The Form of the Salam in the Tashahhud: Is it (Peace be upon you, O Prophet) or (Peace be upon the Prophet)?

The questioner : The form of the salam in the tashahhud: is it or ?

The Shaykh : ... There are two forms. When it reached the point where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) taught the salam in the tashahhud, , Ibn Mas'ud said: "And he is among us." So when he died, we said: . Here is the proof: we must receive the Book and the Sunnah in light of the understanding and application of our righteous Salaf. Everyone who looks at this hadith, and the hadith of Ibn Abbas, the hadith of Aishah, and the hadith of Umar, all of which revolve around the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) teaching his Companions the tashahhud with the wording of direct address: . But Ibn Mas'ud, who was granted a fiqh that few of the other Companions were granted, let alone those who came after them, and therefore was keen to convey his knowledge to the Tabi'un among his followers, inserted this parenthetical phrase after conveying to us the teaching of our Prophet (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him) that we should say in the tashahhud: ; that is, with the "kaaf" of direct address. He then corrected the teaching for us and said: "And he is among us"; that is, he taught us to say while the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was alive. So when he passed away—said Ibn Mas'ud in completing this phrase—when he passed away, we said: . Thus, we take the teaching of the Messenger (peace be upon him) with , with the condition that he is in his lifetime; that is, this ruling was specific to the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and to his lifetime (peace and blessings be upon him). So when he passed away, his Companions said: . Had it not been for the clarification of Ibn Mas'ud for us, we would have continued with the first teaching, . But when the clarification of Ibn Mas'ud came, and that this direct address was specific to his lifetime (peace and blessings be upon him), we shifted the salam from the "kaaf" of direct address to .