Fath al-Rabbani

Benefits: … This hadith is presented as evidence for the non-obligation of saying "as-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah," meaning that saying the salam to exit the prayer is not obligatory; rather, any action contrary to the state of prayer can be done. Those who hold the view that the salam is obligatory interpret this hadith as follows: the words of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, "Your prayer has been completed," mean that you have reached the completion of the prayer, and his words, "If you wish to leave, then leave," mean that you should exit the prayer through the prescribed legal method of exiting the prayer. We will clarify in the upcoming chapters on salam that it is not correct to exit the prayer without the salam. As for the issue of this hadith, the first point to mention is that there is a difference of opinion regarding the words after "abduhu wa rasuluhu" in this blessed hadith—whether they are part of the hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam or the statement of Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Mas'ud radi Allahu anhu. At this point, I will suffice by presenting only the statement of Allamah Azimabadi, who says: Khatabi said in Ma'alim that the scholars differ regarding whether these words are part of the statement of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam or the statement of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud … Abu Bakr al-Khatib said: These words are not part of the statement of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, rather they are the statement of Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud radi Allahu anhu, which became inserted (mudraj) into the hadith. Shababa ibn Sawwar clarified this in the narration he reported from Zuhayr ibn Mu'awiyah, and separated the statement of Ibn Mas'ud from the hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Similarly, Abdur Rahman ibn Thabit also narrated from Husayn ibn Abi Husayn, separating the statement of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud radi Allahu anhu. Meanwhile, Abu al-Hasan al-Sindi said in his Sharh al-Nukhbah: What Khatabi said in Ma'alim regarding this means that there is a difference among the narrators regarding whether it is connected or separated, and indeed the hadith masters are agreed that this is an inserted (mudraj) statement. (Awn al-Ma'bud: 1/484) Our view is that even if we accept this sentence as part of the hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, it will be understood in the light of his other ahadith, meaning that the worshipper has reached near the completion of the prayer. The reason for this interpretation is that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam always ended the prayer with salam and taught the same through his verbal ahadith. The details of this will come in the chapter on salam. The issue of reciting salawat (salutation upon the Prophet) will also be discussed later. And Allah knows best what is correct.