Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 3015 — How the tashahhud in prayer is recited

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) taught me the tashahhud while my hand was in the hand of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He taught me the words of the tashahhud just as he used to teach us a surah of the Qur'an. Those words were: All verbal worship, physical worship and financial worship are for Allah. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and may the mercy of Allah and His blessings descend upon you. Peace be upon us too, and peace be upon the righteous servants of Allah as well. I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is the servant of Allah and His Messenger. These were the words as long as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was in this world; when he passed away, then instead of 'As-salamu alayka ayyuha al-nabi' (Peace be upon you, O Prophet) we used to say 'As-salamu ala al-nabi' (Peace be upon the Prophet).