, , is a sign of our love to him. Moreover, it is a sign of closeness to Allah The Almighty and a kind of obedience to Him. Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {Indeed, Allâh confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [Allâh to confer] blessing upon him and ask [Allâh to grant him] peace.}[Quran 33: 56]. According to Al-Qurtubi the Salah of Allah The Almighty over His Prophet, , means praising him in the exalted assembly [of angels]. The Salah of Allah The Almighty also means His mercy and pleasure, the Salah of angels means their supplication and asking Allah The Almighty for forgiveness, and the Salah of the believers is their supplication and obedience.
Invoking the blessings of Allah The Almighty upon the Prophet, , has great benefits. Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet, , said: "Whoever invokes blessings on me once, he will receive ten blessings from Allah The Almighty." [Muslim]. It is worth mentioning that sending prayers upon the Prophet, , is permissible at all times, yet there are some specific times in which it becomes more recommended. Abu Shaamah said, "It is permitted at all times, and recommended at the end of every prayer or even obligated according to some scholars.It is also asserted at many specific times like after the Athaan (the call for prayer), and when mentioning him and on Friday and its night, which is proved by many narrations, in addition to other times".
In the following lines, we will try to summarize the benefits of sending Salah upon the Prophet, , from the words of Ibn Al-Qayyim :
1. It is obedience to the orders of Allah The Almighty.
2. It is performing an act that Allah The Almighty Himself does, as He, The Almighty, confers Salah upon His Prophet, . Yet, the Salah of Allah The Almighty differs from that of us, as it is praise and conferring honor, while our Salah upon the Prophet, , is a supplication.
3. It is emulating the example of angels as well.
4. It is a means for receiving ten blessings from Allah The Almighty every time.
5. It raises the person ten degrees.
6. Ten good deeds are also given to him.
7. Ten of his bad deeds are also removed.
8. His supplication is hoped to be accepted if he starts it with the Salah upon the Prophet, .
9. It is a means for attaining the intercession of the Prophet, on the Day of Judgment.
10. It is a means for the forgiveness of sins.
11. It is a means for dispelling one's worries and grief by Allah The Almighty.
12. It is a means for attaining closeness to the Prophet, on the Day of Judgment.
13. It is a substitute for giving charity for those who are not able to give.
14. It is a means for fulfilling a person's needs.
15. It is a means for receiving the Salah of Allah The Almighty and His angels for the one who invokes blessings upon the Prophet, .
16. It is a means of purification for the one who performs it.
17. It is a means for receiving glad tidings of entering Paradise.
18. It is a means of safety from the terrors of the Day of Judgment.
19. It is a means of receiving a reply of blessings and peace from the Prophet, .
20. It is a means for reminding the person when he is forgetful.
21. It is a means for attaining righteousness of a gathering so that it does not become a source of regret for people on the Day of Judgment.
22. It is a means of banishing poverty.
23. It eliminates the attribute of stinginess from the person.
24. It places the person who performs it on the way of Paradise, and who abandons it misses that way.
25. It serves as an expiation for the assembly, as the assembly is dispraised if Allah The Almighty and his Messenger, , are not remembered or praised, or if no one sends prayers upon the Prophet, .
26. It leads to the perfection of the speech that started with praising Allah The Almighty and asking Him to confer His blessings upon His Prophet, .
27. It is a means for giving the slave of Allah plenty of light while he is passing over the Siraat (the bridge over Hell).
28. It excludes the slave of Allah The Almighty from those who turn away from the Prophet, .
29. Allah The Almighty will retain good mention and praise among the people of the earth and heaven for the one who sends prayers upon the Prophet, . The reason for this is that person asks Allah The Almighty to praise His Prophet, dignify him and exalt his mention; And since the recompense matches the action, this person is very likely to receive a similar reward.
30. The one who sends prayers upon the Prophet, , will be blessed in himself, his age, his deeds, and all the affairs of his life. This is because he supplicates Allah The Almighty to confer blessings upon the Prophet, , and his family, so his reward will be similar to his deed.