The impact of 'Umar on the wording of the tashahhud: Does it not make it stronger given that he was one of the senior Companions?

The questioner : Regarding the athar of 'Umar that you mentioned concerning the tashahhud, I believe it is from al-Muwatta'. This is what is considered stronger in terms of the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud from Umm Salama, which is marfu', because he was one of the senior Companions and they remained silent regarding both of them.

The Shaykh : No, the strength of the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud comes from two aspects. The first aspect is that it was published in the most authentic book after the Book of Allah, which is Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. The second aspect, which is very important, is that the narrators did not differ when they narrated the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud, not even in a single letter, whereas in the other versions of the tashahhud, there was disagreement regarding the placement of one word in place of another, or the addition of a letter or word in some narrations and its omission in others. For this reason, the scholars of hadith, including the Shafi'is who practically preferred the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas over the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud, had no choice but to acknowledge that the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud is more authentic than the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas. This is known in terminology: what is agreed upon by both is more authentic than what is unique to one of them. So how much more so when other factors are added to this, such as what I mentioned earlier: that there was no disagreement in the tashahhud of Ibn Mas'ud, not even in a single letter. Moreover, it is established from Ibn Mas'ud his special care in correcting the tashahhud of his companions, just as he took that from the special care of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for him when Ibn Mas'ud said, "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) taught me the tashahhud and placed my hand between his hands." This is an indication of the Messenger of Allah's (peace and blessings be upon him) attention to Ibn Mas'ud and his teaching him the tashahhud. Ibn Mas'ud followed this pattern with those who came after him from among the Companions and the Tabi'un. 'Uqbah, as I recall, said that Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) "would hold us accountable for a single letter." That is, if one of them made a mistake in a single letter, he would point out the correct form to him. It is this collection of factors that made the scholars of hadith, without exception, whether they were hadith scholars without a madhhab, or Shafi'is, or Hanafis, all agree that the hadith of the tashahhud of Ibn Mas'ud is the most authentic of the hadiths of the tashahhud. The observation you made is one aspect of strength, namely that he declared it, but that does not mean authenticity in terms of the chain of narration and the arrival of this tashahhud to us with the same strength and solidity with which the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) reached us. That is a situational strength. And there is no doubt that when 'Umar declares something before the people, it is a very important strength. But what informs us of that is the isnad. So there is no doubt that at that time, the isnad of Ibn Mas'ud and the consensus of the scholars, as we mentioned, that it is the strongest isnad, leaves the preponderant virtue to the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud.The Shaykh : This is more authentic than what either of them narrated alone, so how much more so when other factors are added to it, such as what I mentioned earlier: there was no disagreement regarding Ibn Mas'ud's tashahhud, not even in a single letter. In fact, it is established from Ibn Mas'ud that he paid special attention to correcting the tashahhud of his companions, just as he took that from the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) special attention to him when Ibn Mas'ud said, "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) taught me the tashahhud and placed my hand between his hands." This is an indication of the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) concern for Ibn Mas'ud and his teaching him the tashahhud. Ibn Mas'ud followed this pattern with those who came after him from among the Companions and the Tabi'un. 'Uqbah, as I recall, said that Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) "would hold us accountable for a single letter." That is, if one of them made a mistake in a single letter, he would point out the correct form to him. It is this collection of factors that led the scholars of hadith, without exception, to agree—whether they were hadith scholars without a specific madhhab, or Shafi'i or Hanafi jurists—that the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud's tashahhud is the most authentic of the hadiths regarding the tashahhud. The observation you made is a strength in the sense that it was declared publicly, but that does not mean it is authentic in terms of the chain of narration and that this tashahhud reached us with the same strength and solidity as the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) reached us. That is a contextual strength, and there is no doubt that when 'Umar declares something before the people, it is a very important strength. But what informs us of that is the isnad. Therefore, there is no doubt that at that time, the isnad of Ibn Mas'ud and the consensus of the scholars, as we mentioned, that it is the strongest isnad, means that the preponderant virtue remains with the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud.