Question:
Please enlighten us with reference as to who composed Salawat Nariya?
Jazak Allahu khairan.
Answer:
Wa alaykum as-Salaam
Shukran for writing to us.
From the outset, it seems rather challenging to determine who compiled this formula of salutations and when it was formulated. After reading several online articles, the following points are important to consider:
1. Some have attributed it to Sayyid Ibrahim al-Tazi. For this reason, the formula is also known or called Salawat Taziyyah.
2. Others have attributed it to Imam Ahmad al-Rifa’i.
3. I’ve also seen some attributing it to Imam Qurtubi, even though most articles only quote Imam Qurtubi speaking of its virtue.
4. Some reports cite Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani speaking of its virtue as well.
None of these points are referenced, and therefore one is not able to provide clear guidance. However, if it was indeed Sayyid Ibrahim al-Tazi [d. 866] that compiled it, as Shaykh Ali Jumu’ah and others have suggested, then Imam Qurtubi [d. 671], as well as ibn Hajar al-Asqalani [d. 852], could not have spoken of its virtue.
Either way, the formula holds many great meanings and virtues. Not knowing who precisely the compiler is, should not deter one from reciting it. For more information on its merits, please read the following:
https://seekersguidance.org/answers/halal-and-haram/can-i-recite-salawat-al-nariya/.
And Allah knows best.
Abdurragmaan Khan
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Abdurragmaan received ijazah ’ammah from various luminaries, including but not restricted to: Habib Umar ibn Hafiz—a personality who affected him greatly and who has changed his relationship with Allah, Maulana Yusuf Karaan—the former Mufti of Cape Town; Habib ‘Ali al-Mashhur—the current Mufti of Tarim; Habib ‘Umar al-Jaylani—the Shafi‘i Mufti of Makkah; Sayyid Ahmad bin Abi Bakr al-Hibshi; Habib Kadhim as-Saqqaf; Shaykh Mahmud Sa’id Mamduh; Maulana Abdul Hafiz al-Makki; Shaykh Ala ad-Din al-Afghani; Maulana Fazlur Rahman al-Azami and Shaykh Yahya al-Gawthani amongst others.