﴿ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَٰتٌۭ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَرَحْمَةٌۭ ۖ وَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُهْتَدُونَ ﴾

“It is they upon whom their Sustainer's blessings and grace are bestowed, and it is they, they who are on the right path!”

They are those on whom [descend] blessings from their Lord, and mercy; it is they who are truly guided.Sahl said:What is implied by blessings (ṣalawāt) upon them is the bestowal of mercy (taraḥḥum) upon them, that is, a bestowal of mercy from their Lord. The Prophet said, �May God bless the family of Abū Awfāʾ, when they brought him charitable donations, by which he meant �[May God] have mercy on them.� He also said:Muḥammad b. Sawwār told us on the authority of Abū ʿAmr b. ʿAlāʾ that he said: �Ṣalāt� has three meanings, one of which is the prescribed prayer with its bowings and prostrations, which is referred to when God says: So pray to Your Lord and sacrifice [108:2], that is, grasp your left arm with your right hand in prayer, in self-abasement and in awe before God, Exalted is He. Thisis also reported from ʿAlī . The second meaning is to show mercy (taraḥḥum) [as discussed above], and the third meaning is supplication (duʿāʾ), as [for example] in the prayer over the dead. Indeed, the Prophet said: �If any of you are invited for a meal, you should [accept the invitation]. But if [the one invited] is fasting he should pray�, that is, he should make a supplicationfor them to be endowed with blessing. Furthermore, the Prophet said in a ḥadīth, ��and may the angels pray over you�, meaning pray for mercy to be bestowed upon you. In this [same] ḥadīth the Prophet went on to say, �And if someone eats at his house, the angels pray over him [the host] until eventide�, meaning the angels supplicate for him. Sahl continued:Ṣalāt carries two meanings: one is the seeking of forgiveness (istighfār), and the other is forgiveness itself (maghfira). As for the meaning of �seeking forgiveness�, it is referred to in His words, And pray for them [9:103], that is, ask forgiveness for them; [and in His words], to [secure] the prayers of the Messenger [9:99], meaning asking for the Messenger�s supplication for forgiveness.