Daf' al-Niqmah fi al-Salat ala Nabi al-Rahmah دفع النقمة في الصلاة على نبي الرحمة صلى الله عليه وسلم

This remarkable work was written by Ibn Abi Hajla (d. 776 AH) in response to the devastating plague of 764 AH that struck Cairo and Damascus and surrounding regions, where thousands died and, at times, there were not enough people available even to bury the dead. Ibn Abi Hajla composed this book with a specific spiritual purpose: to help ward off the plague through abundant salawat—sending blessings upon the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

The first section is devoted to the virtues of salawat, presenting 40 hadiths on the merits and spiritual benefits of invoking blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ as a means of seeking divine mercy and protection. The second section discusses the plague itself—its physical and spiritual causes, Prophetic teachings regarding it, and traditional methods for prevention and treatment.

A distinguished scholar and poet who authored more than one hundred works, Ibn Abi Hajla offers here both a fascinating historical window into how Muslims understood and responded to epidemic disease and a timeless classical work on the virtues and transformative power of salawat.

This edition has been published by Dar al-Fath for the first time, based on a painstaking examination and comparison of four manuscript copies, making it a valuable contribution to the preservation and study of this classical text.