بَابُ التَّشَهُدِThe Tashahhud

It is narrated from Ali ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Mu’awi who said: "Abdullah ibn Umar saw me playing with pebbles during prayer. When he finished, he forbade me and said: 'Do as the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used to do.' I asked: 'How did the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) do it?' He said: 'When he sat in prayer, he placed his right hand on his right thigh, clenched all his fingers, pointed with the finger next to the thumb, and placed his left hand on his left thigh.'" [Narrated by Abu Dawud and Muslim]

Imam Ibn al-Humam said: "There is no doubt that placing the palm while clenching the fingers is not possible. The intended meaning, and Allah knows best, is to place the palm first, then clench the fingers afterward when pointing."

It is narrated from Wa’il ibn Hujr (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: "I said to myself: 'I will observe how the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) prays.' He stood for prayer... (the Hadith continues) ...then he sat and spread his left leg, placed his left hand on his left thigh, rested his right elbow on his right thigh, clenched two fingers, made a circle, and pointed with his index finger." [Narrated by Abu Dawud]

It is narrated from Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: "The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to point with his finger when supplicating and did not move it." [Narrated by Abu Dawud and Al-Nasa’i) Abu Dawud added: "And his gaze did not go beyond his pointing." In a narration by Ahmad: "The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'It is more severe against Satan than iron.'"

It is narrated from Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: "A man was supplicating with two fingers, so the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: 'One, one.'" [Narrated by Al-Tirmidhi, Al-Nasa’i, and Al-Bayhaqi in Al-Da’awat al-Kabir]

It is narrated from Asim ibn Kulayb, from his father, from his grandfather who said: "I entered upon the Prophet (peace be upon him) while he was praying. He had placed his left hand on his left thigh and his right hand on his right thigh, clenched his fingers, extended his index finger, and was saying: 'O Turner of the hearts, make my heart firm upon Your religion.'" [Narrated by Al-Tirmidhi in his book Al-Da’awat from his Jami’]

In Al-Sa’ayah: "This Hadith indicates that the Prophet (peace be upon him) continued this practice after forming the gesture and did not revert to his previous posture."

Ali al-Qari said in Tazhib al-Ibara: "The correct and preferred opinion among the majority of our scholars is to place the palms on the thighs, then, upon reaching the declaration of Tawhid (لا إله إلا الله), to fold the ring and little fingers, make a circle with the middle finger and thumb, and point with the index finger, raising it during negation (لا إله) and lowering it during affirmation (إلا الله), then continuing in this manner."

It is narrated from Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: "We were with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and did not know anything. He said to us: 'Say in every sitting: "All compliments, prayers, and pure words are due to Allah. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and 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 except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger."" [Narrated by Al-Nasa’i]

It is narrated from Abu Ma’mar who said: "I heard Abdullah (ibn Mas’ud) say: 'The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) taught us the Tashahhud as he taught us a Surah from the Quran: "All compliments, prayers, and pure words are due to Allah. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and 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 except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger."" [Narrated by Al-Nasa’I and similar narrations are found in Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Al-Tirmidhi, and Ibn Majah]

Al-Tirmidhi said: "The Hadith of Ibn Mas’ud has been narrated through multiple chains, and it is the most authentic Hadith from the Prophet (peace be upon him) regarding the Tashahhud. It is the practice followed by most scholars among the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the successors, including Sufyan al-Thawri, Ibn al-Mubarak, Ahmad, and Ishaq." Al-Bazzar said: "The most authentic Hadith regarding the Tashahhud, in my view, is the Hadith of Ibn Mas’ud, narrated through more than twenty chains. No Hadith from the Prophet (peace be upon him) is more established, with a stronger chain, more renowned narrators, or more corroborated by multiple chains."

Muslim said: "The people have unanimously agreed upon the Tashahhud of Ibn Mas’ud because his companions did not differ among themselves, unlike others whose companions differed." Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Dhuhali said: "The Hadith of Ibn Mas’ud is the most authentic narration regarding the Tashahhud."

Al-Tabarani narrated in Al-Kabir from Buraydah ibn al-Khusayb (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: "I have not heard anything better than the Tashahhud of Ibn Mas’ud." This was mentioned by Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar.

It is narrated from al-Qasim ibn Mukhaymirah who said: "Alqamah took my hand and told me that Abdullah ibn Mas’ud took his hand, and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) took Abdullah’s hand and taught him the Tashahhud in prayer." [Narrated by Abu Dawud]

Our Imam Abu Hanifah narrated: "Hammad ibn Sulayman took my hand and taught me the Tashahhud. Hammad said: 'Ibrahim took my hand and taught me the Tashahhud.' Ibrahim said: 'Alqamah took my hand and taught me the Tashahhud.' Alqamah said: 'Abdullah ibn Mas’ud took my hand and taught me the Tashahhud.' Abdullah said: 'The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) took my hand and taught me the Tashahhud as he taught me a Surah from the Quran.'" This was mentioned by Ibn al-Humam.

It is narrated from Abdullah (ibn Mas’ud) who said: "I took the Tashahhud directly from the mouth of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and he taught it to me word by word." [Narrated by Al-Tahawi) Muhammad (al-Shaybani) said: "Abdullah ibn Mas’ud disliked adding or removing even a single letter from it."

It is narrated from Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: "Abu Bakr used to teach us the Tashahhud on the pulpit as you teach children the Quran." Then he mentioned the Tashahhud of Ibn Mas’ud exactly. [Narrated by Al-Tahawi]

It is narrated from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) who said: "This is the Tashahhud of the Prophet (peace be upon him): "All compliments, prayers, and pure words are due to Allah..." (similar to the Tashahhud of Ibn Mas’ud)." [Narrated by Al-Bayhaqi]

Al-Nawawi said in Al-Khulasa: "Its chain is good." In Al-Sa’ayah: "It contains a good benefit, which is that his Tashahhud was not in the exact wording of our Tashahhud."

It is narrated from Khufayf who said: "I saw the Prophet (peace be upon him) in a dream and said: 'O Messenger of Allah, the people have differed regarding the Tashahhud.' He said: 'Stick to the Tashahhud of Ibn Mas’ud.'" [Narrated by Al-Tirmidhi]

This was mentioned by Al-Zayla’i, Ibn al-Humam, Ibn Hajar, and Al-Ayni.

Ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "It is from the Sunnah to recite the Tashahhud quietly." [Narrated by Abu Dawood and Al-Tirmidhi, who said: "This is a Hasan Gharib Hadith."]

He (Ibn Mas‘ud) also said: "The Prophet ﷺ, in the first two Rak‘ahs, would be as if he were sitting on hot stones until he stood up." [Narrated by Al-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawood, and Al-Nasa’i]

And in another narration by Ahmad from the Prophet ﷺ: "Then if he was in the middle of the prayer, he would rise as soon as he finished his Tashahhud."