✿ Written by: Imran Ayub Lahori
◈ Supplicating After Tashahhud in Salah
After completing Tashahhud and seeking refuge from the trials mentioned in Hadith, a person is permitted to make any duʿāʾ of his choice.
➊ Clear Permission to Choose Duʿāʾ
Hazrat Ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه narrated:
ثم ليتخير من الدعاء ما أعجبه إليه فيدعو
“Then let him choose whatever duʿāʾ he likes and supplicate with it.”
Sources:
Bukhārī: 831, Tirmidhī: 289, Nasāʾī: 2/337, Sharḥ Maʿānī al-Āthār: 1/263, Ṭabarānī al-Kabīr: 9912
➋ Duʿāʾ Taught to Hazrat Abū Bakr رضي الله عنه
When Hazrat Abū Bakr رضي الله عنه asked the Prophet ﷺ for a supplication to recite in prayer, he was taught:
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي ظَلَمْتُ نَفْسِي ظُلْمًا كَثِيرًا…
“O Allah! Indeed I have wronged myself greatly, and none forgives sins but You. So forgive me with a forgiveness from Yourself, and have mercy on me. Verily, You are the Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
Sources:
Bukhārī: 834, 6326, Muslim: 2705, Tirmidhī: 3531, Nasāʾī: 3/53, Ibn Mājah: 3835, Aḥmad: 1/3, Ibn Khuzaymah: 846
➌ Duʿāʾ of Hazrat ʿAlī رضي الله عنه
Another narration from Hazrat ʿAlī رضي الله عنه records the following duʿāʾ:
اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِي مَا قَدَّمْتُ وَمَا أَخَّرْتُ…
“O Allah! Forgive me for what I have done earlier and later, what I did secretly and openly, what I have exceeded in, and what You know better than I do. Indeed, You are the First and the Last. There is no deity except You.”
Sources:
Muslim: 771, Abū Dāwūd: 760, Ṣifat Ṣalāt al-Nabī (Albānī): p.187
◈ Scholarly Views on Supplications in Salah
❖ Disagreement Among Scholars:
✔ Majority (Jumhūr):
One may recite any duʿāʾ related to this world or the Hereafter, as long as it does not involve a sin.
✔ Imām Abū Ḥanīfah رحمه الله:
Only maʾthūr (transmitted from Qur’an and Sunnah) duʿās are allowed.
Reference:
Nayl al-Awṭār: 2/113
❖ Preferred (Rājih) Opinion:
The opinion of the Jumhūr is stronger, supported by the words:
ثم ليتخير من الدعاء ما أعجبه إليه
“…then let him choose whatever duʿāʾ he likes…”
And in another narration:
ما أحب
“…whatever he loves…”
These affirm freedom in supplication and refute the restrictive view of the Ḥanafis.
Sources:
Sunan al-Sanʿānī (Subul al-Salām): 1/444, Nayl al-Awṭār: 2/113
◈ Ending Salah: The Obligation of Salām
➊ Salām Ends the Prayer
Hazrat ʿAlī رضي الله عنه narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said:
وتحليلها التسليم
“And the release (from prayer) is with Salām.”
Sources:
Ṣaḥīḥ Abū Dāwūd: 577, Aḥmad: 5/86, Tirmidhī: 3, Ibn Mājah: 275
Imām Shawkānī رحمه الله explains that the phrase “taḥlīluhā al-taslīm” implies exclusivity, i.e.:
لا تحليل لها غيره
“There is no exit from prayer except through Salām.”
Reference:
Nayl al-Awṭār: 2/142
➋ Prophet ﷺ Always Ended With Salām
وكان يختم الصلاة بالتسليم
“The Prophet ﷺ would end the prayer with Salām.”
Sources:
Muslim: 498, Ibn Mājah: 1/296, Dārimī: 1/310
◈ Scholarly Positions on Salām in Salah
✔ Jumhūr (Shāfiʿī, Aḥmad, Majority of Ṣaḥābah and Tābiʿīn):
→ One Salām is Wājib, the second is Sunnah.
✔ Imām Mālik رحمه الله:
→ Only one Salām is Sunnah.
✔ Ḥanafīs:
→ Salām is not obligatory; prayer ends even by an invalidating act (ḥadath, speech, etc.). However, saying Salām remains Sunnah.
Sources:
Al-Majmūʿ: 3/462, Al-Umm: 1/234, Radd al-Muḥtār: 2/162, Al-Hidāyah: 1/53, Al-Mabsūṭ: 1/30
❖ Countering the View that Salām is Not Obligatory
A weak narration often cited is:
فأحدث قبل أن يسلم فقد تمت صلاته
“…if he loses his wudūʾ before Salām, his prayer is still complete.”
Status: Weak (Ḍaʿīf)
Due to ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ziyād ibn Anʿum, a weak narrator by scholarly consensus.
References:
Abū Dāwūd: 617, Tirmidhī: 408, Dārquṭnī: 1/379, Nayl al-Awṭār: 2/143, Al-Majmūʿ: 3/462
❖ Obligation is the Stronger Opinion
✔ Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله:
→ One who loses wudūʾ before Salām—his prayer is invalid, whether it is farḍ or nafl.
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā: 22/613
✔ Imām Nawawī رحمه الله:
→ Jumhūr of Ṣaḥābah, Tābiʿīn, and later scholars agree on obligation of Salām.
Sharḥ Muslim: 3/90
✔ ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Mubārakpūrī رحمه الله:
→ Supported obligation.
Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 1/44
✔ Amīr Ṣanʿānī رحمه الله:
→ Supported obligation.
Subul al-Salām: 1/455
✔ Ibn Ḥazm رحمه الله:
→ Salām is fard (obligatory) and prayer is incomplete without it.
Al-Muḥallā bil-Āthār: 2/304
✔ Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله:
→ Preferred this opinion.
Al-Taʿlīqāt al-Raḍiyyah ʿalā al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 1/275, Ṣifat Ṣalāt al-Nabī: p.188
◈ Misconception About Three Salāms
It should be noted that there is no reliable evidence supporting three Salāms in prayer.
Reference: Al-Sayl al-Jarrār: 1/221
◈ Conclusion
✔ After Tashahhud, one may recite any duʿāʾ, especially from the Sunnah or personal supplications—so long as they are not sinful.
✔ Salām is obligatory to conclude the prayer.
✔ Saying three Salāms is baseless in Shariʿah.
✔ The stronger view supported by Qur’an, Sunnah, and majority of scholars is that one Salām is wājib, and it completes the act of prayer.
