Tashahhud is an act of worship that is taken from Shar’ texts that should never be changed.

Regretfully, many muslims of today abandoned the authentic wordings of Tashahhud and resorted to other ones, some of them even add statements to the original ones believing them to be more beneficial. Any muslim must be aware of such abandoning for indeed our prophet Muhammad’s ( - صلى الله عليه وسلم -) deeds are the most beneficial and most sublime to which we should all adhere especially sending Sal?t on him ( - صلى الله عليه وسلم -) with its precise wording.

Both Tashahhud and sending Sal?t on the prophet ( - صلى الله عليه وسلم -) are of the prescriptional acts [Tawq?fiyyah]; no one is allowed neither to add to nor omit a bit of them. The prophet ( - صلى الله عليه وسلم -) set certain wordings for them both to be followed by all muslims. So, be -my dear muslim brother- of those who follow [the Sunnah] and not of those who change and innovate new things in it. (1)

Adding the words “Bismill?h” to the beginning of Tashahhud and “As’alull?h Al-Jannah Wa’a’?thu Bill?hi Minan N?r” [I ask All?h to admit me to Paradise. And I seek refuge with him from Hell] to its end is also a mistake done by some muslims. Some recite such statements in Tasl?m also. This will be discussed later at the end of this chapter. In his “Tamy?z” (pp. 141 - 2), Im?m. Muslim said: ‘the wording of Tashahhud was related from the prophet ( - صلى الله عليه وسلم -) through many authentic narrations none of the following statements was affirmed to be mentioned in them at all’: ‘Bismill?h or Bill?h in its beginning, As’alull?hal Jannah Wa ‘A’?thu Bill?hi Minan N?r at its end’.

[5/ 22] The third:

Im?m An-Nawaw? said: ‘Scholars differed regarding the obligation of sending Sal?t on the prophet ( - صلى الله عليه وسلم -) in the second Tashahhud in Sal?t. Ab? Han?fah, M?lik and the Jumh?r held it to be a Sunnah that if not done, one’s Sal?t is still valid, while Ash-Sh?fi‘? and Ahmad regarded it to be a W?jib that if not done, one’s