The recitation in the First Tashahhud

The recitation in the First Tashahhud

What should be recited when sitting for the first tashahhud?

I wonder if you could enlighten how to say the tashahhud in the solat that contains three and four rak`at. I mean do I have to say the whole tashahhud in the second rak’ah? Please offer the evidences from the Quran and Sunnah.

In the name of Allāh, Most Gracious, Most Merciful;

All the praise and thanks is due to Allāh. Peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Firstly: There is a different of views by the scholars. The first tashahhud in a three or four rak’ah solat is obligatory part of solat which is considered to be the more correct of the two scholarly views.

There are various versions of the tashahhud, some of which commonly recited are as follows:

The tashahhud of Ibn 'Abbās (radiallāhu`anhu): "The Messenger of Allāh (Sallallāhu `Alayhi Wa Sallam) used to teach us the tashahhud the way he taught us [Surahs of] the Qur'an; he used to say,

“At-tahiyyatul mubaraka tus-salawātut-tayyibātu lillah. As-salāmu ‘alayka ayyuha’n-Nabiyyu wa rahmat-Allahi wa barakātuhu. As-salāmu ‘alayna wa ‘alā ‘ibadillāh is-sālihīn. Ash-hadu an lā ilāha ill-Allāh wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan Rasūlullah [in one narration: ‘abduhu wa rasūluh]”

(All compliments, blessed words, prayers, pure words are due to Allāh. Peace be on you, O Prophet, and also the mercy of Allāh and His blessings. Peace be on us and on the righteous slaves of Allah. I bear witness that none has the right to be worshiped except Allāh, and [I bear witness] that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allāh (in one narration: ... is His slave and messenger).)

[Muslim, Abu ‘Awanah, Shafi’ie and Nasa’ie]

Ibn Mas’ūd (radiallāhu`anhu) recited the tashahhud as follows:

“At-tahiyyātu Lillāhi wa’s-salawātu wa’t-tayyibāt, as-salāmu ‘alayka ayyuha’n-Nabiyyu wa rahmat-Allāhi wa barakātuhu. As-salāmu ‘alayna wa ‘alā ‘ibadillāh is-sālihīn. Ash-hadu an lāilāha ill-Allāh wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhu wa rasūluh”

(All compliments, prayers and pure words are due to Allāh. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allāh and His blessings. Peace be upon us, and on the righteous slaves of Allāh. I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allāh, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger).

[Narrated by al-Bukhari (6265) and Muslim (402)]

Secondly: The scholars differed as to whether it is prescribed to send blessings on the Prophet (Sallallāhu `Alayhi Wa Sallam) after reciting the first tashahhud.

There are two views:

1. That blessings should be sent on the Prophet (Sallallāhu `Alayhi Wa Sallam).This is the view of al-Shafi’e (rahimallāh) and he said that one who does not do it should do the sujud al-sahwi.

The view that it is prescribed was also favoured by Ibn Hazam in al-Muhalla (2/302).

Muslim recorded in his Sahih under ‘The Book on Blessings on the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alaihi wa sallam) after Tashahhud’ that Abdullāh bin Zaid, one who was shown the adzān (the call for prayer) in a dream, narrated it on the authority of Abu Mas`ud Al-Ansari (radiallāhu‘anhu) said: "We came to the Messenger of Allāh and we were with Sa`ad bin `Ubadah. Bashir bin Sa`ad said to him, `Allāh has commanded us to send Salāh upon you, O Messenger of Allāh. How can we send Salāh upon you' The Messenger of Allāh remained quiet for so long that we wished that he had not asked him, then the Messenger of Allāh said [ For blessing me]:

«قُولُوا: اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ، كَمَا صَلَّيْتَ عَلَى آلِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ ، وَبَارِكْ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ، كَمَا بَارَكْتَ عَلَى آلِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ فِي الْعَالَمِينَ، إِنَّكَ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ ,وَالسَّلَامُ كَمَا قَدْ عَلِمْتُم»

“Say: “Allāhumma salli ‘ala Muhammad wa ‘ala āli Muhammad kamā sallaita ‘ala āli Ibrāhīm; Wa bārik ‘ala Muhammad wa ‘ala āli Muhammad kama bārakta ‘ala āli Ibrāhīm fil-‘ālamīn; Innaka Hamīdun Majīd”

(O Allāh! Send Prayers upon Muhammad and the members of his household as You Sent Prayers upon the members of Ibrahim's household; And Send Blessings to Muhammad and the members of his household as You  granted Blessings upon the members of the household of Ibrahim, among all the nations’ Verily You are Most Praiseworthy, Full of Glory)”,

“And the Salutation [i.e ‘As-salāmu ‘alaika ayyuhan-Nabiyyu wa rahmat-Allāhi wa barakātuh’] as you about knows it.”

[Muslim (803): Book on Blessings on the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alaihi wa sallam) after Tashahhud; this narration uses the phrase: ‘ala āli Ibrāhīm, fil-‘ālamīn; Innaka Hamīdun Majīd”]); this narration is Linguistically sound; more comprehensive] This was also recorded by Abu Dawud, An-Nasa'i, At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Jarir. At-Tirmidhi said, "It is Hasan Sahih.''

Al-Shafi’e said: Tashahhud and blessings on the Prophet (Sallallāhu `Alayhi Wa Sallam) in the first tashahhud of every solat except Fajr are two tashahhuds, first and second. If a person omits the first tashahhud and sending blessings on the Prophet (Sallallāhu `Alayhi Wa Sallam) in the first tashahhud by mistake, he does not have to repeat (the solāt) but he has to do the sujud al-sahwi for forgetting it.

[Al-Umm (1/228)]

The first tashahhud and salawāt as recited by al-Shafi’es:

“At-tahiyyatul mubaraka tus-salawātut-tayyibātu lillah. As-salāmu ‘alayka ayyuha’n-Nabiyyu wa rahmat-Allahi wa barakātuhu. As-salāmu ‘alayna wa ‘alā ‘ibadillāh is-sālihīn. Ash-hadu an lā ilāha ill-Allāh wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan Rasūlullah [in one narration: ‘abduhu wa rasūluh]; Allāhumma Salli`ala Muhammad.”

Forgotten the first tashahhud

Al-Mughirah bin Shu‘bah who reported said:

The Prophet (Sallallāhu `Alayhi Wa Sallam) said: “If the Imām [mistakenly] stands up after the second rak‘ah, but realized that he has to sit, [just] before he straightens himself (upright), then he should sit down; and if he straightened upright, he should not sit and [to] make two prostrations of forgetfulness”

[Abu Dawud, No. 1036; Silsilah Al-Sahihah, 321]

In short, the hadith could be deduced if someone stands up for the third rak‘ah, forgetting the [first] tashahhud, he is in one of the three situations:

• He remembers it before standing up straight: then he should return to tashahhud.

• He remembers after I’tidal, and before starting the recitation of Al-Fātihah: then it is better for him not to sit, if he sits his solat will be correct.

• He remembers it after starting the recitation of al-Fātihah: then he is not allowed to return to tashahhud. [He is s to perform the sujud al-sahwi at the end of the solat].

[Al-Mughni 1/677]

2. That he should only recite the tashahhud as far as the Shahādatayn, and not add the blessings on the Prophet (Sallallāhu `Alayhi Wa Sallam).

This is the view of the majority of fuqaha’, and was favoured by contemporary scholars Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymīn (may Allāh have mercy on him).

The majority of fuqaha’ are of the view that the worshipper should not add blessings on the Prophet (Sallallāhu `Alayhi Wa Sallam) to the tashahhud in the first tashahhud. This is the view of al-Nakha’ie, al-Thawri and Ishaq.

The Shafi’es are of the view that it is mustahabb to recite the blessings on the Prophet (Sallallāhu `Alayhi Wa Sallam), and this is the view of al-Sha’bi.

But as for the final tashahhud of his solat, there is no difference of opinion among the fuqaha’ that it is prescribed to send blessings on the Prophet (Sallallāhu `Alayhi Wa Sallam) after the tashahhud.

[Al-Mawsū’ah al-Fiqhiyyah (12/39)]

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymīn (rahimallāh) said: It is not mustahabb to send blessings on the Prophet (Sallallāhu `Alayhi Wa Sallam)  in the first tashahhud; this is what may be understood from the Sunnah, because the Prophet (Sallallāhu `Alayhi Wa Sallam) taught Ibn Mas’ud and Ibn ‘Abbās this tashahhud only, and Ibn Mas’ūd said: We used to say before the tashahhud was enjoined on us, and he mentioned the first tashahhud only, and did not mention blessings on the Prophet (Sallallāhu `Alayhi Wa Sallam) in the first tashahhud. If it was Sunnah then the Messenger (Sallallāhu `Alayhi Wa Sallam) would have taught it to them in the tashahhud.

As for the hadith when sahābah ask the prophet (Sallallāhu `Alayhi Wa Sallam) saying “O Messenger of Allāh, we know how to send salaam upon you, but how should we send blessings upon you when we send blessings upon you in our prayer?” it was a question about how to do it, and it does not mention when to do it. There is a difference between specifying when and specifying how.

In the Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah it says that the Messenger (Sallallāhu `Alayhi Wa Sallam) used to recite the tashahhud in this sitting but he did not say duā’. Despite that, if someone sends blessings on the Prophet (Sallallāhu `Alayhi Wa Sallam) in the first tashahhud, we would not denounce him, but if he asked us which is better, we would say that limiting it to the tashahhud only is better, but if he sends blessings on the Prophet (Sallallāhu `Alayhi Wa Sallam), he should not be told not to do that, because it is additional goodness and there is a possibility that it is correct, even though the view that sending blessings on the Prophet at that point in the solāt is weak.

[al-Sharh al-Mumti’ (3/225)]

And Allah Almighty Knows best.

[Excerpted with modification from Fatwa No: 89871 Islam QA]

Please See : The First Tashahhud The Solāh of the Prophet