‘Abdur-Rahmān ibn Abu Layla reported: I came across Ka‘b ibn ‘Ujrah, who said: "Shall I offer you a present? The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) came out to us, and we said: 'O Messenger of Allah, we have learned how to greet you, but how should we invoke the grace of Allah upon you?’ He said: ‘Say: O Allah, bestow Your grace upon Muhammad and his family just as You bestowed Your grace upon Ibrahīm and his family. Verily, You are Praiseworthy, Glorious. And bless Muhammad and his family just as You blessed Ibrahīm and his family. Verily, You are Praiseworthy, Glorious.'"
شرح الحديث :
This Hadīth emphasizes the Prophet’s significance and high status in the sight of his Lord. As related, ‘Abdur-Rahmān ibn Abu Layla, one of the most virtuous and knowledgeable among the students of the Companions, met with Ka‘b ibn ‘Ujrah, a Companion. Ka‘b said: “Shall I give you a gift?” The best things that they would offer one another as gifts were wisdom and religious knowledge. So ‘Abdur-Rahmān was happy to receive the valuable gift. Ka‘b then said: “The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) came out to us, and we said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, you taught us how to greet you, but how should we invoke the grace of Allah upon you?’ He replied: ‘Say such-and-such,’ mentioning the invocation’s wording. In this invocation, we ask Allah, the Almighty, to bestow His grace and blessings upon Prophet Muhammad and his family, which includes his believing relatives and followers, and to make these as good and plentiful as the grace and blessings that He bestowed upon the Father of the Prophets, Ibrahīm, and his family, which encompasses the Prophets and righteous people who came after him. Indeed, Allah deserves all praise and possesses all glory, which points out that He is most generous and bountiful. It is an established fact that Prophet Muhammad is the best of creation. However, according to language experts, when someone is likened to another, the former should be lower in rank than the latter. So how can we ask Allah, the Almighty, to bestow grace upon Muhammad and his family like the grace that He bestowed upon Ibrahīm and his family? To give the best answer to this, we say that the family of Ibrahīm encompasses all the prophets who came after him, including Prophet Muhammad. So we supplicate Allah to grant Prophet Muhammad and his family such grace that is similar to the grace that He bestowed upon all the prophets, from Ibrahīm to Muhammad. And it is well-known that the grace bestowed upon all those prophets combined is better than the grace granted to Prophet Muhammad alone (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon all of them). And Allah knows best.