He (peace and blessings be upon him) would keep this tashahhud very brief, as though he were sitting on hot stones. No hadith ever reports that he invoked blessings upon himself and his family during this tashahhud, nor that he sought refuge during it from the punishment of the grave, the punishment of the Fire, the trials of life and death, or the trial of the False Messiah. Those who consider this recommended have inferred it only from general and unrestricted wording whose application has been reliably clarified and restricted to the final tashahhud (1).

He would then rise, saying “Allah is Most Great,” pushing up on the balls of his feet and his knees, and bracing himself against his thighs, as explained earlier. Muslim mentions in his Sahīh (2), in the hadith of ‘Abd Allāh ibn ‘Umar, that he would raise his hands at this point. This also appears in some chains of transmission recorded by al-Bukhārī (3). However, this additional wording is not reported consistently in the hadith of ‘Abd Allāh ibn ‘Umar, and most of its transmitters do not mention it. It is explicitly mentioned in the hadith of Abū Humayd al-Sā‘idī, who said:

“When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stood for prayer, he would say ‘Allah is Most Great,’ then raise his hands level with his shoulders and settle every bone (4) in its proper position. He would then recite (5). Next, he would raise his hands level with his shoulders (6), then bow and place his palms on his knees, keeping an even posture, neither lowering his head nor