The form of sending peace upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the tashahhud: is it "Peace be upon you, O Prophet" or "Peace be upon the Prophet"?

The questioner : Can you tell me, is it "Peace be upon the Prophet" or "Peace, O Prophet"?

The Shaykh : It is "Peace be upon the Prophet." Today, after the death of the Messenger, this is what the Companions of the Messenger (may Allah be pleased with them) were taught to say. During his lifetime, they were taught to say "Peace be upon you, O Prophet." Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said, "When he died, we said 'Peace be upon the Prophet.'" So, is there something in this matter that appears to you, or is it something of this nature? In this example, we call ourselves Salafis, meaning followers of the Salaf. Why? Because they knew the matters of the Shari'ah better than we do. As I mentioned earlier, regarding his saying (peace be upon him) , they lived with the Messenger (peace be upon him), mingled with him, and heard from him directly, so they knew better than we did what he told them. When they were taught the tashahhud to say "Peace be upon you, O Prophet" in the greetings, the Companions said "Peace be upon the Prophet" while the Messenger was among them, in his mosque or in another mosque. Each of them would say "Peace be upon you, O Prophet." When he died, this ruling changed, and they began to say "Peace be upon the Prophet." We follow them, so we say "Peace be upon the Prophet." In this lies a profound wisdom in cutting off the means of istighathah (calling for aid), which many people today fall into, as they call for aid from the prophets, the awliya (close friends of Allah), and the righteous. This extent is sufficient, and the limit is for Allah, Lord of the worlds.

The Shaykh : ... The contract is still valid as long as you have contracted it, but we advise you not to say such a word again, because if it reaches some of the shaykhs, they will separate you from your wife.