Next, after completing the fourth rak'ah, he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would
sit for the last tashahhud. He would instruct regarding it, and do in it, just as
he did in the first tashahhud, except that "he would sit mutawarrikan"249,
"with his left upper thigh on the ground, and both his feet protruding from one
(i.e. the right) side."250 "He would have his left
foot under his (right) thigh and shin"251, "his
right foot upright"252 or occasionally "he would
lay it along the ground."253 "His left palm would
cover his (left) knee, leaning heavily on it."254
[see diagram ]
He set the example of sending prayers on him (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) in
this tashahhud, as in the first tashahhud; the ways of sending prayer on him (sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam) narrated have been given in that section .
The Obligation of Sending Prayers on the Prophet (sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam) in this Tashahhud
Once, "he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) heard a man supplicating in his prayer
without glorifying the majesty of Allaah Exalted, nor sending prayers on the Prophet
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam), so he said: This man has been hasty." He
then called him and said to him and others, "When one of you prays, he should begin
with the praise of his Lord, Sublime and Mighty, and his exultation, and then send
prayers (in one narration: he should send prayers) on the Prophet (sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam), and then supplicate as he wishes."255
Also, "he heard a man glorifying and praising Allaah, and sending prayers on the
Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) in prayer, so the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam) said to him: Supplicate, and you will be answered; ask, and you
will be given."256
He (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) used to say, "When one of you has finished the
[last] tashahhud, he should seek refuge with Allaah from four things; [saying:
O Allaah! I truly seek refuge with You] from the punishment of Hellfire, and from
the punishment of the grave, and from the trials of living and dying, and from the
evil [trials] of the False Christ. [Then he should supplicate for himself
with what occurs to him.]"257 - "He (sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam) would supplicate with it in his own tashahhud."258
Also, "he used to teach the Companions (radi Allaahu 'anhum) this the way he taught
them Soorahs of the Qur'aan."259
He (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) used to use different supplications in his prayer260, supplicating with different ones at different
times; he also endorsed other supplications, and "ordered the worshipper to select
of them what he wishes."261 They are:
-
"O Allaah! truly I seek refuge with You from the punishment of the grave, and I seek
refuge with you from the trials of the False Christ, and I seek refuge with You
from the trials of living and dying. O Allaah! truly I seek refuge with You from
sin262 and burden263."264
-
"O Allaah! truly I seek refuge with You from the evil of what I have done, and from
the evil of what I have not done265 [yet].266
-
"O Allaah! call me to account with an easy reckoning."267
-
"O Allaah! [I ask you], by Your knowledge of the Unseen, and Your control over the
creation: give me life as long as You know that life is best for me, and take me
when death is best for me. O Allaah! I also ask of You fear of You, in secret and
in open; I ask of You the word of Truth (in one narration: Wisdom)
and justice in anger and in pleasure; I ask of You moderation in poverty and affluence;
I ask of You joy which does not fade; I ask of You pleasure [which does not pass
away, nor that] which ceases; I ask of You contentment with Your decree; I ask of
You coolness of life after death; I ask of You the delight of looking towards Your
Face; and [I ask of You] eagerness towards meeting You, not in harmful adversity,
nor in misleading afflictions. O Allaah! adorn us with the decoration of eemaan,
and make us those who guide and are guided.268
- He taught Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq (radi Allaahu 'anhu) to say:
"O Allaah! indeed I have wronged myself greatly, and none can forgive sins except
You, so forgive me out of Your forgiveness, and have mercy on me. Truly, You are
the Oft- Forgiving, the Most Merciful."269
- He instructed 'Aa'ishah (radi Allaahu 'anhaa) to say:
"O Allaah! indeed I ask of You all Good, [the imminent and the far-off,] that of
it which I know and that which I do not know. I seek refuge with You from all Evil,
[the imminent and the far-off,] that of it which I know and that which I do not
know. I ask of You (in one narration: O Allaah! indeed I ask of You) the
Garden, and whatever saying or deed which brings one near to it; I seek refuge with
You from the Fire, and (from) whatever saying or deed which brings one near to it.
I ask of You (in one narration: O Allaah! indeed I ask of You)
[the] good of what was asked of You by Your slave and messenger [Muhammad; and I
seek refuge with You from evil of what Your slave and messenger Muhammad (sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam) sought refuge with You]. [I ask of You] that whatever You have
decreed for me, its result [for me] be beneficial.270
- He said to a man, What do you say during the prayer? He replied, "I bear witness
(i.e. do the tashahhud), then I ask Allaah for the Garden, and I seek refuge with
Him from the Fire. However, by Allaah, there is no murmuring271
as good as yours or that of Mu'aadh." So he said, Our murmuring is like yours.272
- He heard a man saying in his tashahhud:
"O Allaah! indeed I ask of You, O Allaah (in one narration: by Allaah),
the One, the Only, the Absolute, Who begets not and nor is He begotten, and there
is none like Him, that You forgive me my sins; indeed You are the Oft-Forgiving,
Most Merciful.
On this, he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said, He has been forgiven, he has
been forgiven.273
- He heard another man say in his tashahhud:
"O Allaah! Indeed, I ask of You, by the fact that to You belongs all Praise; there
is no (true) god except You, [You alone, You have no partners;] the Bestower of
Favours; [O] Originator of the Heavens and the Earth; O One that is Full of Majesty
and Honour; O Living One, O Eternal One; [indeed I ask of You] [the Garden, and
I seek refuge with You from the Fire]. [So the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi
wa sallam) said to his Companions, Do you know with what he has supplicated?
They said, "Allaah and His Messenger know best." He said, By Him in Whose Hand is
my soul,] he has supplicated Allaah with His Mighty (in one narration: Mightiest)
name274, with which if He is supplicated,
He answers, and with which if He is asked, He gives.275
- One of the last things he would say between the tashahhud and the tasleem would
be:
"O Allaah! Forgive me what I have done in the past, and what I will do in the future,
and what I have concealed, and what I have done openly, and what I have exceeded
in, whatever You know about more know than I. You are the Bringer-Forward, and You
are the Delayer, there is no (true) god except You."276
Footnotes
249 Bukhaari .
250 ibid. As for two-rak`ah prayers
such as Fajr, the Sunnah is to sit muftarishan. This difference in detail
is documented from Imaam Ahmad, cf. Ibn Hani's Masaa'il of Imaam Ahmad
(p. 79).
251 Abu Daawood & Baihaqi with a saheeh sanad.
252 Muslim & Abu `Awaanah.
253 ibid.
254 ibid.
255 Ahmad, Abu Daawood, Ibn Khuzaimah (1/83/2) & al-Haakim
, who declared it saheeh and Dhahabi agreed.
It should be known that this hadeeth proves that salaah (sending prayers)
on the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) in this tashahhud is obligatory,
due to the command about it. This opinion was taken by Imaam Shaafi`i and by Imaam
Ahmad in the later of the two narrations from him, and before them by several Companions,
as well as other people of knowledge. Because of this, Aajuri said in Sharee`ah
(p. 415): "He who does not send prayers on the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam)
in the final tashahhud must repeat the prayer." Hence, those who label Imaam Shaafi`i
as being alone and odd in his opinion on this, are not being just, as the faqeeh
Haitami has explained in Darr al-Mandood (sections 13-16).
256 Nasaa'i with a saheeh sanad.
257 Muslim, Abu `Awaanah, Nasaa'i
& Ibn al-Jaarood in al-Muntaqaa (27). It is given in Irwaa' (350).
258 Abu Daawood & Ahmad with a saheeh sanad.
259 Muslim & Abu `Awaanah.
260 We have not said, "... in his tashahhud" because
the text is "... in his prayer", not specifying either tashahhud or anything else.
Hence, it covers all positions suitable for supplication, e.g. prostration and tashahhud;
the instruction to supplicate in these two postures has been mentioned.
261 Bukhaari & Muslim. Athram said, "I asked Ahmad:
'With what (words) should I supplicate after tashahhud ?' He said, 'As has been
narrated.' I said, 'Didn't the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam)
say, "Then he should select whichever supplication he likes" ?' He said, 'He should
select out of what has been narrated.' I repeated the question: he said, 'From what
has been narrated'." This was quoted by Ibn Taymiyyah (Majmoo` al-Fataawaa
69/218/1), who endorsed it, adding, "Hence, 'whichever supplication' refers to the
supplications which Allaah loves, not to any supplication ..."; later he said, "Hence,
it is best to say: (one should supplicate) with the approved, established supplications,
and these are what have ben narrated and those that are beneficial." This is so,
but to recognise which supplications are indeed beneficial depends on authentic
knowledge, and this is rarely found among the people, so it is best to stick to
the supplications quoted, especially when they include what the worshipper wishes
to request. Allaah knows best.
262 ma'tham: what causes a man to sin, or the sin itself.
263 maghram: burden; here it means
debt, as proved by the rest of the hadeeth, in which `Aa'ishah said, "Someone said
to him, `Why do you seek refuge from maghram, so often, O Messenger of Allaah ?'
He replied, Truly, when a man becomes indebted, he speaks and lies, and he promises
and breaks his promise.
264 Bukhaari & Muslim.
265 i.e. from the evil of the bad actions I have done,
and from the evil of not doing good actions.
266 Nasaa'i with a saheeh sanad & Ibn Abi `Aasim
in his as-Sunnah (no. 370 - with my checking); the addition is from the
latter.
267 Ahmad & Haakim who declared it saheeh and Dhahabi agreed.
268 Nasaa'i & al-Haakim who declared
it saheeh and Dhahabi agreed.
269 Bukhaari & Muslim.
270 Ahmad, Tayaalisi, Bukhaari in
al-Adab al-Mufrad, Ibn Maajah & Haakim who declared it saheeh and Dhahabi
agreed. I have given its takhreej in Silsilah al-Ahaadeeth as-Saheehah
(1542).
271 dandanah: to speak such the intonation is audible,
but the words are incomprehensible - in the case, the quiet words of supplication.
The final statement means, "Our words are like yours."
272 Abu Daawood, Ibn Maajah &
Ibn Khuzaimah (1/87/1) with a saheeh isnaad.
273 Abu Daawood, Nasaa'i, Ahmad & Ibn Khuzaimah;
Haakim declared it saheeh and Dhahabi agreed.
274 This is tawassul (a seeking of approach)
to Allaah through His most beautiful names and attributes, and this is what Allaah
the Exalted commands: "To Allaah belong the most beautiful names, so call on Him
by them." (A`raaf 7:180). As for seeking to approaching Allaah through other
things, e.g. for so-and-so's sake, or by so-and-so's right, status, dignity, etc.,
there is text from Imaam Abu Haneefah (rahimahullaah) and his companions that such
a practice is at least disliked (makrooh); in general it is prohibited (haraam).
Therefore, it is a pity that one sees most of the people, among them many shaikhs,
totally neglecting the approved tawassul, - you will never hear them approaching
Allaah this way - but they are well-versed in innovated forms of tawassul, which
are at the very least debatable, as though no other way is allowed! Shaikh-ul-Islaam
Ibn Taymiyyah has composed an extremely good essay on this subject entitled Tawassul
and Waseelah ("Approaching Allaah, and the Means of doing so"), which should
be consulted, for it is very important, and there is little to compare with it in
its coverage. There is also my article Tawassul - its types and its rules,
which is also important in its subject-matter and format, and also refutes some
of the latest misconceptions advanced by contemporary doctors of religion. May Allaah
guide us and them.
275 Abu Daawood, Nasaa'i, Ahmad, Bukhaari in al-Adab
al-Mufrad, Tabaraani & Ibn Mandah in Tawheed (44/2, 67/1,
70/1-2) with saheeh isnaads.
276 Muslim & Abu `Awaanah.
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