بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
Imam an-Nawawi (r.a.) was once in the Masjid of Damascus and was asked: “Is the Salawat 'ala Nabi greater in reward or the obligatory swalah which has been repeatedly mentioned by Allah?”
Imam an-Nawawi (r.a.) was silent for a moment and then replied, “The salawat upon the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) is greater.”
So the questioner said, “How can you say that! Did not Allah Make the (five daily prayers) an obligation on His Servants? So how can He Exalt another command over this one?”
So Imam an-Nawawi (r.a.) answered, “Yes, He has Ordered the five daily prayers and He also Made it an obligation to offer prayers of peace and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah in His saying: ‘*Verily, Allah and His Angels are perpetually Sending prayers upon the Prophet. O you who believe, you should also invoke blessings on him and greetings of peace.’” So this is also an obligation. You have been given two obligations, the obligation of five daily swalah and the obligation of making Salawat 'ala Nabi.”
The man remained silent for a short time and then said: “I understand. These two have been made equal obligations.”
Imam an-Nawawi (r.a.) said, “No, these two are not equal! The obligatory act which Allah has Ordered of you alone is not equal to the Obligatory Act which He Himself and His Angels are also Doing along with the believers. The one which Allah and His Angels and His Servants is greater than the one you are doing by yourself!”
(Taken from the book 'at-Tariq Ila Allah al-Munji fi Zaman ad-Dajjal wa'l Mahdi' & Interpreted from the Arabic by Muhammad ‘Abdullahi at-Tijani al-Ibrahimi)
* (33:56)
