Correct Method of Sitting in Tashahhud During Salah

Method of Sitting in Tashahhud During Salah
✍ Written by: Imran Ayub Lahori

✿ Method of Sitting in Tashahhud​

Hazrat Abu Humaid Sa‘idi (رضی اللہ عنہ) narrates the method of Salah of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), stating:


وإذا جلس فى الركعتين جلس على رجله اليسرى ونصب اليمنى وإذا جلس فى الركعة الأخيرة قدم رجله اليسرى ونصب الأخرى وقعد على مقعدته
[Bukhari: 828, Kitab al-Adhan: Bab Sunnat al-Julūs fi al-Tashahhud; Abu Dawud: 730–731; Tirmidhi: 304–305; Ahmad: 424/5; Ibn Majah: 862; Darimi: 313/1; Ibn Khuzaymah: 587]


"When the Prophet (ﷺ) sat (for Tashahhud) after offering two Rak‘ahs, he would sit on his left foot and keep the right one upright. When he sat for the final Tashahhud, he would bring forward his left foot (from underneath the right thigh), keep the right one upright, and sit on his buttocks."


The posture described for the final Tashahhud in this Hadith is referred to as "Tawarruk".

✿ Scholarly Opinions Regarding Tawarruk​

There is a difference of opinion among scholars regarding whether Tawarruk should be adopted only in the final Tashahhud or in both Tashahhuds:

• Imam Shafi‘i (رحمه الله): Tawarruk should be practiced in the second Tashahhud.
• Imam Malik (رحمه الله): Tawarruk should be adopted in both Tashahhuds.
• Imam Ahmad (رحمه الله): Tawarruk is specific to the prayer which contains two Tashahhuds.
• Imam Abu Hanifah (رحمه الله): Tawarruk should not be adopted even in the final Tashahhud.

[al-Majmū‘: 343/3, al-Umm: 229/1, al-Ikhtiyār: 54/1, Radd al-Muhtār: 159/2, al-Hidāyah: 51/1, Tuhfat al-Fuqahā’: 236/1, al-Mughnī: 226/2]

✿ Evidence for Tawarruk Only in the Final Tashahhud​

Ibn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله) states that Tawarruk is only mentioned in relation to the Tashahhud in which Salam is to be said, as mentioned in a narration from Sunan Abu Dawud:


حتى إذا كانت السجدة التى فيها التسليم
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd: 680, Kitāb al-Ṣalāh: Bāb Iftitāḥ al-Ṣalāh; Abu Dawud: 730]


"Until he reached the prostration in which Salam is to be said (he would perform Tawarruk)."

✿ Evidence Cited by Those Who Do Not Consider Tawarruk Recommended in Final Tashahhud​

Those scholars (i.e., the Hanafis) who do not consider Tawarruk recommended even in the final Tashahhud base their stance on a Hadith narrated by Hazrat Wa'il bin Hujr (رضی اللہ عنہ). Without specifying whether it was the first or second Tashahhud, he states about the Prophet (ﷺ):


ثـم قـعــد فافترش رجله اليسري
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd: 666–667, Kitāb al-Ṣalāh: Bāb Raf‘ al-Yadayn fi al-Ṣalāh; Ahmad: 316/4; Abu Dawud: 726–727; Nasa’i: 37/3; Darimi: 314/1; Ibn Majah: 867; Humaydi: 885; Daraqutni: 290/1; Ibn Abi Shaybah: 234/1]


"Then he sat and placed his left foot under him (i.e., sat on it)."

✿ Second Method of Tawarruk​

Another narration from Hazrat Abu Humaid Sa‘idi (رضی اللہ عنہ) mentions:


فإذا كان فى الرابعة أفضي بوركه اليسرى إلى الأرض وأخرج قدميه من ناحية واحدة
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd: 671, Kitāb al-Ṣalāh: Bāb Iftitāḥ al-Ṣalāh; Abu Dawud: 731; Ibn Hibban: 491; al-Mawārid; Ibn Khuzaymah: 347/1]


"When the Prophet (ﷺ) was in the fourth Rak‘ah, he would rest his left buttock on the ground and extend both his feet to one side."

✿ Third Method of Sitting in Salah​

Hazrat Abdullah bin Zubair (رضی اللہ عنہ) narrates:


كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إذا قعد فى الصلاة جعل قدمه اليسرى بين فخذه و ساقه و فرش قدمه اليمني
[Muslim: 579, Kitāb al-Ṣalāh: Bāb Ṣifat al-Julūs fi al-Ṣalāh wa Kayfiyyat Wadh‘ al-Yadayn ‘ala al-Fakhdhayn]


"When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would sit in Salah, he would place his left foot between his thigh and shin, and would spread his right foot."

✔ Conclusion​

These narrations clearly indicate that the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) would adopt different methods of sitting in Tashahhud, sometimes sitting in Tawarruk, and at other times sitting in a simpler posture with the left foot spread. Thus, it is proven that he used multiple forms of sitting during Salah, depending on the situation.