Question
I would like you to clarify how to say the tashahhud in the salaah that contains three and four raka’at. I mean do I have to say the whole tashahhud in the second raka’ah? Please provide the answer with the evidences from the Quran and Sunnah.
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
The first tashahhud in a three- or four-rak’ah payer is obligatory according to the more correct of the two scholarly views. This has been explained in the answer to question no. 65847.
There are various versions of the tashahhud, some of which may be seen in the answer to question no. 98031.
Secondly:
The scholars differed as to whether it is prescribed to send blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) after reciting the first tashahhud. There are two views:
1 – That blessings should be sent on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). This is the view of al-Shaafa’i (may Allah have mercy on him) and he said that one who does not do it should do the prostration of forgetfulness (sujood al-sahw). The view that it is prescribed was also favoured by Ibn Hazm in al-Muhalla (2/302).
Al-Shaafa’i said in al-Umm (1/228):
Tashahhud and blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in the first tashahhud of every prayer except Fajr are two tashahhuds, first and second. If a person omits the first tashahhud and sending blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in the first tashahhud by mistake, he does not have to repeat (the prayer) but he has to do the prostration of forgetfulness for forgetting it. End quote.
This view was also favoured by Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz and al-Albaani (may Allah have mercy on them). See: Majmoo’ Fatawa Ibn Baaz (11/201) and Kitaab al-Salaah by al-Albaani (p. 145).
2 – That he should only recite the tashahhud as far as the Shahaadatayn, and not add the blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). This is the view of the majority of fuqaha’, and was favoured by Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him).
It says in al-Mawsoo’ah al-Fiqhiyyah (12/39):
The majority of fuqaha’ are of the view that the worshipper should not add blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to the tashahhud in the first tashahhud. This is the view of al-Nakha’i, al-Thawri and Ishaaq.
The Shaafa’is are of the view that it is mustahabb to recite the blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and this is the view of al-Sha’bi.
But when a person sits at the end of his prayer, there is no difference of opinion among the fuqaha’ that it is prescribed to send blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) after the tashahhud. End quote.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him)said in al-Sharh al-Mumti’ (3/225):
It is not mustahabb to send blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in the first tashahhud; this is what may be understood from the Sunnah, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) taught Ibn Mas’ood and Ibn ‘Abbaas this tashahhud only, and Ibn Mas’ood said: We used to say before the tashahhud was enjoined on us, and he mentioned the first tashahhud only, and did not mention blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in the first tashahhud. If it was Sunnah then the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would have taught it to them in the tashahhud.
As for their saying “O Messenger of Allah, we know how to send salaam upon you, but how should we send blessings upon you when we send blessings upon you in our prayer?” this was a question about how to do it, and it does not mention when to do it. There is a difference between specifying when and specifying how. Hence Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said in Zaad al-Ma’aad: It was the way of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to shorten this tashahhud. Then he mentioned the hadeeth which says “it was as if he was sitting on a radaf” i.e., a heated stone, because it was so quick. Even though there is some weakness in the isnaad of this hadeeth, this is what may be understood from the Sunnah, i.e., one should not do any more than that. In Saheeh Ibn Khuzaymah it says that the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to recite the tashahhud in this sitting but he did not say du’aa’. Despite that, if someone sends blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in this place, we would not denounce him, but if he asked us which is better, we would say that limiting it to the tashahhud only is better, but if he sends blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), he should not be told not to do that, because it is additional goodness and there is a possibility that it is correct, even though the view that sending blessings on the Prophet at that point in the prayer is weak. End quote.
And Allah knows best.