What does the symbol ﷺ after the name Muḥammad mean, and why is it used?

It abbreviates ṣalla Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam, “God bless him and grant him peace.” Muslims say it because the Qur’an commands believers to ask blessings on the Prophet, and because the Prophet taught that each such prayer is answered tenfold.

Why do Muslims say ﷺ after the Prophet’s name?

The symbol ﷺ is a single Unicode character that writes out a short prayer: ṣalla Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Writers use it after the Prophet’s name in place of the full phrase.

The command in the Qur’an

إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ ۚ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا ۝٥٦

Indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [Allah to grant him] peace.

QUR’AN 33:56Sahih International

The reward described by the Prophet

Narrated by Abū Hurayra

مَنْ صَلَّى عَلَيَّ وَاحِدَةً صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ عَشْرًا

Whoever sends blessings upon me once, God sends blessings upon him tenfold.

Sahih Muslim 408Ṣaḥīḥ

Saying the phrase is therefore an act of worship in its own right, not only a mark of respect.¹

Notes

Older English writing sometimes abbreviates the phrase as “(s)” or “PBUH”. Spelling it out, or using the single character ﷺ, is clearer. ↩︎