The tashahhud in prayer

The tashahhud is the testimony of faith pronounced by the worshipper in the sitting position during the prayer, first at the end of the second rak'ah and then at the end of the prayer. Jurists have debated its exact status: a pillar (fard) on which the validity of the prayer depends, an obligation (wajib), or a mere sunnah. They have also recorded the wordings transmitted from the Prophet by his Companions and clarified what may be supplicated after the final tashahhud. This article presents the positions of the major schools on these three questions, together with their evidence and classical references.

The Status of the Final Tashahhud in Fiqh

Jurists have differed over the final tashahhud: is it a pillar, an obligation, or a sunnah? Imam Malik, and Ahmad according to one narration from him, held that it is a sunnah and not an obligation. Qadi Abd al-Wahhab al-Maliki (may Allah have mercy on him) formulates the position as follows: the two tashahhuds are both recommended and neither is a pillar, contrary to al-Shafi'i who renders the last one obligatory, and to others who render both of them obligatory. He relies on what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to the Bedouin when teaching him the prayer: "Then sit until you are settled in the sitting position; when you have done that, your prayer is complete." This statement contains two proofs.

The first: had the tashahhud been a pillar, the Prophet would have taught it to this man, even though he knew full well that he did not know how to pray properly. The second: he declared the prayer complete even though this invocation was absent. Several further considerations support this:

• the tashahhud is an invocation specific to the sitting position, and it was therefore not made a pillar as the first prescription was;
• the greeting of peace upon the Prophet does not form part of it, since it is not specific to the sitting: it is used in the funeral prayer and, if one wishes, before the salam that ends the prayer;
• it is an invocation repeated within the prayer, the first tashahhud not being obligatory, and the last follows the same ruling: like the glorification in the bowing, the supplication in the prostration and the recitation other than the Fatiha;
• it is an invocation that is never pronounced aloud in the prayer under any circumstance, like the opening invocation of intention (at-tawajjuh) according to the Maliki principle, and the supplication according to the principle shared by all;
• it is a composite invocation whose condition is the two testimonies of faith, and it therefore resembles the adhan and the iqamah;
• it is an invocation distributed among the movements of the prayer, which does not belong to the compensatory elements (al-mu'jiz) that make up for omitted pillars, like the other invocations;
• finally, its wordings have been transmitted in varied and unfixed forms, which proves that it is not an obligation, for the obligatory invocations are fixed and determined, such as the opening consecration, the final salam and the recitation.

Against those who render both tashahhuds obligatory, the argument is as follows: the Messenger of Allah rose from two rak'ahs and went away, then prostrated out of forgetfulness; yet the prostration of forgetfulness cannot substitute for a pillar. And because every invocation whose omission through forgetfulness leaves the prayer valid also leaves it valid when omitted deliberately: glorification is its origin, and conversely the consecration and the final salam (al-Ishraf, 1/284-285, no. 201; see also Tafsir al-Qurtubi, 1/173; Hashiyat al-Dasuqi, 1/243; Bidayat al-Mujtahid, 1/184; al-Qawanin al-Fiqhiyya, 1/47; al-Sharh al-Saghir, 1/213).

The Hanafis hold that the final tashahhud is an obligation without being a pillar: the Prophet did not teach the tashahhud to the Bedouin, which indicates that it is not one. The Prophet also said:

When the imam sits at the end of his prayer and then speaks before making tashahhud, his prayer is complete.Weak hadith, reported by Abu Dawud (617), at-Tirmidhi (408), ad-Darqutni (1/379) and al-Bayhaqi in as-Sunan al-Kubra (2/139); weakened by ad-Darqutni, al-Bayhaqi and al-Albani

Al-Kasani (may Allah have mercy on him) elaborates: the Prophet said to the Bedouin: "When you raise your head from the last prostration and sit for the duration of the tashahhud, your prayer is complete." He established the completion of the prayer by the sitting alone: had the tashahhud been a pillar, completion would not have been established without it, which proves that it is not one. It nonetheless remains an obligation by virtue of the Prophet's constant practice, and this constant practice stands as proof of obligation wherever the proof that it is not a pillar is established, which is the case here as we have seen: it is therefore an obligation, not a pillar, and Allah knows best (al-Bada'i', 1/163; see also Ma'ani al-Athar, 1/511; al-Ikhtiyar, 1/59; Hashiyat at-Tahtawi, 1/68).

The Shafi'is and the Hanbalis of the madhhab hold that the final tashahhud is a pillar among the pillars of the prayer, without which it is not valid. Their evidence is the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him):

We used to say, before the tashahhud was prescribed: Peace be upon Allah, peace be upon Jibril, peace be upon Mika'il. The Prophet said: "Do not say: Peace be upon Allah, for Allah Himself is Peace; rather say: All greetings are due to Allah..."Authentic hadith, reported by an-Nasa'i (1277) and ad-Darqutni (1/350); al-Bukhari reports it (797) without the words "before it was prescribed to us"

The Shafi'is draw from it the following argument: it is a command, and a command implies obligation; the hadith therefore establishes that the tashahhud became a pillar after not being one. As for the hadith of the Bedouin, it admits several readings: it may date from before the prescription of the tashahhud; the Prophet may have omitted teaching it because he saw no harm in its omission; or he may not have mentioned it because it was already known to his interlocutor, just as he did not mention the intention whose obligation is nonetheless agreed upon. Nor did he mention the sitting designated for the tashahhud, which Abu Hanifa nonetheless holds to be obligatory, nor the final salam, which Malik and the majority of jurists hold to be obligatory.

For the Shafi'is, the minimum of the tashahhud is as follows: "All greetings are due to Allah; peace be upon you, O Prophet, as well as the mercy of Allah and His blessings; peace be upon us and upon the righteous servants of Allah; I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is His servant and messenger." This is the wording adopted by ar-Rafi'i, and an-Nawawi points out that the word "I bear witness" is not required: the statement "and that Muhammad is His servant and messenger" is sufficient. This is likewise the minimum among the Hanbalis, without the words "and His blessings", with a choice between "and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah" and "and that Muhammad is His servant and messenger", owing to the agreement of the narrations (al-Majmu', 3/425-426; Kifayat al-Akhyar, 153; Mughni al-Muhtaj, 1/172; al-Mughni, 2/93; al-Insaf, 2/113; al-Ifsah, 1/173; Kashshaf al-Qina', 1/188; Matalib Uli al-Nuha, 1/499; Manar al-Sabil, 1/104).

The Wordings of the Tashahhud Transmitted by the Companions

The jurists agree that it is permitted to recite any one of the wordings of the tashahhud transmitted from the Prophet through three Companions: Umar ibn al-Khattab, Abdullah ibn Mas'ud and Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them). They then differed as to which of them is best. Abu Hanifa and Ahmad adopted the tashahhud of Ibn Mas'ud, composed of ten phrases:

All greetings are due to Allah, as well as the prayers and the good things; peace be upon you, O Prophet, as well as the mercy of Allah and His blessings; peace be upon us and upon the righteous servants of Allah; I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger.Reported by al-Bukhari (797) and Muslim (402)

Its primacy in their view rests on its unanimous authenticity: at-Tirmidhi says that the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud has been transmitted through several channels and is the most authentic of the hadiths reported from the Prophet concerning the tashahhud; it was also transmitted from the Prophet by Ibn Umar, Jabir, Abu Musa and Aisha, and most people of knowledge act upon it. It is therefore necessary to adopt it and give it precedence (al-Bahr al-Ra'iq, 1/343-344; al-Mabsut, 1/27; Tabyin al-Haqa'iq, 1/121; al-Mughni, 2/88; al-Insaf, 2/77; Kashshaf al-Qina', 1/357; al-Ifsah, 1/174; Manar al-Sabil, 1/14, 105).

Imam Malik adopted the tashahhud of Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him):

All greetings are due to Allah, all pure acts of worship are due to Allah, all good things and prayers are due to Allah; peace be upon you, O Prophet, as well as the mercy of Allah and His blessings; peace be upon us and upon the righteous servants of Allah; I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger.Reported by Malik in the Muwatta (203) and by al-Bayhaqi in as-Sunan al-Kubra (2/144), as a statement halting at Umar with an authentic chain of transmission

This choice rests on the fact that Umar taught these words to the people from the pulpit without anyone objecting to him, nor was it said to him that the tashahhud of the Prophet differed from his: this amounts to a consensus (al-Ishraf, 1/285-286, no. 202; al-Dasuqi, 1/251; al-Istidhkar, 1/485; al-Dhakhira, 2/213; Bidayat al-Mujtahid, 1/184).

Imam al-Shafi'i adopted the tashahhud of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both):

All greetings, blessings, prayers and good things are due to Allah; peace be upon you, O Prophet, as well as the mercy of Allah and His blessings; peace be upon us and upon the righteous servants of Allah; I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.Reported by Muslim (403)

His preference for this wording lies in the presence of the word "blessings", which agrees with the word of Allah, Exalted is He:

"So greet one another with a greeting from Allah, blessed and good."

Surah An-Nur, 61

This connection is developed in al-Majmu' (3/417-418), Sharh Muslim (4/104), Rawdat al-Talibin (1/263) and Mughni al-Muhtaj (1/174).

The Supplication after the Final Tashahhud

The Prophet laid down the rule of the sitting of the final tashahhud in these terms:

If one of you rises from two rak'ahs and cannot complete the prayer standing, let him sit down; if he can complete it standing, he should not sit down, and he should perform the two prostrations of forgetfulness.Authentic hadith, reported by Ibn Majah (1208) and others

The majority of scholars hold that it is recommended for the worshipper, after the final tashahhud, to supplicate Allah as he wishes in the matters of the hereafter as well as of this world, so long as it is not sinful. The evidence is the hadith of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him):

We used to say, while praying with the Prophet: Peace be upon Allah from His servants, peace be upon so-and-so and so-and-so. The Prophet said: "Do not say: Peace be upon Allah, for Allah Himself is Peace; rather say: All greetings are due to Allah, as well as the prayers and the good things; peace be upon you, O Prophet, as well as the mercy of Allah and His blessings; peace be upon us and upon the righteous servants of Allah. For when you say this, it reaches every servant who is in the heaven or between the heaven and the earth. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger; then let him choose the supplication that pleases him most and supplicate." This is the wording of al-Bukhari; in a wording of Muslim: "Let him then choose from his requests whatever he wishes or likes."Reported by al-Bukhari (800) and Muslim (402)

Abu Hanifa, for his part, holds that supplication is permitted only with the supplications transmitted in the Quran and the Sunnah. Such is the invocation that Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) asked the Messenger of Allah to teach him for his prayer:

Say: O Allah, I have wronged myself greatly; there is none who forgives sins except You. So grant me forgiveness from Yourself and have mercy on me, for You are the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim