Wā’il ibn Hujr reported: "I prayed with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and he used to perform the taslim to his right: 'Assalamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu' (Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings). And to his left: 'Assalamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu'." Narrated by Abu Dawud (22). If one says this, it is good, but the first [form] is better because its narrators are more numerous and its chains of transmission are more authentic. If one says: "Assalamu ‘alaykum" (Peace be upon you) and adds nothing more, the evident view of Ahmad is that it is sufficient. [The Qadi said: And] (23) Ahmad explicitly stated this in the funeral prayer. This is also the school of al-Shafi‘i, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "And its ending is the taslim" (24). And the taslim (25) is achieved by this utterance. It has been narrated from Sa‘d that he said: "I used to see the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) perform the taslim to his right and left until I could see the whiteness of his cheek: 'Assalamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullah, Assalamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullah'." Narrated by Abu Dawud (26). ‘Abdullah ibn Zayd narrated the like of this from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and from ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, that he used to perform the taslim to his right and to his left: "Assalamu ‘alaykum, Assalamu ‘alaykum." Both are narrated by Sa‘id (27). This is because the mention of the mercy (al-rahmah) is a repetition of praise, so it is not obligatory, like his saying "wa barakatuhu" (and His blessings). Ibn ‘Aqil said: "The more correct view is that it is not sufficient, because what is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is that he used to say: 'Assalamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullah'" (28). And because it is a greeting within the prayer that was transmitted coupled with the mercy, so it is not permissible without it.
(22) In: The Chapter on the Taslim, from the Book of Prayer. Sunan Abi Dawud 1/229. (23) Omitted from: M. (24) Previously mentioned on page 127. (25) In M: "And the ending (al-tahlil)". (26) We did not find it via the narration of Sa‘d in Sunan Abi Dawud. Al-Darimi narrated from Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to perform the taslim to his right until the whiteness of his cheek could be seen, then he would perform the taslim to his left until the whiteness of his cheek could be seen." See: The Chapter on the Taslim in Prayer, from the Book of Prayer. Sunan al-Darimi 1/310. A similar report is found in Ibn Majah from Sa‘d. See: The Chapter on the Taslim, from the Book of Establishing Prayer. Sunan Ibn Majah 1/296. Ibn Majah also narrated, in the same chapter, from ‘Ammar ibn Yasir, a similar report to what al-Muwaffaq cited from the hadith of Sa‘d, which he mentioned that Abu Dawud recorded. (27) Meaning Sa‘id ibn Mansur, in his Sunan. That which pertains to the prayer from it has not yet been published. (28) In M, an addition: "wa barakatuhu". See the beginning of the issue.
