Tashahhud (the testimony sitting in prayer)

Tashahhud is the set of words said in the sitting of prayer, named for its two testimonies. ¹

The word is used for saying the formula of unity and for the words read in the sitting. Ibn Abidin says it names the collected words transmitted from Ibn Masud and others, named for containing the two testimonies. ¹

The tashahhud in the sitting not followed by the salam is obligatory for the Hanafis on the sound view, for the Malikis in one view, and for the Hanbali school, since omitting it requires the forgetfulness prostration. ^{1 2} It is a sunna for the Hanafis in one view, for the Malikis in their school view, and for the Shafiis and a Hanbali narration, since it falls away through forgetfulness like the sunnas. ²

The tashahhud in the last sitting is obligatory for the Hanafis, who make the sitting itself the duty. The Maliki school holds it a sunna, with one view that it is obligatory. ² The Shafiis and Hanbalis hold it a pillar of prayer. ^{2 3}

The Hanafis and Hanbalis prefer the version the Prophet ﷺ taught to Ibn Masud, which has the conjunction in one line; this is the view of al-Thawri, Ishaq and Abu Thawr. ³ The Malikis prefer the tashahhud of Umar, which he recited from the pulpit without objection and so became a consensus. ³ The Shafiis prefer the version from Ibn Abbas. ³ The difference is one of preference: any version authentically reported from the Prophet is valid. ³ The worshipper intends the meanings of the words as an act of address, not as a report of the ascension. ⁶

The Hanafis dislike, as forbidden, adding a letter or beginning with one letter before another; the Malikis dislike additions. ⁶ The Shafiis hold that some words are sunna and not conditions, and the order is recommended. ⁶ The Hanbalis hold that dropping a word missing in some versions is valid in the sounder view; in another narration, omitting a conjunction or a letter requires repeating the prayer. ⁶

The first sitting is a sunna for the Malikis, Shafiis and Hanbalis and, on the sounder Hanafi view, obligatory; the sitting for the last tashahhud is a pillar. ⁴ Saying it in another language is allowed for one who cannot manage Arabic, and disputed for one who can. ⁴ The sunna is to say it quietly, since the Prophet did not say it aloud, and Ibn Masud said: «quiet tashahhud is the sunna». ⁴

All agree that omitting the first tashahhud by forgetfulness requires the forgetfulness prostration. If done deliberately, the Hanafis and one Hanbali view require repeating the prayer, while the Malikis, Shafiis and another Hanbali narration require the prostration. ⁴ Omitting the last tashahhud deliberately requires repeating the prayer for the Hanafis, Shafiis and Hanbalis, and for the Malikis in one view. ^{4 5}

Most jurists do not add the blessing on the Prophet in the first sitting; the Shafiis in the more likely view recommend it there. ⁵ In the last sitting there is no dispute that it is lawful. ⁵