Reciting Durūd in the First Tashahhud of a Four-Rakʿah Prayer

Source: Fatāwā Muḥammadīyah, Vol. 1, p. 362

Question:​

In a four-rakʿah prayer (such as Ẓuhr or ʿAṣr), after two rakʿāt in the first sitting (tashahhud), should only tashahhud be recited, or should durūd and duʿāʾ also be recited just as in the final sitting?

Answer:​

Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd:


According to the general wording and implication of authentic marfūʿ aḥādīth, reciting durūd (ṣalawāt upon the Prophet ﷺ) in the first tashahhud is permissible.

Evidences​

➊ Ḥadīth of Kaʿb ibn ʿUjrah (رضي الله عنه):
The Prophet ﷺ taught the companions how to send ṣalawāt upon him, saying:


اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Bāb al-Ṣalāh ʿala al-Nabī ﷺ, 1/175)


➋ Ḥadīth of Abū Ḥumayd al-Sāʿidī (رضي الله عنه):
When asked how to send ṣalawāt upon him, the Prophet ﷺ replied:


اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَأَزْوَاجِهِ وَذُرِّيَّتِهِ
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, 1/477)


Ibn Khuzaymah added the wording: “How should we send ṣalawāt upon you in our prayer?” This extra wording was also narrated by Ibn Ḥibbān, al-Dāraquṭnī, and al-Ḥākim, and authenticated by Abū Ḥātim and Ibn Khuzaymah. (Subul al-Salām, 1/193; al-Nawawī, 1/175)

Opinions of the Scholars​

• Imām Ibn Khuzaymah (رحمه الله):
  “When we recite ṣalawāt in prayer, these are the words to recite: اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ.”
• Imām al-Amīr al-Ṣanʿānī (رحمه الله):
  “The ḥadīth proves that sending ṣalawāt upon the Prophet ﷺ in prayer is obligatory, because the command qūlū (say) indicates obligation. This is the view of some companions, a group of Imāms, Imām al-Shāfiʿī, and Imām Isḥāq.” (Subul al-Salām, 1/193)
• Imām al-Nawawī (رحمه الله):
  “According to Imām al-Shāfiʿī and Imām Aḥmad, sending ṣalawāt in prayer is wājib; if omitted, the prayer is invalid. This was also the view of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar, and Imām al-Shaʿbī.” (Sharḥ al-Nawawī, 1/185)
• Imām al-Shawkānī (رحمه الله):
  “From the command qūlū, it is understood that ṣalawāt after tashahhud is wājib. This was the view of Ibn ʿUmar, Ibn Masʿūd, Jābir ibn Zayd, al-Shaʿbī, Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb, Abū Jaʿfar al-Bāqir, al-Muʿāfī, al-Qāsim, Imām al-Shāfiʿī, Imām Aḥmad, Imām Isḥāq, and Ibn Muʿādh.” (Nayl al-Awṭār, 2/318)

Refutation of Limiting It to the Final Tashahhud​

• Some argue that durūd is only for the final tashahhud, not the first.
• Imām al-Shawkānī (رحمه الله) strongly refuted this, saying no such restriction is proven — neither by ṣaḥīḥ nor by ḍaʿīf narration. (Nayl al-Awṭār, 2/18)
• Shaykh al-Albānī (رحمه الله): “The Prophet ﷺ did not restrict durūd to only one tashahhud. Therefore, it is permissible to recite it in the first tashahhud as well. Imām al-Shāfiʿī clarified this in al-Umm, and it is the correct view among his companions.” (Ṣifat al-Ṣalāh, pp. 132, 143)

Addition of Duʿāʾ​

In the ḥadīth of ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd (رضي الله عنه):


ثُمَّ لِيَتَخَيَّرْ أَحَدُكُمْ مِنَ الدُّعَاءِ أَعْجَبَهُ، فَلْيَدْعُ بِهِ رَبَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ
(Nayl al-Awṭār, 2/281)


“Then let one of you choose any duʿāʾ he likes and supplicate to his Lord.”

Conclusion​

◈ There is no authentic marfūʿ evidence restricting durūd to the final tashahhud.


◈ From the general evidences, reciting durūd in the first tashahhud is also correct and legislated.


هٰذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب