'Alayhi al-Salam: Difference between revisions

ʿAlayh al-salam (literally: peace be upon him) is an honorific [[supplication]], used after mentioning the names of the Shiite [[Imams]], [[prophets]], some [[Imamzadas]], and some [[angels]].

Verse 157 of Sura al-Baqara, 43 of Sura al-Ahzab, and 54 of Sura al-Anʿam have been adduced as evidence for the permissibility of sending [[peace]] to the Imams and [[believers]], since in all of these verses peace and greeting are sent to all believers. In his instructions on how to write about Islamic disciplines, [[al-Shahid al-Thani]] recommends writing 'alayh al-salam after mentioning the Imams.

[[Sunni Muslims]] write radi Allah 'anh (may God be pleased with him) after mentioning Shiite Imams, as they do after mentioning the Prophet’s (s) [[companions]]. There are cases in which Sunni Muslims use the phrase 'alayh al-salam for [[Imam 'Ali (a)]], as opposed to other caliphs. However, Ibn al-Kathir, a student of [[Ibn Taymiyya]], believes that it is improper to use this phrase for Imam 'Ali (a) without using it for other caliphs.

'Alayh al-salam is a supplication phrase, which means peace be upon him. It is used after mentioning the [[Imams (a)]], [[prophets]],<ref>Dihkhudā, ''Lughatnāma'', under the word 'Alayh al-salam.</ref> some [[Imamzadas]] such as [['Abbas (a)]],<ref>See: Muḥammadī Reyshahrī, ''Dānishnāmah-yi Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a)'', vol. 1, p. 185; Mudarrisī wa Shūshtarī Zādih, ''Ḥaḍrat-i ʿAlī Akbar (a)'', p. 8.</ref> [['Ali al-Akbar (a)]],<ref>See: Muḥammadī Reyshahrī, ''Guzīda-yi shahādatnāmah-yi Imām Ḥusayn (a)'', p. 55; Mudarrisī wa Shūshtarī Zādih, ''Ḥaḍrat-i ʿAlī Akbar'', p. 8.</ref> and [['Ali al-Asghar (a)]],<ref>See: Zahīrī, ''Qiṣaṣ al-Ḥusayn (a)'', vol. 1, p. 181.</ref> as well as some [[angels]] such as [[Gabriel]] or Jibra'il.<ref>See: Muḥammadī Reyshahrī, ''Dānishnāmah-yi Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a)'', vol. 1, p. 130; Mudarrisī wa Shūshtarī Zādih, ''Ḥaḍrat-i ʿAlī Akbar (a)'', p. 6.</ref>

When two Imams or prophets are mentioned, the dual form of the phrase is used: 'alayhima al-salam (peace be upon them both),<ref>Anwarī, ''Farhang-i buzurg-i sukhan'', under the word 'Alayhima al-salam.</ref> and when more than two are mentioned, the plural form is used: 'alayhim al-salam (peace be upon them).<ref>Anwarī, ''Farhang-i buzurg-i sukhan'', under the word 'Alayhim al-salam.</ref> Other than alayh al-salam, there are other phrases, which [[Shi'as]] use after mentioning the Imams (a), such as salam Allah 'alayh (God’s peace be upon him), salawat Allah 'alayh (God’s greetings be to him),<ref>Nizām Aʿraj, ''Sharh al-nazzām'', note, p. 25.</ref> 'alayh al-salat wa-l-salam (greeting and peace be upon him),<ref>Anwarī, ''Farhang-i buzurg-i sukhan'', under the word 'Alayh al-salat wa-l-salam.</ref> as well as more embellished phrases such as: 'alayh afdal al-salat wa-l-salam (the greatest greeting and peace be upon him) and 'alayh alaf al-tahiyya wa-l-thana (thousands of salutations and praises be upon him).<ref>Anwarī, ''Farhang-i buzurg-i sukhan'', under the word 'Alayh alaf al-tahiyya wa-l-thana.</ref>

When women and girls from the [[Prophet’s (s) household]] are mentioned,<ref>Anwarī, ''Farhang-i buzurg-i sukhan'', under the word Salam Allah 'alayha.</ref> including [[Lady Fatima (a)]],<ref>See: Makārim Shīrāzī, ''Tafsīr-i nimūna'', vol. 11, p. 88; Muḥammadī Reyshahrī, ''Dānishnāmah-yi Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a)'', vol. 1, p. 185.</ref> [[Lady Zaynab (a)]],<ref>See: Muḥammadī Reyshahrī, ''Dānishnāmah-yi Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a)'', vol. 1, p. 166.</ref> [[Lady Ma'suma (a)]],<ref>See: Ṣāfī Gulpāyigānī, ''Silsila mabāḥith-i imāmat wa mahdawīyyat'', vol. 2, p. 278.</ref> as well as other females such as [[Khadija (a)]]<ref>See: Muḥammadī Reyshahrī, ''Dānishnāmah-yi Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a)'', vol. 1, p. 223.</ref> the Prophet’s (s) wife, [[Mary (a)]] the mother of Jesus<ref>See: Muḥammadī Reyshahrī, ''Dānishnāmah-yi Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a)'', vol. 7, p. 394.</ref>, and [[Asiya]] the wife of the Pharaoh,<ref>See: Ḥāshimī Rafsanjānī, ''Farhang-i Qurʾān'', vol. 16, p. 247.</ref> the phrase "salam Allah 'alayha" or "'alayha al-salam" are used. In the case of the Prophet (s), instead of 'alayh al-salam', the phrase [[salla Allah 'alayh wa-alih]] is used.<ref>Dihkhudā, ''Lughatnāma'', under the word salla Allah 'alayh wa-alih.</ref>

[[Sunni Muslims]] honor prophets<ref>See: Zamakhsharī, ''al-kashshāf'', vol. 1, p. 61 and 129; Fakhr al-Rāzī, ''Mafātīḥ al-ghayb (al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr)'', vol. 1, p. 136.</ref> and some angels<ref>See: Zamakhsharī, ''al-kashshāf'', vol. 1, p. 350; Fakhr al-Rāzī, ''Mafātīḥ al-ghayb (al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr)'', vol. 1, p. 83 and vol. 22, p. 171.</ref> by using 'alayh al-salam, but in the case of Shiite Imams (a), they use the same phrase they use for Sahaba: "radi Allah 'anh" (may God be pleased with him).<ref>See: Suyūṭī, ''Al-Durr al-manthūr'', p. 524; </ref> For Imam 'Ali (a), they also use the phrase "karram Allah wajhah" (may God honor his face).<ref>Ibn Kathīr, ''Tafsīr'', vol. 3, p. 524; Ibn Ḥajar al-Haytamī, <nowiki>''</nowiki>al-fatāwā l-ḥadīthiyya<nowiki>''</nowiki>, vol. 1, p. 41. </ref> Moreover, in Sunni books, the phrase 'alayh al-salam is often used after mentioning Imam 'Ali (a).<ref>Mūjāhid b. Jabr, <nowiki>''</nowiki>Tafsīr Mūjāhid<nowiki>''</nowiki>, p. 684; Thaʿlabī, <nowiki>''</nowiki>al-Kashf wa l-bayān ʿan tafsīr al-Qurʾān<nowiki>''</nowiki>, vol. 1, p. 136.</ref> Ibn al-Kathir, a Sunni historiographer and Quranic exegete,<ref>Ibn Kathīr, <nowiki>''</nowiki>Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿaẓīm<nowiki>''</nowiki>, vol. 6, p. 478</ref> and Muhammad Salih al-Munajjid, a [[Salafi]] scholar,<ref>al-Munajjid, <nowiki>''</nowiki>Mawqiʿ al-Islām suʾāl wa jawāb<nowiki>''</nowiki>, vol. 9, p. 101.</ref> believe that in these cases 'alayh al-salam was used after Imam 'Ali’s (a) name not by the authors, but by transcribers.

According to a manuscript of the book [[al-Irshad]], which was transcribed in 566 AH, the phrase 'alayh al-salam is used for the Imams (a).<ref>Mufīd, ''Al-Irshād'', vol. 1, p. 15.</ref>

As for the permissibility of sending peace to the prophets, Quranic verses have been cited as evidence, in which peace is sent to all prophets<ref>Qur'an 37: 181.</ref> or to particular prophets.<ref>See: Qur'an 37: 79 and 109.</ref> There is, of course, a hadith in ''[[Al-Amali (by al-Saduq)|al-Saduq’s al-Amali]]''<ref>Ṣadūq, ''Al-Amālī'', p. 380.</ref> and ''[[Al-Amali (by al-Tusi)|al-Tusi’s al-Amali]]'',<ref>Ṭūsī, ''Al-Amālī'', p. 424.</ref> which recommends that when a prophet is mentioned, peace should be sent first to the Prophet of Islam (s) and then to that other prophet. In a similar hadith cited in the book ''[[Wasa'il al-Shi'a]]'', it is recommended that peace should be sent first to Muhammad (s) and [[his household (a)]] and then to that prophet.<ref>Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, ''Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa'', vol. 7, p. 208.</ref> Some Shiite scholars use the phrase '' 'ala nabiyyina wa-alih wa-'alayh al-salam '' (peace be upon our prophet and his household and to him).<ref>See: Ṣāfī Gulpāyigānī, ''Muntakhab al-athar fī al-Imām al-thānī ʿashar'', vol. 2, p. 356.</ref>