What is the Tashahhud Prayer?
Shaykh Abdullah Sert explains the nature of the tashahhud prayer, how the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) taught it to his companions, and differences in its application during prayer, drawing upon narrations found in Shifa-i Sharif.
The Prophet (PBUH) Taught the Tashahhud to His Companions
Tashahhud is a term that refers to the prayer recited when sitting for tahiyyah. It is known that the Noble Prophet (PBUH) recited approximately thirteen different prayers while sitting for tahiyyah. The tashahhud recited by Hanafi scholars is the one taught by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to Abdullah ibn Mas’ud and his companions, which will be discussed further in the section “Places Where Sending Salat and Salam to the Noble Prophet is Recommended and Accepted” (see II, 421).
Different Narrations of the Tashahhud
In essence, Imam Shafi’i also adopted the tashahhud that the Noble Prophet (PBUH) taught to Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (d. 32/652); this tashahhud does not include salat and salam upon the Prophet. Similarly, the narrations of Abu Hurairah, Abdullah ibn Abbas, Jabir ibn Abdullah, Abdullah ibn Umar, Abu Sa’id al-Hudri, Abu Musa al-Ash’ari, and Abdullah ibn Zubayr do not contain salat and salam upon the Prophet (PBUH).
The Manner of Teaching the Tashahhud
Companions Abdullah ibn Abbas and Jabir ibn Abdullah said: “The Messenger of Allah taught us the tashahhud that we recite in tahiyyah, just as he taught us a chapter from the Quran.” The tashahhud prayer taught by the Prophet (PBUH) to his companions is as follows: “At-tahiyyatu’l-mubarakati, was-salawatu’t-tayyibatu lil-lah, was-salamu ‘alayka yaa nabiYYu wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu, was-salamu ‘alayna wa ‘ala ‘ibaadi Allah as-saaliheen. Ash-hadu an la ilaaha illal-lah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhu wa rasuluhu.” (Muslim, Salat 60, no. 403; Abu Dawud, Salat 177, 178, no. 974.)