Should he send blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when he is repeating the adhaan?
Question

                The mu’azzin called for prayer. When he said: “ash-hadu anna Muhammad rasool Allah”, I repeated what he said and sent blessings on the prophet, peace be upon him. Some brother told me that what I added is bid’a (innovation), is this correct? What is the evidence?

I sent blessings on the prophet, peace be upon him, because I heard a hadeeth that means “stingy he is who does not send blessings on me whenever I am mentioned before him” what is the ruling sheikh? Please provide me with an answer, is what I said bid’a?.
Praise be to Allah.
    What is required in the case of dhikrs and du’aa’s that are 
    prescribed for specific situations is to adhere to what is narrated in the 
    Qur’aan and Sunnah, without adding or subtracting anything.  

    Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in 
    Fath al-Baari (11/112): 

    The wording of dhikrs is tawqeefi (i.e., acts of worship 
    which must be done as prescribed in the texts with no room for ijtihaad), 
    and they have special characteristics that cannot be subject to analogy. So 
    one must adhere to the wording as it was narrated. End quote. 

    The evidence for this principle is the fact that the Prophet 
     (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) taught al-Bara’ ibn ‘Aazib 
    (may Allaah be pleased with him) to adhere to the wording without changing 
    it. That was when he taught him the du’aa’ to say when he wanted to sleep. 
    He said to him:

    “When you go to your bed, do wudoo’ as for prayer, then lie 
    down on your right side and say: 

    Allaahumma aslamtu wajhi ilayka wa fawwadtu amri ilayka wa 
    alja’tu zahri ilayka raghbatan wa rahbatan ilayka, la malja’a wa laa manjaa 
    minka illa ilayka. Allaahumma aamantu bi kitaabika alladhi anzalta wa 
    nabiyyika alladhi arsalta (O Allaah I submit my 
    face to You, and I entrust my affairs to You, and I rely totally on You in 
    hope and in fear of You. Verily there is no refuge nor safe haven from You 
    except with You. O Allaah, I believe in Your Book which You have revealed 
    and in Your Prophet whom You have sent).  

    Then if you die during the night, you will have died 
    following the fitrah (sound nature of man). Make these the last words that 
    you speak.” 

    He said: I repeated it back to the Prophet (peace and 
    blessings of Allaah be upon him), and when I reached the words. “Allaahumma 
    aamantu bi kitaabika allaahi anzalta (O Allaah, I believe in Your Book 
    which You have revealed),” I said: “Wa rasoolika (And Your 
    Messenger).” He said: “No. Wa nabiyyika alladhi arsalta (and Your 
    Prophet whom You sent).” 

    Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 224; Muslim, 2710. 

    The practice of the salaf with regard to matters of Sunnah 
    and bid’ah was always to err on the side of caution and to adhere to the 
    narrated Sunnah for fear of falling into bid’ah. 

    Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: 

    “Moderation in applying Sunnah is better than striving hard 
    in following bid’ah.” End quote. Narrated by al-Tabaraani in al-Mu’jam 
    al-Kabeer (10/208). 

    Hence some of the Sahaabah denounced the one who added to 
    that which is prescribed. It was narrated from Naafi’ that a man sneezed 
    beside Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with them) and said “Al-hamdu 
    Lillaah wa’l-salaam ‘ala Rasool-Allaah (Praise be to Allaah and peace be 
    upon the Messenger of Allaah).” 

    Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “And I say, 
    ‘Al-hamdu Lillaah wa’l-salaam ‘ala Rasool-Allaah (Praise be to Allaah and 
    peace be upon the Messenger of Allaah)’ – but this is not what the Messenger 
    of Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) taught us. He 
    taught us to say: ‘Al-hamdu Lillaahi ‘ala kulli haal (Praise be to 
    Allaah in all situations).’” 

    Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (2738) and classed as saheeh by 
    al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi. 

    The Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) 
    used to teach them dhikrs with certain wordings, and he was keen for them to 
    memorize them as Allaah had revealed them to him, just as he taught them 
    soorahs from the Qur’aan, so that they might attain their blessing and 
    virtue before Allaah. 

    Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The 
    Messenger of Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) taught 
    me the tashahhud, holding my hand between his, just as he taught me soorahs 
    from the Qur’aan. Narrated by al-Bukhaari (6265). 

    That also includes what the Prophet  (peace and blessings 
    of Allaah be upon him) taught us about responding to the muezzin. Several 
    ahaadeeth have been narrated concerning that, all of which indicate that it 
    is obligatory to limit ourselves to repeating the words of the muezzin, 
    Ashhadu an laa ilaaha ill-Allaah wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasool Allaah 
    (I bear witness that there is no god but Allaah and I bear witness that 
    Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah), without adding or subtracting 
    anything. 

    It was narrated from Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (may Allaah be 
    pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah  (peace and blessings of 
    Allaah be upon him) said: “When you hear the call to prayer, say what the 
    muezzin says.”

    Narrated by al-Bukhaari (611) and Muslim (383). 

    It was narrated from ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be 
    pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah  (peace and blessings of 
    Allaah be upon him) said: “If the muezzin says, ‘Allaahu akbar, Allaahu 
    akbar (Allaah is most great, Allaah is most great),’ and one of you 
    says, ‘Allaahu akbar, Allaahu akbar (Allaah is most great, Allaah is 
    most great)’; then he says, ‘Ashhadu an laa ilaaha ill-Allaah (I bear 
    witness that there is no god except Allaah),’ and you say, ‘Ashhadu an 
    laa ilaaha ill-Allaah (I bear witness that there is no god except 
    Allaah)’; then he says, ‘Ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasool-Allaah (I 
    bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah),’ and you say, ‘Ashhadu 
    anna Muhammadan rasool-Allaah (I bear witness that Muhammad is the 
    Messenger of Allaah)’; then he says, ‘Hayya ‘ala’l-salaah (Come to 
    prayer),’ and you say, ‘La hawla wa laa quwwata illa Billaah (There 
    is no power and no strength except with Allaah)’; then he says, ‘Hayya 
    ‘ala’l-falaah (Come to prosperity),’ and you say, ‘Laa hawla wa laa 
    quwwata illa Billaah (There is no power and no strength except with 
    Allaah)’; then he says, ‘Allaahu akbar, Allaahu akbar (Allaah is most 
    great, Allaah is most great),’ and you say, ‘Allaahu akbar, Allaahu akbar 
    (Allaah is most great, Allaah is most great)’; then he says, ‘Laa ilaaha 
    ill-Allaah (There is no god but Allaah),’ and one of you says, ‘Laa 
    ilaaha ill-Allaah (There is no god but Allaah),’ from the heart, he will 
    enter Paradise.”

    Narrated by Muslim (385). 

    Think about it: how the Prophet  (peace and blessings of 
    Allaah be upon him) explained in detail when he taught us how to respond to 
    the muezzin, which shows you how necessary it is to adhere to what he has 
    taught us, without adding or subtracting anything, otherwise what is the 
    point of all this explaining and teaching? 

    The Sahaabah understood the aim of the Prophet  (peace 
    and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and they used to adhere to what he 
    taught them, and they did not suggest or add any extra phrases. 

    Al-Bayhaqi narrated in al-Sunan al-Kubra (1/409) with 
    a saheeh isnaad from ‘Eesa ibn Talhah that he said: We entered upon 
    Mu’awiyah and the caller gave the call for prayer. He said: Allaahu 
    akbar, Allaahu akbar, and Mu’aawiyah said; Allaah akbar, Allaahu 
    akbar. He said: Ashhadu an laa ilaaha ill-Allaah, and Mu’aawiyah 
    said: Wa ana ashhadu an laa ilaaha ill-Allaah (And I also bear 
    witness that there is no god but Allaah), he said: Ashhadu anna 
    Muhammadan rasool Allaah, and Mu’aawiyah said, Wa ana ashhadu anna 
    Muhammadan rasool Allaah (and I also bear witness that Muhammad is the 
    Messenger of Allaah). Yahya said: A companion of ours narrated that when he 
    (the muezzin) said Hayya ‘ala al-salaah, he said: Laa hawla was 
    laa quwwata illa Billaah (there is no power and no strength except with 
    Allaah), then he said: This is what we heard your Prophet  (peace and 
    blessings of Allaah be upon him) say. 

    Thus it is clear that you should not add the salawaat 
    (blessings) on the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) 
    when repeating after the muezzin, because the Prophet  (peace and 
    blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not teach us to do that, and neither 
    did his Companions, and it is not known that any of them added anything when 
    he repeated after the muezzin. 

    Every Muslim believes that sending blessings upon the Prophet 
     (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is one of the noblest acts 
    of worship and obedience, but the dhikrs have situations for which they are 
    prescribed, and we should not transgress those limits or add to them. Ibn 
    al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) stated in Jala’ al-Afhaam 
    (327-445) all the situations in which it is prescribed to send blessings 
    upon the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), 
    including: the tashahhud, at the end of Qunoot, during the funeral prayer, 
    and in the khutbah when saying du’aa’. During the adhaan is not among them, 
    rather after the muezzin finishes, one should send blessings upon the 
    Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).  

    Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Jala’ 
    al-Afhaam (1/424): 

    Sending blessings upon the Messenger of Allaah  (peace 
    and blessings of Allaah be upon him), although it is one of the best and 
    most beloved of deeds to Allaah, every dhikr has its own place and time, 
    where no other can take its place. They said: hence it is not prescribed to 
    send blessings upon him when bowing or prostrating or standing up straight 
    after bowing. End quote. 

    Yes, there are ahaadeeth which strongly encourage sending 
    blessings upon the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), 
    for example: 

    It was narrated from Husayn ibn ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib that the 
    Messenger of Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: 
    “The miser is the one in whose presence I am mentioned and he does not send 
    blessings upon me.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (3546) and classed as saheeh by 
    al-Albaani in Irwa’ al-Ghaleel (1/35). 

    It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of 
    Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “May his nose 
    be rubbed in the dust, the one in whose presence I am mentioned and he does 
    not send blessings upon me.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (3545) and classed as 
    saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi. 

    But the scholars explained the meanings of these ahaadeeth. 

    Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in 
    Fath al-Baari (11/168-169): 

    Those who said that it is obligatory to send blessings upon 
    him every time he is mentioned based their view on the ahaadeeth quoted, 
    because the prayer for their noses to be rubbed in the dust and describing 
    them as misers imply a warning, and the warning for omitting something 
    indicates that it is obligatory.  

    Those who did not regard it as obligatory responded in 
    several ways, such as noting that it is an opinion which is not known from 
    any of the Sahaabah or Taabi’een, so it is a fabricated  view, and if that 
    were understood in general terms, it would be obligatory for the muezzin 
    when he gives the adhaan, and the one who hears him, and the reader when he 
    comes across a mention of him in the Qur'aan, and it would be required of 
    the person who enters Islam, when he recites the Shahaadatayn, but that 
    would entail a lot of hardship and difficulty which is contrary to Islam. 
    And praising Allaah whenever He is mentioned would be more deserving of 
    being obligatory, but they did not say that. Al-Qadoori and other Hanafis 
    stated that the view that it is obligatory to send blessings upon the 
    Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) every time he is 
    mentioned is contrary to the scholarly consensus that was present before 
    this view was formed, because it is not narrated from any of the Sahaabah 
    that they addressed the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon 
    him) by saying “O Messenger of Allaah, may Allaah send blessings upon you,” 
    and because if that were the case, the listener would never be free to do 
    any other acts of worship. 

    They responded to what may be understood from the ahaadeeth 
    by noting that they are only confirming the importance of sending blessings 
    upon the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and 
    emphasizing it, and it is addressed to the one who habitually does not send 
    blessings on him  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) at all. 
    End quote.  

    So all of the ahaadeeth that were narrated concerning this 
    topic refer to the places prescribed in sharee’ah, or gatherings in which 
    the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is mentioned in 
    general terms; they do not mean that blessings should be sent on the Prophet 
     (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when he is mentioned in the 
    Shahaadatayn. 

    Ibn al-Qayyim  (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in 
    Jala’ al-Afhaam (1/393-394), when quoting the points in which he refuted 
    the view of those who said it is obligatory to send blessings upon the 
    Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) every time his name 
    is mentioned: 

    1 – It is well known, beyond a doubt, that the righteous 
    salaf who are our example did not mention the salawaat every time the 
    Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was mentioned. This 
    happened innumerable times when they addressed him. They used to say: “O 
    Messenger of Allaah,” and they limited it to that. One of them may have said 
    “May Allaah send blessings upon you”, and this is very clear in many 
    ahaadeeth. If sending blessings upon him had been obligatory when he was 
    mentioned, he would have rebuked them for not doing it. 

    2 – If it were obligatory to send blessings upon him every 
    time he is mentioned, this would have been one of the most obvious 
    obligations and the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) 
    would have explained it to his ummah in such a way that they would have no 
    excuse and proof would be established. 

    3 – This view is not known from any of the Sahaabah, 
    Taabi’een or those who came after them. 

    4 – If it were obligatory to send blessings upon him every 
    time he is mentioned, then it would be obligatory for the muezzin to say: 
    Ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasool-Allaah sall Allaahu ‘alayhi wa salaam (I 
    bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah  (peace and 
    blessings of Allaah be upon him)). But this is not prescribed for him in the 
    adhaan, let alone made obligatory. 

    5 – It is obligatory for the one who hears the call and 
    responds to it to send blessings upon him. The listener is enjoined to say 
    what the muezzin says, which indicates that it is permissible to limit it to 
    what he says: Ashhadu an laa ilaaha ill-Allaah, Ashhadu anna 
    Muhammadan rasool-Allaah (I bear witness that there is no god except 
    Allaah, I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah).. This is 
    what the muezzin says. End quote. 

    Hence in the books of fiqh there is mention of times and 
    places when it is makrooh to send blessings upon the Prophet  (peace and 
    blessings of Allaah be upon him). 

    In Tuhfat al-Muhtaaj, which is a Shaafa’i book, it 
    says (2/65): 

    If the worshipper recites or hears a verse in which the name 
    of the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is 
    mentioned, it is not mustahabb to send blessings upon him, as the author 
    said in a fatwa (i.e., al-Nawawi). End quote. 

    Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar al-Haytami said in al-Fataawa 
    al-Fiqhiyyah al-Kubra (1/131): 

    There are other ahaadeeth which are similar to the ahaadeeth 
    quoted above, but we have not seen in them any mention of sending blessings 
    on him before the adhaan, or when the muezzin says Muhammad Rasool Allaah 
    afterwards. We have not seen in the words of our imams any mention of that 
    either. In that case neither of these two things is Sunnah in the place 
    mentioned. The one who does one of them, believing that it is Sunnah in that 
    particular place, should be told not to do that and prevented from doing it, 
    because it is inserting an idea without evidence, and the one who do that 
    should be rebuked and told not to do that. End quote. 

    In Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz (10/334) it says: 

    Similarly, what some people do of adding blessings upon the 
    Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to the adhaan when 
    the muezzin says Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah, by adding “al-salaah ‘ala 
    al-Nabi (blessings upon the Prophet),” raising their voice with the 
    adhaan or in the microphone, is not permissible and is also an innovation 
    (bid’ah). End quote. 

    But if the listener does that occasionally, not because he 
    thinks it is obligatory or that it is one of the dhikrs to be recited at 
    that time or that it is part of repeating the adhaan as prescribed, then we 
    hope that there is nothing wrong with it, and that does not reach the point 
    of being bid’ah, in sha Allaah. 
And Allaah knows best.