Allah's Prayer

In this post I shall show the Jewish background of the notion that Allah prays.

In Ibn Kathir's tafsir for S 33:56 we read:

And Ibn Abi Hatim said: Ali bin Al-Hussein told us, Ahmad bin Abd Al-Rahman told us, my father told me, from his father, on the authority of Ash’ath bin Ishaq, from Jaafar - meaning: Ibn Al-Mughira - from Sa'id bin Jubayr, from Ibn Abbas: The Banu Isra'il said to Musa, peace be upon him: Does your lord pray? Then his lord called him: Musa, they asked you: “Does your Lord pray?” So say: Yes, I and my angels only pray for my prophets and my messengers.

Earlier in the same tafsir we read:

Then Ibn Abi Hatim said: Amr Al-Awdi told us, Waki' told us, from Al-Amash, from Amr bin Murrah, Al-Amash from 'Atta bin Abi Rabbah said (Allah and his angels pray for the prophet), he said: His prayer is, may he be blessed and exalted: Praise, holy, may my mercy precede my anger. The Noble Qur’an - Tafsir Ibn Kathir - Interpretation of Surat Al-Ahzab - Verse 56

Now this is derived from something in the Talmud. In Berakhot 7a we read:

Along the same lines, Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Yosei: From where is it derived that the Holy One, Blessed be He, prays? As it is stated: “I will bring them to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in the house of My prayer” (Isaiah 56:7). The verse does not say the house of their prayer, but rather, “the house of My prayer”; from here we see that the Holy One, Blessed be He, prays.

The Gemara asks: What does God pray?

Rav Zutra bar Tovia said that Rav said: God says: May it be My will that My mercy will overcome My anger towards Israel for their transgressions, and may My mercy prevail over My other attributes through which Israel is punished, and may I conduct myself toward My children, Israel, with the attribute of mercy, and may I enter before them beyond the letter of the law. Berakhot 7a

Now, the Biblical passage has har qodshi (mountain of my holiness) for 'my holy mountain', beyt tefilati (house of my prayer) for 'my house of prayer'. Older Hebrew could also have kisse khevodo (throne of his glory) for 'his glorious throne', as in the Delitzsch translations for Matthew 19:28 and 25:31. https://www.wordproject.org/bibles/he/

The rabbi's argument based on the Hebrew Bible shows that the Talmud is the origin of the notion that Allah prays.

Elsewhere we find an invocation for Allah to pray for the founder of Islam and his family, with a distinction made between praying and blessing. From Ibn Kathir for S 33:56

«قُولُوا: اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ، كَمَا صَلَّيْتَ عَلَى آلِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ ، إِنَّكَ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ، اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ، كَمَا بَارَكْتَ عَلَى آلِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، إِنَّكَ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيد»

(Say: "O Allah, send Your Salah upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent Your Salah upon the family of Ibrahim, verily You are the Most Praiseworthy, Most Glorious. O Allah, send Your blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent Your blessings upon the family of Ibrahim, verily You are Most Praiseworthy, Most Glorious.'')'' Imam Ahmad recorded that Ibn Abi Layla said that Ka`b bin `Ujrah met him and said, "Shall I not give you a gift The Messenger of Allah came out to us and we said, `O Messenger of Allah! We know how to send Salam upon you, but how can we send Salah' He said:

«قُولُوا: اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ، كَمَا صَلَّيْتَ عَلَى آلِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ ، إِنَّكَ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ، اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ، كَمَا بَارَكْتَ عَلَى آلِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، إِنَّكَ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيد»

(Say: "O Allah, send Your Salah upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent Your Salah upon the family of Ibrahim, verily You are the Most Praiseworthy, Most Glorious. O Allah, send Your blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent Your blessings upon the family of Ibrahim, verily You are Most Praiseworthy, Most Glorious.'')'' This Hadith has been recorded by the Group in their books with different chains of narration. Ibn Al Kathir commentary for verse 33.56

Elsewhere we read:

Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "If anyone prays once on me, Allah will pray ten times on him.'"

https://sunnah.com/urn/2206300 / Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 645

1387. Abu Umama reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Allah and His angels and the people of the heavens and the earth, even the ants in their rocks and the fish, pray for blessings on those who teach people good." [at-Tirmidhi]

1397. 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As reported the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, says, "Anyone who says a prayer on me, Allah will pray on him ten times on account of it." [Muslim] riyad7

Allah Prays Passages

Some Thoughts on Salla ‘Ala (‘Pray Upon’)