What is Salawat Tafrijiyah and how is it recited

Salawat Tafrijiyah is recited widely across Southeast Asia — said in gatherings, taught in religious schools, memorized by many people without always knowing exactly where it came from. Some assume it's a hadith. It isn't. Here's an honest look at what it actually is, where it comes from, and how scholars view it.

The full text

Here is the wording of Salawat Tafrijiyah, as recorded by Malaysia's Federal Territory Mufti's Office (Jabatan Mufti Wilayah Persekutuan) in their official explanation:

اَللّٰهُمَّ صَلِّ صَلَاةً كَامِلَةً وَسَلِّمْ سَلَامًا تَامًّا عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ الَّذِي تَنْحَلُّ بِهِ الْعُقَدُ وَتَنْفَرِجُ بِهِ الْكُرَبُ وَتُقْضَى بِهِ الْحَوَائِجُ وَتُنَالُ بِهِ الرَّغَائِبُ وَحُسْنُ الْخَوَاتِمِ وَيُسْتَسْقَى الْغَمَامُ بِوَجْهِهِ الْكَرِيمِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ فِي كُلِّ لَمْحَةٍ وَنَفَسٍ بِعَدَدِ كُلِّ مَعْلُومٍ لَكَ

Allahumma salli salatan kamilatan wa sallim salaman tamman 'ala sayyidina Muhammadin al-ladhi tanhallu bihil-'uqadu wa tanfariju bihil-kurabu wa tuqda bihil-hawa'iju wa tunalu bihir-ragha'ibu wa husnul-khawatimi wa yustasqal-ghamamu biwajhihil-karimi wa 'ala alihi wa sahbihi fi kulli lamhatin wa nafasin bi'adadi kulli ma'lumin laka.

"O Allah, send complete blessings and perfect peace upon our master Muhammad, by whom knots are untied, hardships are relieved, needs are fulfilled, desires and a good ending are attained, and by whose noble face rain is sought — and upon his family and companions, in every glance and every breath, by the count of everything known to You."

Source: Malaysia's Federal Territory Mufti's Office, Tashih al-Mafahim #20 (2021), citing Yusuf al-Nabhani, al-Afdhal al-Salawat 'ala Sayyid al-Sadat, p. 61.

It's not a hadith — and that's not something to hide

This is the single most important thing to understand: Salawat Tafrijiyah does not appear in any hadith collection of the Prophet ﷺ. It belongs to a category called salawat ghairu ma'thur — meaning a salawat composed later by scholars, not wording that came directly from the Prophet ﷺ himself.

According to sources such as the book Khazinat al-Asrar by Sheikh Muhammad Haqqi al-Nazili, this wording is attributed to Imam al-Qurtubi — which is why it's also known as Salawat Qurtubiyyah. It's also called Salawat Nariyah. The name "Tafrijiyah" itself comes from a word within the text, tanfariju (تنفرج), meaning "to be untangled" or "opened up" — referring to hardship being resolved through the honored standing of the Prophet ﷺ.

Is it permissible to recite?

Malaysia's Federal Territory Mufti's Office issued an official ruling addressing this exact question, specifically responding to claims that this salawat contains an element of shirk (associating partners with Allah). Their conclusion: it contains no such element. The letter "ب" (bi) in the phrase "تنحل به العقد" is understood as al-ba' al-sababiyyah — meaning "by his cause," not a claim that the Prophet ﷺ himself directly produces the effect. This falls under tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through the Prophet's ﷺ standing), a practice accepted without dispute in its basic form, even though scholars differ on some broader forms of tawassul.

The same ruling notes that Egypt's Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah has also permitted this practice. But the same conclusion states plainly: this is a matter of scholarly difference of opinion (khilafiyyah) — those who choose not to recite it aren't wrong, and neither are those who do.

What should come first

One point the same ruling makes clearly: even though Salawat Tafrijiyah is permissible, Muslims are encouraged to prioritize salawat and dhikr that were actually taught by the Prophet ﷺ himself — such as Salawat Ibrahimiyyah, recited during the tashahhud in every prayer, whose source is directly confirmed in authentic hadith.

If you recite Salawat Tafrijiyah because it's already part of your family or community's tradition, there's no issue continuing to do so — it just helps to know clearly where it comes from, so it isn't mistaken for something on the same level as the Prophet's ﷺ own words.

Making it part of a routine

Many people recite Salawat Tafrijiyah at a set time — after prayer, or a fixed number of times each day. Like other dhikr and salawat, it holds up better as a habit when it's tied to a fixed moment rather than remembered at random. Pray auto-blocks distractions at Salah and Adhkar time, calculated on your device, so these moments have real room to happen without a phone getting in the way.