The Shaykh’s discussion with one of the attendees: Is it said in the tashahhud, “Peace be upon the Prophet,” or “Peace be upon you, O Prophet”?

The Shaykh : No, that is not the answer. I am asking you how you reason this out. Do not make analogies now, especially since we have said that there is disagreement regarding qiyas (analogical reasoning). How do you reason out this specific detail? Because earlier, you considered what our brother mentioned previously, comparing what Ibn 'Abbas said regarding the tawaf (circumambulation) among people and what Ibn 'Umar did regarding the rows among people, and so on. Leave me alone with the qiyas for a moment. How do you reason out this specific detail? Say, for example, “He exercised ijtihad (independent legal reasoning) and was correct.” Say whatever you believe in and worship Allah with, and not as a defense of the fact that you keep saying “Peace be upon the Prophet” while I say “Peace be upon you, O Prophet.” You are not the first one to say it this way; the majority of Muslim scholars today are with you in this. So do not be afraid; the majority is with you. But I am saying, just help me out, may Allah reward you with good. How do you reason out this specific detail? I hope the answer will be clear.

The questioner : I presented the hadith of 'Umar because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

The Shaykh : You have not been fair to me.

The questioner : 'Umar, excuse me, it is Ibn Mas'ud. It can be said that he exercised ijtihad that this was in the case of the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), using the pronoun of address, and that after the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), it can be said “upon the Prophet” using the pronoun of absence. A person might exercise ijtihad on this, but I hold that the statement of 'Umar takes precedence over...

The Shaykh : No, we are not finished. We have a long way to go, Professor. But be patient for a moment. Let us stay with the spiritual fruit for now. May Allah forgive you for that. May Allah reward you with good. You said, may Allah bless you, that he may have exercised ijtihad. I will not blame you if I say to you in advance, “Brother, he exercised ijtihad.” I told you to say “he exercised ijtihad,” but I am asking you: do you dismiss this ijtihad from this Companion whom you described as one who would take the tashahhud by letter, and then he would come to a phrase he heard directly from the Messenger and change it? I will not prolong the discussion with you, because the issue is actually more a matter of taste than science. But a very important question arises for you. No, I have not finished my speech, and you need to finish. What arises for you? I have not finished.

The questioner : I want the answer to the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)...

The Shaykh : Do you want me to answer about something you looked at or not?

The questioner : No, it is similar to .

The Shaykh : Okay, what is behind this?

The questioner : Just that.

The Shaykh : You have fallen between the cup and the lip.

The questioner : The hadith of 'Umar. Shaykh, how is the hadith of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) answered?

The Shaykh : I am not finished yet. We have come back from the north to the south.

The questioner : The problem he has in the first place. If I answer the problem...

The Shaykh : And what is it?

The questioner : It is 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) teaching the people on the minbar (pulpit).

The Shaykh : Glory be to Allah.

The questioner : This is the problem he has.

The Shaykh : It is strange. The teaching of the Messenger is not enough. I want to draw your attention to your answer, which, if it were correct—and it is not correct according to your statement that he may have exercised ijtihad—might also be valid. I will follow up with you and say: it might be valid if he were alone. But what do you say about what was narrated? First, 'Abd al-Razzaq narrated with a sound chain from 'Ata ibn Abi Rabah that he said, “The Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say in the tashahhud, ‘Peace be upon you, O Prophet.’ So when he died, they said, ‘Peace be upon the Prophet.’” What do you say?

The questioner : Imam 'Abd al-Razzaq narrated a hadith from 'Umar ibn al-Khattab that he used to teach them the tashahhud on the minbar and say, “Peace be upon you, O Prophet.”

The Shaykh : This is an answer to my question. This is another evasion. May Allah forgive you. But it seems that it is necessary to be explicit. Are you with us in what we directed to our brother here when I told him, “We call to the Book and the Sunnah and upon the methodology of the Salaf (the earliest generations),” as we are, out of good opinion of our Muslim brother? I say you are with us in this. But it seems that you are not with us, either in the premise or in the application. And the bitterer of the two is the second. The second is milder. Let us see how we can address this milder one as well with this reconciliation. I want to say that the flood has reached the brim. Why? Because now, may Allah bless you, you have been afflicted with what has afflicted many people in this time. Do not blame me, because your position requires frankness, and religion is frank advice.