Tashahhud

The Tashahhud (Arabic: تَشَهُّد, meaning "testimony [of faith]"), also known as at-Tahiyyat (Arabic: ٱلتَّحِيَّات), is the portion of the Muslim prayer where the person kneels or sits on the ground facing the qibla (direction of Mecca), glorifies God, and greets Muhammad and the "righteous servants of God" followed by the two testimonials. The recitation is usually followed by an invocation of the blessings and peace upon Muhammad known as Salawat.

Origins[edit]

There is a Hadith, thought to be authentic that states:^[1]

Ibn Mas'ud is reported to have said that the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) taught me tashahhud taking my hand within his palms, in the same way as he taught me the chapter of the Quran, and we also read it after his passing away.

Sunni tradition[edit]

Hanafi and Hanbali[edit]

A version attributed to Abdullah ibn Masud is used by Sunni Muslims from both the Hanafi and the Hanbali schools, as well as the non-Sunni Ibadi Muslims:

ٱلتَّحِيَّاتُ لِلَّٰهِ وَٱلصَّلَوَاتُ وَٱلطَّيِّبَاتُ، ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ أَيُّهَا ٱلنَّبِيُّ وَرَحْمَةُ ٱللَّٰهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ، ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْنَا وَعَلَىٰ عِبَادِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلصَّالِحِينَ، أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّٰهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ.
at-taḥiyyātu li-llāhi, wa-ṣ-ṣalawātu wa-ṭ-ṭayyibāt^u. as-salāmu ʿalayka ʾayyuhā n-nabiyyu wa raḥmatu -llāhi wa barakātuh^u. as-salāmu ʿalaynā wa ʿalā ʿibādi -llāhi ṣ-ṣāliḥīn^a. ʾashhadu ʾan lā ʾilāha ʾillā -llāhu wa ʾashhadu ʾanna muḥammadan ʿabduhu wa rasūluh^ū.
"Salutations to God and prayers and good deeds. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, as well as God's mercy and His blessings. Peace be upon us and upon the righteous servants of God. I bear witness that there is no deity but God, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His messenger."^[2]

Maliki[edit]

A version attributed to Umar is used by the Maliki school:

ٱلتَّحِيَّاتُ لِلَّٰهِ ٱلزَّاكِيَاتُ لِلَّٰهِ ٱلطَّيِّبَاتُ وَٱلصَّلَوَاتُ لِلَّٰهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ أَيُّهَا ٱلنَّبِيُّ وَرَحْمَةُ ٱللَّٰهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ، ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْنَا وَعَلَىٰ عِبَادِ ٱللَّٰهُ ٱلصَّالِحِينَ، أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّٰهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ.
at-taḥīyātu li-llāhi, az-zākiyātu li-llāhi aṭ-ṭayyibātu wa-ṣ-ṣalawātu li-llāhⁱ. as-salāmu ʿalayka ayyuhā n-nabīyu wa-raḥmatu -llāhi wa-barakātuh^u. as-salāmu ʿalaynā wa-ʿalā ʿibādi -llāhi ṣ-ṣāliḥīn^a. ʾashhadu an lā ʾilāha ʾillā -llāhu wa-ʾashhadu ʾanna muḥammadan ʿabduhū wa-rasūluh^ū.
"Salutations to God. Pureness to God. Good deeds and prayers to God. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, as well as God's mercy and His blessings. Peace be upon us and upon the righteous servants of God. I bear witness that there is no deity but God, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His messenger."^[3]

Shafi'i[edit]

A version attributed to Ibn Abbas is used by the Shafi'i school:

ٱلتَّحِيَّاتُ ٱلْمُبَارَكَاتُ ٱلصَّلَوَاتُ ٱلطَّيِّبَاتُ لِلَّٰهِ، ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ أَيُّهَا ٱلنَّبِيُّ وَرَحْمَةُ ٱللَّٰهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ، ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْنَا وَعَلَىٰ عِبَادِ ٱللَّٰهُ ٱلصَّالِحِينَ، أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّٰهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ ٱللَّٰهِ.
at-taḥīyātu l-mubārakātu ṣ-ṣalawātu ṭ-ṭayyibātu li-llāhⁱ. as-salāmu ʿalayka ʾayyuhā n-nabīyu wa-raḥmatu -llāhi wa-barakātuhu. as-salāmu ʿalaynā wa-ʿala ʿibādi llāhi ṣ-ṣāliḥīn^a. ʾashhadu ʾan lā ʾilāha ʾillā -llāhu wa-ʾashhadu ʾanna muḥammadan rasūlu -llāhⁱ.
"Blessed salutations, prayers, good deeds to God. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, as well as God's mercy and His blessings. Peace be upon us and upon the righteous servants of God. I bear witness that there is no deity but God, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His messenger."^[4]

Shia tradition[edit]

Jafari[edit]

The Twelver Shias of the Ja'fari school recite the Tashahhud as:

أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّٰهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ.‌ ٱللَّٰهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَىٰ مُحَمَّدٍ وَآلِ مُحَمَّدٍ.
ʾashhadu ʾan lā ilāha ʾillā -llāhu waḥdahū lā sharīka lahū wa-ʾashhadu ʾanna muḥhammadan ʿabduhū wa-rasūluh^ū. ʾallāhumma ṣalli ʿalā muḥammadin wa-ʾāli muḥammadⁱⁿ.^[5]
"I bear witness that there is no deity but God, the One, there is no partner to Him, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His messenger. O God, send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad."^[6]

The Tashahhud is followed by the Salam. The bare minimum is to say "as-salamu ʿalaykum" (Arabic: ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ, lit. 'peace be upon you'). It is highly recommended, though, to add "wa-raḥmatu -llāhi wa-barakātuh" (Arabic: وَرَحْمَةُ ٱللَّٰهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ, lit. 'and God's mercy and blessings') .^[5]

It is highly recommended, though, to recite

ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ أَيُّهَا ٱلنَّبِيُّ وَرَحْمَةُ ٱللَّٰهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ، ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْنَا وَعَلَىٰ عِبَادِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلصَّالِحِينَ، ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ ٱللَّٰهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ
as-salāmu ʿalayka ʿayyuhā n-nabīyu wa-raḥmatu -llāhi wa-barakātuh^u, as-salāmu ʿalaynā wa-ʿalā ʿibādi -llāhi ṣ-ṣaliḥīn^a, as-salāmu ʿalaykum wa-raḥmatu -llāhi wa-barakātuh^ū.
"Peace be upon you, O Prophet, as well as God's mercy and His blessings. Peace be upon us and upon the righteous servants of God. Peace be upon you all, as well as God's mercy and His blessings."^[5]

Zaidi[edit]

For the Zaidi, the middle Tashahhud after the second rakʿah is recited as:

Bismillahi wa Billahi wa alhamdulillahi wal-asmā`ul-husna kulluhā lillahi. Ashhadu an lā ilāha ila Allāhu wahdahu lā sharīka lahu wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasūluhu^[7]

"In the name of God, and upon God [is reliance]. Praise be to God, and the Beautiful names are all for the Lord. I bear witness that there is no god, but God alone, and without partners. And I bear witness that Muḥammad is His servant and Messenger."

After the last rakʿah, the Zaidi recite the Tashahhud in its full formula:

Bismillahi wa Billahi wa alhamdulillahi wal-asmā`ul-husna kulluhā lillahi.^[7](Or alternatively: At-tahiyyātu lillāhi was-šalawāt waŧ-ŧayyibātu.) Ashhadu an lā ilāha ila Allāhu wahdahu lā sharīka lahu wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasūluhu. Allāhumma salli ‘ala Muhammad wa āli Muhammad. Wa bārik ‘ala Muhammad wa āli Muhammad. Ka mā salayta wa bārakta ‘ala Ibrāhīm wa ‘ala āli Ibrāhīm. Innaka Hamīdun Majīd

"In the name of God, and upon God [is reliance]. Praise be to God, and the Beautiful names are all for the Lord. I bear witness that there is no god, but God alone, and without partners. And I bear witness that Muḥammad is His servant and Messenger. O God send Your blessings upon Muḥammad, and the family of Muḥammad. And bless Muḥammad and the family of Muḥammad as You have blessed and sanctified Abraham, and the family of Abraham. You are truly worthy of praise, Full of glory."

Quranists[edit]

Some Quranists reject the practice of Tashahhud as an innovation.^[8] This view was originally advocated by Rashad Khalifa,^[9]^[10] and later adopted by different Quranist groups.

References[edit]

^ "Hadith – Asking Permission – Sahih al-Bukhari – Sunnah.com – Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)". sunnah.com. Archived from the original on 2017-11-15. Retrieved 2017-11-14.
^ Bukhārī, nos 831, 835, 1202, 6230, 6265, 7381.
^ Muwaṭṭa’, recension of Yaḥyā, no 240; recension of Abū Muṣ`ab, no 499; recension of Suwayd al-Hadathānī, no 161; recension of al-Shaybānī, no 146.
^ Muslim, no 403.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Dialogue on prayer (1) – Jurisprudence Made Easy – The Official Website of the Office of His Eminence Al-Sayyid Ali Al-Husseini Al-Sistani". sistani.org. Archived from the original on 2016-04-24.
^ "Tashahhud and Salam". Al-Islam.org. 2013-01-30. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
^ ^a ^b This aforementioned wording ("Bismillah wa Billahi...") does appear in Zaydi books of hadith such as the Musnad of Imam Zayd (as), Amaali of Ahmed bin Isa bin Zayd (as), Sharh at-Tajreed and other books of hadith with complete chains of narrators. Its legitimacy and authenticity does not depend on whether Sunni narrators report it or not. If you peruse the Sunni books of hadith, you will find variant wordings for the tashahhud. As for the Sunni reports that narrate some of the wording of the Zaidi tashahhud: The wording "Bimillah wa Billahi" on the authority of Jabir (ra) appears in Sunan an-Nisa`i and Al-Mustadrak. Imam Hakim authenticated the report. There is another wording that says: "Bismillahi wa khayr al-Asmaa." This is narrated from Umar in Al-Mustadrak and Al-Hakim said that it is authentic according to the criteria of Muslim. It also appears in the Sunan of al-Bayhaqi. There is also "Bismillah wa Billahi wa khayr al-Asmaa" narrated from Ibn Zubayr in the Mu'jam al-Kabeer and al-Mu'jam al-Aswat of at-Tabaraani.
^ "True Islam – Salat Innovations". True Islam – Salat Innovations. Archived from the original on 2017-03-11. Retrieved 2017-11-14. Reciting a prayer (called "At-Tahiyaat" or "Tashahud") during the Salat to commemorate Prophets Muhammad and Abraham and their families and friends! The Quran commands believers to dedicate their Salat and all worship practices to the name of God alone (6:162, 20:14). To praise or commemorate any other name during the Salat immediately invalidates the Salat and turns it into an act of shirk. Reciting a corrupt Shahada during Salat: God gave us the correct Shahada (Testimony) in the Quran (3:18). The Quranic Shahada is the one uttered by God Himself, the angels and all those endowed with knowledge. The corrupt innovation of adding the name of Muhammad to the Shahada is once again, an act of shirk. This corrupt Shahada is uttered during the Salat when the Quranic Shahada should be recited instead.
^ "Appendix 15, Religious Duties: A Gift From God". www.masjidtucson.org.
^ "How to know the method of the Religious Practices of Islam from the Quran". www.masjidtucson.org. The foundation of Islam is to 'Worship God Alone,' and therefore, all worship must be devoted absolutely to God alone. You cannot mention or bear witness about any other entity besides God in the prayer (3:18, 39:45, 63:1-2, 72:18-19).

External links[edit]

Learn how to Recite Tashahhud

[Bukhari-1] "Hadith – Asking Permission – Sahih al-Bukhari – Sunnah.com – Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)". sunnah.com. Archived from the original on 2017-11-15. Retrieved 2017-11-14.

[2] Bukhārī, nos 831, 835, 1202, 6230, 6265, 7381.

[3] Muwaṭṭa’, recension of Yaḥyā, no 240; recension of Abū Muṣ`ab, no 499; recension of Suwayd al-Hadathānī, no 161; recension of al-Shaybānī, no 146.

[4] Muslim, no 403.

[sistani.org-5] "Dialogue on prayer (1) – Jurisprudence Made Easy – The Official Website of the Office of His Eminence Al-Sayyid Ali Al-Husseini Al-Sistani". sistani.org. Archived from the original on 2016-04-24.

[6] "Tashahhud and Salam". Al-Islam.org. 2013-01-30. Retrieved 2019-05-22.

[Zaydi-7] This aforementioned wording ("Bismillah wa Billahi...") does appear in Zaydi books of hadith such as the Musnad of Imam Zayd (as), Amaali of Ahmed bin Isa bin Zayd (as), Sharh at-Tajreed and other books of hadith with complete chains of narrators. Its legitimacy and authenticity does not depend on whether Sunni narrators report it or not. If you peruse the Sunni books of hadith, you will find variant wordings for the tashahhud. As for the Sunni reports that narrate some of the wording of the Zaidi tashahhud: The wording "Bimillah wa Billahi" on the authority of Jabir (ra) appears in Sunan an-Nisa`i and Al-Mustadrak. Imam Hakim authenticated the report. There is another wording that says: "Bismillahi wa khayr al-Asmaa." This is narrated from Umar in Al-Mustadrak and Al-Hakim said that it is authentic according to the criteria of Muslim. It also appears in the Sunan of al-Bayhaqi. There is also "Bismillah wa Billahi wa khayr al-Asmaa" narrated from Ibn Zubayr in the Mu'jam al-Kabeer and al-Mu'jam al-Aswat of at-Tabaraani.

[8] "True Islam – Salat Innovations". True Islam – Salat Innovations. Archived from the original on 2017-03-11. Retrieved 2017-11-14. Reciting a prayer (called "At-Tahiyaat" or "Tashahud") during the Salat to commemorate Prophets Muhammad and Abraham and their families and friends! The Quran commands believers to dedicate their Salat and all worship practices to the name of God alone (6:162, 20:14). To praise or commemorate any other name during the Salat immediately invalidates the Salat and turns it into an act of shirk. Reciting a corrupt Shahada during Salat: God gave us the correct Shahada (Testimony) in the Quran (3:18). The Quranic Shahada is the one uttered by God Himself, the angels and all those endowed with knowledge. The corrupt innovation of adding the name of Muhammad to the Shahada is once again, an act of shirk. This corrupt Shahada is uttered during the Salat when the Quranic Shahada should be recited instead.

[9] "Appendix 15, Religious Duties: A Gift From God". www.masjidtucson.org.

[10] "How to know the method of the Religious Practices of Islam from the Quran". www.masjidtucson.org. The foundation of Islam is to 'Worship God Alone,' and therefore, all worship must be devoted absolutely to God alone. You cannot mention or bear witness about any other entity besides God in the prayer (3:18, 39:45, 63:1-2, 72:18-19).

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