He begins by saying: "Peace be upon you" toward the qiblah, then turns to his right and left [saying: "and the mercy of Allah"] due to the statement of ‘Aisha: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to perform the taslim facing his direction. Its meaning is [that his starting the taslim is toward his face and his turning occurs during his taslim].

Section: It has been narrated from Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, [that he performs the first taslim loudly, and the] second [is softer than the first, meaning this in the case of the Imam. Salih ibn ‘Ali said]: Ahmad was asked: Which of the two taslims is louder? He said: The first. [In one wording he said, Abu ‘Abd Allah said: The first taslim is louder than the other. Judge Abu al-Husayn said]: Abu Bakr al-Khallal and Abu Hafs al-‘Ukbari chose [this narration]. Ahmad interpreted the hadith of ‘Aisha, that he used to perform one taslim, to mean that he would perform one loudly, so it would be heard from him. The reason for this is that speaking loudly in [parts of the prayer] other than the recitation was only legislated for informing [others] of the transition from one pillar to another, and this knowledge is attained by saying the first taslim loudly, so there is [no need for] saying the others loudly. Ibn Hamid [held the view of saying the second loudly and the first softly; so that the follower does not precede him in the salutation].