Traslation of صلّى in more contexts pls answer

Question

Salamo3alaykom, as I've asked some minutes ago, I'd like to ask about the meaning of the word or verb صلّى and what I may have understood is that it can mean "praying" or also "sending blessings". Can someone clarify? I've found it quite strange when I've read the traslation of certain ahadith. For example in the tashahhud in a part we say Allahumma salli 3ala Muhammad wa 3la ali Muhammadin, kama sallayta 3la Ibrahim wa 3la ali Ibrahim, Wa barik 3la Muhammad wala 3ali Muhammad[...]" Now I want to ask, what does "salli" exactly mean in this context? I know that Salah means prayer but Allah subhana wa ta'ala does NOT pray on Muhammad since He Is Allah the All-Mighty. So Allah DOES NOT PRAY BECAUSE HE IS THE ALL MIGHTY! Can someone clarify this thing for me please? Jazakon Allah

Answer 1

It can mean both. From the root ص ل و , it can mean:

• to perform the salat

• to pray/worship

• to bless someone i.e. صَلَّى ٱللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ meaning ‘Blessings be upon him and progeny

From the Hadith:

يَقُولُ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ ‏ "‏ إِذَا سَمِعْتُمُ الْمُؤَذِّنَ فَقُولُوا مِثْلَ مَا يَقُولُ وَصَلُّوا عَلَىَّ فَإِنَّهُ مَنْ صَلَّى عَلَىَّ صَلاَةً صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ عَشْرًا ثُمَّ سَلُوا اللَّهَ لِيَ الْوَسِيلَةَ فَإِنَّهَا مَنْزِلَةٌ فِي الْجَنَّةِ لاَ تَنْبَغِي إِلاَّ لِعَبْدٍ مِنْ عِبَادِ اللَّهِ أَرْجُو أَنْ أَكُونَ أَنَا هُوَ فَمَنْ سَأَلَ لِيَ الْوَسِيلَةَ حَلَّتْ لَهُ الشَّفَاعَةُ

'Abdullah bin 'Amr said:

"I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: 'When you hear the Mu'adhdhin then say what he says, and do Salah upon me, for whoever does Salah upon me once, Allah will Salah upon him ten (times). Then ask Allah to grant me Al-Wasilah, which is a position in paradise which only one of the slaves of Allah will attain, and I hope that I will be the one. Whoever asks for Al-Wasilah for me, will be entitled to my intercession.'"

In this hadith, it is referring to Salah. Salah can mean different things. Some of these hadith regarding blessings upon the Prophet translate into just salah but some translate it into blessings. We only pray to Allah so salah cannot mean praying here but rather supplicating or greeting.

In this hadith, it is being used to mean ‘blessings’. However, in this hadith it is being used to mean ‘prayer’. Also salawat is the plural of salat and the wiki page says that it means praying or supplicating/greeting. Salawat is most commonly known to be used in Tashahud and sending supplications to the Prophet.

In conclusion, the word ‘صلّى’ can mean both of the things you mentioned. It translates into Salat which most people think just means prayer but as stated above, can mean other things as well.

_{See also. It tells you the etymology and meaning in more detail.}