Darood Sharif Taj

The Arabic

اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَىٰ سَيِّدِنَا وَمَوْلَانَا مُحَمَّدٍ، صَاحِبِ التَّاجِ وَالْمِعْرَاجِ وَالْبُرَاقِ وَالْعَلَمِ، دَافِعِ الْبَلَاءِ وَالْوَبَاءِ وَالْقَحْطِ وَالْمَرَضِ وَالْأَلَمِ. اسْمُهُ مَكْتُوبٌ مَرْفُوعٌ مَشْفُوعٌ مَنْقُوشٌ فِي اللَّوْحِ وَالْقَلَمِ، سَيِّدِ الْعَرَبِ وَالْعَجَمِ، جِسْمُهُ مُقَدَّسٌ مُعَطَّرٌ مُطَهَّرٌ مُنَوَّرٌ فِي الْبَيْتِ وَالْحَرَمِ. شَمْسِ الضُّحَىٰ، بَدْرِ الدُّجَىٰ، صَدْرِ الْعُلَىٰ، نُورِ الْهُدَىٰ، كَهْفِ الْوَرَىٰ، مِصْبَاحِ الظُّلَمِ، جَمِيلِ الشِّيَمِ، شَفِيعِ الْأُمَمِ، صَاحِبِ الْجُودِ وَالْكَرَمِ. وَاللَّهُ عَاصِمُهُ، وَجِبْرِيلُ خَادِمُهُ، وَالْبُرَاقُ مَرْكَبُهُ، وَالْمِعْرَاجُ سَفَرُهُ، وَسِدْرَةُ الْمُنْتَهَىٰ مَقَامُهُ، وَقَابَ قَوْسَيْنِ مَطْلُوبُهُ، وَالْمَطْلُوبُ مَقْصُودُهُ، وَالْمَقْصُودُ مَوْجُودُهُ. سَيِّدِ الْمُرْسَلِينَ، خَاتَمِ النَّبِيِّينَ، شَفِيعِ الْمُذْنِبِينَ، أَنِيسِ الْغَرِيبِينَ، رَحْمَةٍ لِلْعَالَمِينَ. رَاحَةِ الْعَاشِقِينَ، مُرَادِ الْمُشْتَاقِينَ، شَمْسِ الْعَارِفِينَ، سِرَاجِ السَّالِكِينَ، مِصْبَاحِ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ. مُحِبِّ الْفُقَرَاءِ وَالْغُرَبَاءِ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ، سَيِّدِ الثَّقَلَيْنِ، نَبِيِّ الْحَرَمَيْنِ، إِمَامِ الْقِبْلَتَيْنِ، وَسِيلَتِنَا فِي الدَّارَيْنِ، صَاحِبِ قَابَ قَوْسَيْنِ، مَحْبُوبِ رَبِّ الْمَشْرِقَيْنِ وَالْمَغْرِبَيْنِ، جَدِّ الْحَسَنِ وَالْحُسَيْنِ، مَوْلَانَا وَمَوْلَى الثَّقَلَيْنِ، أَبِي الْقَاسِمِ مُحَمَّدِ ابْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، نُورٍ مِنْ نُورِ اللَّهِ. يَا أَيُّهَا الْمُشْتَاقُونَ بِنُورِ جَمَالِهِ، صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَأَصْحَابِهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا.

Meaning (summary)

"O Allah, send blessings upon our master and protector Muhammad, the possessor of the crown, the ascension, the Buraq, and the standard. The one who repels calamity, plague, drought, sickness, and pain. His name is written, elevated, honoured, and inscribed on the Preserved Tablet and Pen. The master of Arabs and non-Arabs, whose body is sacred, fragrant, purified, and illuminated in the House and the Sanctuary. Sun of the forenoon, full moon of the darkness, foremost in nobility, light of guidance, refuge of creation, lamp in the shadows, of beautiful character, intercessor of nations, possessor of generosity and grace..."

The full translation runs several paragraphs. It is entirely a devotional composition praising the Prophet ﷺ with 14 attributes and stations.

The honest note on its status

Darood Taj is not narrated from the Prophet ﷺ in any of the primary hadith collections. It is a later composition, likely from the South Asian Chishti tradition. Some claim it was authored by Shaykh Abu Bakr as-Siddiq al-Habashi. Others attribute it to Sayyid Ahmad al-Kabir ar-Rifa`i. Either way, it is not a Prophetic wording.

This matters for two reasons:

• For salah: the salawat you say in tashahhud must be one narrated from the Prophet ﷺ. Use Durood Ibrahim there. Do not use Darood Taj inside prayer.
• For personal recitation: reciting a composed salawat with praise for the Prophet ﷺ is not sinful in itself, provided the wording does not contain shirk or exaggeration that raises him above his human station. Several fatwa bodies, including Darul Uloom Deoband and IslamQA, go further than calling the disputed lines poetic: they describe specific phrases as doctrinally objectionable or shirk-adjacent. Others read the same lines as figurative praise. Given that dispute, treat Darood Taj as optional personal devotion, not as a form to teach as safe by default.

How to use Darood Taj if you recite it

• Recite it outside of salah, as personal dhikr or in a gathering.
• Count on your fingers or with the counter. Any number is welcome.
• Never claim a specific "reward for reciting it N times" as if it is a Sunnah promise; those numbers come from local tradition, not from hadith.
• If you are unsure about a line, pause and check with a scholar you trust.