(Excerpt adapted from Shaykh Zubair ʿAlī Zaʾī’s book Hudiyyat al-Muslimīn – Namāz ke Aham Masāʾil maʿa Mukammal Namāz Nabawiyyah ﷺ)
From ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه:
«قولوا: التحيات لله والصلوات والطيبات، السلام عليك أيها النبي ورحمة الله وبركاته، السلام علينا وعلى عباد الله الصالحين، أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وأشهد أن محمدا عبده ورسوله، ثم ليتخير من الدعاء أعجبه إليه فيدعو»
“…Say: al-Taḥiyyātu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalawātu waṭ-ṭayyibāt, as-salāmu ʿalayka ayyuhan-nabī wa raḥmatullāhi wa barakātuh, as-salāmu ʿalaynā wa ʿalā ʿibādillāhiṣ-ṣāliḥīn, ash-hadu an lā ilāha illallāh, wa ash-hadu anna Muḥammadan ʿabduhū wa rasūluh. Then choose whichever duʿā you like best and supplicate.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, 1/115, ḥadīth 835 – abridged)
① Obligation of Reciting al-Taḥiyyāt
This ḥadīth shows that reciting al-Taḥiyyāt in tashahhud is farḍ (obligatory) because the Prophet ﷺ gave the command “Qūlū” (Say).
Principle: al-amr lil-wujūb — a command, when not accompanied by any diverting context, signifies obligation.
② Different Authentic Versions are Reported
Ṣaḥīḥ aḥādīth mention other valid wordings of al-Taḥiyyāt. Any of them may be chosen; however, the tashahhud of Ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه is the most authentic and preferred.
③ Supplication After Taḥiyyāt and Ṣalāt
This ḥadīth proves that after reciting al-Taḥiyyāt and the ṣalāt upon the Prophet ﷺ, any duʿā may be made — in Arabic and without contradicting Sharīʿah.
Some people claim the duʿā in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (1/217, ḥadīth 588) – Allāhumma innī aʿūdhu bika min ʿadhābi jahannam – is obligatory due to its imperative form. This is incorrect because it conflicts with this general permission given in the above ḥadīth.
④ Meaning of “As-salāmu ʿalayka ayyuhan-nabī”
It carries the same meaning as as-salāmu ʿalā al-nabī ﷺ.
(See Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, 2/926, ḥadīth 6265, from Ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه.)
⑤ If One Reads “As-salāmu ʿalā al-nabī”
It is permissible following the wording narrated from Ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه and others; however, the preferred wording remains as given in the primary ḥadīth above.
Hādhā mā ʿindī, wallāhu aʿlam biṣ-ṣawāb.
The Text of the Ḥadīth
From ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه:
«قولوا: التحيات لله والصلوات والطيبات، السلام عليك أيها النبي ورحمة الله وبركاته، السلام علينا وعلى عباد الله الصالحين، أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وأشهد أن محمدا عبده ورسوله، ثم ليتخير من الدعاء أعجبه إليه فيدعو»
“…Say: al-Taḥiyyātu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalawātu waṭ-ṭayyibāt, as-salāmu ʿalayka ayyuhan-nabī wa raḥmatullāhi wa barakātuh, as-salāmu ʿalaynā wa ʿalā ʿibādillāhiṣ-ṣāliḥīn, ash-hadu an lā ilāha illallāh, wa ash-hadu anna Muḥammadan ʿabduhū wa rasūluh. Then choose whichever duʿā you like best and supplicate.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, 1/115, ḥadīth 835 – abridged)
Benefits and Rulings
① Obligation of Reciting al-Taḥiyyāt
This ḥadīth shows that reciting al-Taḥiyyāt in tashahhud is farḍ (obligatory) because the Prophet ﷺ gave the command “Qūlū” (Say).
Principle: al-amr lil-wujūb — a command, when not accompanied by any diverting context, signifies obligation.
② Different Authentic Versions are Reported
Ṣaḥīḥ aḥādīth mention other valid wordings of al-Taḥiyyāt. Any of them may be chosen; however, the tashahhud of Ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه is the most authentic and preferred.
③ Supplication After Taḥiyyāt and Ṣalāt
This ḥadīth proves that after reciting al-Taḥiyyāt and the ṣalāt upon the Prophet ﷺ, any duʿā may be made — in Arabic and without contradicting Sharīʿah.
Some people claim the duʿā in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (1/217, ḥadīth 588) – Allāhumma innī aʿūdhu bika min ʿadhābi jahannam – is obligatory due to its imperative form. This is incorrect because it conflicts with this general permission given in the above ḥadīth.
④ Meaning of “As-salāmu ʿalayka ayyuhan-nabī”
It carries the same meaning as as-salāmu ʿalā al-nabī ﷺ.
(See Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, 2/926, ḥadīth 6265, from Ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه.)
⑤ If One Reads “As-salāmu ʿalā al-nabī”
It is permissible following the wording narrated from Ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه and others; however, the preferred wording remains as given in the primary ḥadīth above.
Hādhā mā ʿindī, wallāhu aʿlam biṣ-ṣawāb.
