What is the Tashahhud, and when do you say it?
6 min read
Short answer
The Tashahhud is the testification recited while sitting after every two rakahs and at the end of every prayer. It opens with At-tahiyyatu lillahi was-salawatu wat-tayyibat, greets the Prophet ﷺ and the righteous servants of Allah, and closes with the two testimonies of faith.
At the final sitting you follow it with the salawat on the Prophet ﷺ before giving salam. The right index finger is raised at the testification of faith.
Every prayer has at least one sitting in it, and the Tashahhud is what fills that sitting. It is not a pause or a moment to gather yourself before finishing. It is a declaration, and the schools treat it as one of the substantial parts of the prayer rather than an ornament on the end.
The word itself comes from the same root as shahada, to testify, because the passage ends with the two testimonies of faith. In practice people often call it Attahiyat, after the word it opens with.
When it is recited
- After every second rakah. You sit following the second prostration of the second rakah and recite it.
- At the end of every prayer. In Fajr, which is two rakahs, the first sitting is also the last. In Maghrib you sit after the second rakah and again after the third. In Dhuhr, Asr and Isha you sit after the second and again after the fourth.
At a middle sitting you recite the Tashahhud and then stand for the next rakah. At the final sitting you recite it, follow it with the salawat on the Prophet ﷺ, make a short supplication, and then give salam to the right and left. If the rakah counts are not yet familiar, see how many rakahs is each prayer.
The text
This is the wording taught to Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, recorded in both Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. It is the most widely used version and the one most people learn first.
التَّحِيَّاتُ لِلَّهِ وَالصَّلَوَاتُ وَالطَّيِّبَاتُ، السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ، السَّلَامُ عَلَيْنَا وَعَلَى عِبَادِ اللَّهِ الصَّالِحِينَ، أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ
Transliteration. At-tahiyyatu lillahi was-salawatu wat-tayyibat. As-salamu alayka ayyuhan-nabiyyu wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. As-salamu alayna wa ala ibadillahis-salihin. Ash-hadu an la ilaha illallah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluh.
Meaning. All greetings of honour, all acts of worship and all good things belong to Allah. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Peace be upon us and upon the righteous servants of Allah. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger.
The salawat at the final sitting
When the companions were taught to send peace on the Prophet ﷺ, they asked how blessings should be sent on him, and the answer is the passage known as the Ibrahimic salawat, recorded from Ka'b ibn Ujrah in both Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. Small variations in wording appear across the narrations, and this is the form most commonly recited.
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ، كَمَا صَلَّيْتَ عَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَعَلَى آلِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، إِنَّكَ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ. اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ، كَمَا بَارَكْتَ عَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَعَلَى آلِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، إِنَّكَ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ
Transliteration. Allahumma salli ala Muhammadin wa ala ali Muhammad, kama sallayta ala Ibrahima wa ala ali Ibrahim, innaka hamidun majid. Allahumma barik ala Muhammadin wa ala ali Muhammad, kama barakta ala Ibrahima wa ala ali Ibrahim, innaka hamidun majid.
Meaning. O Allah, send Your grace upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent it upon Ibrahim and upon the family of Ibrahim. You are indeed Praiseworthy and Glorious. O Allah, send Your blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You blessed Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim. You are indeed Praiseworthy and Glorious.
The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools hold the salawat at the final sitting to be obligatory, while the Hanafi and Maliki schools hold it to be strongly recommended.
The supplication before salam
After the salawat, and before giving salam, the Prophet ﷺ taught his companions to seek refuge from four things: the punishment of the grave, the punishment of the Fire, the trials of life and of death, and the trial of the false messiah. The supplication of Abu Bakr, asking forgiveness for having wronged himself greatly, is also reported here. Both are recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, and either one, or any sincere supplication, fits this moment.
The index finger
While sitting, the right hand rests on the right thigh, and the index finger of that hand is raised at the testification of faith. Ibn Umar and Wa'il ibn Hujr both describe the gesture. It is a physical affirmation of the oneness of Allah, made at the exact moment the tongue is affirming it.
The schools describe the mechanics slightly differently. Some raise the finger at the point of negation and lower it at the affirmation, some raise it at the affirmation and hold it still, and some keep it in gentle motion while supplicating. All of these are readings of the same reported practice, and none of them invalidates the prayer. A common error is to jab the finger emphatically or to wave it about, which none of the narrations describe.
Where the schools differ
What the four schools say
Which wording of the Tashahhud does each school use?
Each of these is an authentically transmitted wording, and every school regards the versions used by the others as valid. Learning the Ibn Mas'ud narration first is the usual advice, because it is the most widely taught.
What the four schools say
Is the first Tashahhud obligatory or sunnah?
The final Tashahhud is treated far more strictly than the first across all four schools, and the sitting at the end of the prayer is required in each of them.
Learning it
The Tashahhud is short, and because it recurs at least once in every prayer it settles quickly. Most people find that learning it in three pieces works best: the opening line of greetings, the two lines of peace, then the testification. Learn the meaning alongside the sounds, because a passage you understand stays in the memory in a way that a string of syllables does not.
If you are still building the prayer itself, work through how to pray salah step by step first, and pair it with Surah Al-Fatiha, which is the other passage you will need in every single rakah.
Common questions
›What happens if I forget the first Tashahhud?
If you have already stood up and settled into the next rakah, you continue the prayer and perform sujud as-sahw, the two prostrations for forgetfulness, and the prayer is valid. If you realise before you have fully stood, you sit back down and recite it. Every school treats the first Tashahhud as recoverable in this way.
›Do I recite the salawat at the first Tashahhud too?
The practice of most people is to recite the Tashahhud alone at the first sitting and add the salawat only at the final sitting, which is what the schools describe. Reciting it at the first sitting as well is held to be permissible by some scholars and not the preferred practice by others. Either way the prayer is valid.
›Can I say the Tashahhud in English if I do not know the Arabic?
The prayer is offered in Arabic, and the Tashahhud is a set text meant to be learned as it was taught. Someone new to it should recite what they can while memorising the rest, and use the English meaning to understand what they are saying rather than as a permanent substitute. It is short, and most people have it within a couple of weeks of daily prayer.
›Which sitting position do I use?
Two are described in the narrations. Iftirash means sitting on the left foot with the right foot upright, and tawarruk means slipping the left foot through and sitting on the ground. The schools apply them differently across the first and final sittings, and all are reported from the Prophet ﷺ. Sit in the way your school or your community prays.
Sources referenced
- Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, the Tashahhud as taught by the Prophet ﷺ to Abdullah ibn Mas'ud.
- Sahih Muslim, the Tashahhud narrated by Abdullah ibn Abbas, the wording followed by the Shafi'i school.
- Muwatta Malik, the Tashahhud narrated from Umar ibn al-Khattab, the wording followed by the Maliki school.
- Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, the hadith of Ka'b ibn Ujrah on how to send blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ.
- Sahih Muslim and Sahih al-Bukhari, the narrations of Ibn Umar and Wa'il ibn Hujr describing the sitting and the raised index finger.
Where the schools of thought differ we have given each position rather than choosing one. For a ruling on your own situation, ask a qualified scholar in your community.
Put it into practice
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