56. Is it mandatory to say sallallah alayhi wasallam (may the peace and blessings of God be upon him) after the Prophet’s name?

It is not mandatory, as your love and respect for the Prophet lies in your heart. Let me explain this through an incident which had taken place in Madinah after the demise of the Prophet Muhammad. When Abu Bakr (Prophet’s closest companion and the first caliph of Islam) arrived in Madinah and saw the inconsolable state of the other Companions, he said the following:

No doubt! Whoever worshipped Muhammad, then Muhammad is dead, but whoever worshipped God, then God is alive and shall never die. (Sahih al-Bukhari, hadith no. 3667)

Abu Bakr did not use any suffix with the name of the Prophet because the respect one has in one’s heart cannot be measured by the use of prefixes or suffixes. It is important to distinguish between true respect and paying lip service. Respect comes from within and does not have to become a matter of ritualistic lip service.