Mufti Taqi Usmani (DB) writes:
My Shaikh Hazrat Abdul Hay Arfi (R) once mentioned: If a person has a need or some sickness or sadness befalls a person, he should always beg from Allah for all his needs to be fulfilled.
But there is a way that I would like to teach you by means of which Allah will definitely fulfil your needs. And that is to recite Durood Shareef whenever experiencing any hardship. Inshallah it will be removed.
There is a proof regarding this point in our Seerah. During the time of our Nabi Sallallahu’alaihi Wasallam whenever a person brought any gift to our Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu’alaihi Wasallam he would gladly accept it and try to give a better gift in return.
This was the lifelong practice of our beloved Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu’alaihi Wasallam. He always gave gifts in return.
The same analogy could be used for our Durood Shareef that we present in the court of Nabi Sallallahu’alaihi Wasallam. It is like a gift. The angels deliver our Durood to Nabi Sallallahu’alaihi Wasallam and mention our names when presenting our gift. It is most likely that our beloved Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu’alaihi Wasallam will reply to our gifts with a Dua, beseeching Allah to fulfil our needs.
Note: Today, it is not possible to directly request Nabi Sallallahu’alaihi Wasallam to make Dua for us, but there is an indirect way to make that request and that is to present Durood Shareef to Him. In return we shall get the Dua of Nabi Sallallahu’alaihi Wasallam. Therefore, we should recite Durood Shareef in abundance to gain these immense benefits.
For this reason, it is reported that many of our elders used to recite abundant Durood Shareef during illnesses and adverse conditions. It is recommended that at least 100 times Durood Shareef should be recited on a daily basis. If one can recite the entire Durood Ibrahimi, then it is better, otherwise any short Durood will suffice. The following are some examples:
اَللهم صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ نِ النَّبِيِّ الْأُمِّيِّ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَاَصْحَابِهِ وَ بَارِكْ وَسَلِّمْ
اَللهم صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَّسَلِّمْ تَسْلِيْمًا
صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمْ
Through the blessings of Durood Shareef, we would be accumulating immense rewards and through the mercy of Allah our needs shall be fulfilled.
[Adapted from Islahi Khutubat, Volume 6, Page 93]