✿ Written by: Imran Ayub Lahori
◈ Words and Method of Saying Salām in Salah
➊ Salām on Both Sides
It is narrated from Hazrat Ibn Mas’ud رضي الله عنه that the Prophet ﷺ used to say Salām turning to his right and left, saying:
السلام عليكم ورحمة الله، السلام عليكم ورحمة الله
“Until the whiteness of his cheeks could be seen.”
Sources:
Ṣaḥīḥ Abū Dāwūd: 996, Muslim: 117, Aḥmad: 1/444, Tirmidhī: 295, Nasāʾī: 3/63, Ibn Mājah: 914, Bayhaqī: 2/177, Dārquṭnī: 1/356
A similar narration is reported from Hazrat Sa’d رضي الله عنه.
[Abū ʿAwānah: 2/237, Dārquṭnī: 1/356, Ḥilyah Abī Nuʿaym: 8/176]
➋ Addition of “وَبَرَكَاتُهُ” in One of the Salāms
According to the narration of Hazrat Wāʾil ibn Ḥujr رضي الله عنه, the following variation is reported:
السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
This addition of "وبركاته" is found only in the first (right-side) Salām, as per the authentication of Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله.
References:
Ṣaḥīḥ Abū Dāwūd: 879, Tamām al-Minnah: p.171, Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl: 2/30, Aḥmad: 4/316, Bayhaqī: 2/178, Bulūgh al-Marām: 301,
Commentary by: Shaykh Muḥammad Ṣajjī Ḥassān Ḥallāq, Shaykh Ḥāzim ʿAlī Qāḍī, and others
◈ Two Proven Methods of Salām in Salah
✔ Method 1:
Turning the face to the right and left, saying Salām on both sides as described above.
✔ Method 2:
Saying only one Salām while slightly turning the face to the right.
This method is found in the narration of Hazrat Aʿishah رضي الله عنها:
ثم يسلم تسليمة يسمعنا
“Then the Prophet ﷺ would say one Salām, which we could hear.”
Sources:
Muslim: 746, Abū Dāwūd: 1342, Ibn Mājah: 1191, Abū ʿAwānah: 2/321, Ibn Khuzaymah: 746, Ibn Ḥibbān: 2442
Another narration mentions:
كان يسلم في الصلاة تسليمة واحدة تلقاء وجهه ثم يميل إلى الشق الأيمن شيئًا
“The Prophet ﷺ would say one Salām facing forward, then slightly lean towards the right.”
Sources:
Ṣaḥīḥ Tirmidhī: 242, Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Mājah: 750, Tirmidhī: 296, Ibn Mājah: 919, Ibn Khuzaymah: 729, Ibn Ḥibbān: 1995, Dārquṭnī: 1/358, Ḥākim: 1/231, Bayhaqī: 2/179
◈ Scholars’ Consensus on One Salām Being Valid
✔ Imām Ibn al-Mundhir رحمه الله:
There is Ijmaʿ (consensus) among scholars that a prayer is valid if completed with one Salām only.
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 2/136]
✔ Imām Nawawī رحمه الله:
Credible scholars unanimously agree that only one Salām is obligatory.
[Sharḥ Muslim: 3/310]
✔ The following companions and scholars support the validity of one Salām:
• Hazrat Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما
• Hazrat Anas رضي الله عنه
• Hazrat Salamah ibn al-Akwaʿ رضي الله عنه
• Hazrat Aʿishah رضي الله عنها
• Hazrat Ḥasan رضي الله عنه
• Imām Ibn Sīrīn
• ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz
• Imām Mālik
• Imām Awzāʿī
• One narration from Imām Shāfiʿī
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 2/136, Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 2/201]
◈ Prohibition of Gesturing with Hands During Salām
It is not permissible to gesture with one’s hands during Salām in prayer. The Prophet ﷺ prohibited this when he observed the companions doing so:
علام تؤمون بأيديكم كأنها أذناب خيل شمس؟ إنما يكفي أحدكم أن يضع يده على فخذه ثم يسلم على أخيه من على يمينه وشماله
“Why do you gesture with your hands as if they are tails of restless horses? It is sufficient for one of you to place his hand on his thigh, and then say Salām to his right and left.”
Sources:
Muslim: 431, Aḥmad: 5/86, Abū Dāwūd: 998, Nasāʾī: 3/61, Abū ʿAwānah: 2/238, Bayhaqī: 2/178
◈ Conclusion
✔ Two valid methods of ending the prayer are proven from authentic Ahadith.
✔ Saying Salām on both sides is the more common practice, but one Salām is also valid and supported by many scholars and companions.
✔ Gesturing with hands during Salām is prohibited and should be avoided.
Let us follow the Sunnah with precision and respect, maintaining the integrity of Salah as practiced by the Prophet ﷺ.
