Abū Ḥanīfah does not permit making supplication in the prayer with wording other than that of the Qur’an, whereas Mālik and al-Shāfiʿī allow it. The reason is their divergence over whether such wording constitutes ordinary speech or not.

Seventh Issue: They differed over whether the tashahhud is obligatory and over which wording is to be preferred. Mālik, Abū Ḥanīfah, and a number of scholars held that the tashahhud is not mandatory, while another group—including al-Shāfiʿī, Aḥmad, and Dāwūd—maintained that it is obligatory.

The cause of their disagreement is that analogy (qiyās) clashes with the apparent import of the narrations. Analogy would place the tashahhud alongside the other elements of the prayer that are not obligatory, for they all agree that the recitation of Qur’an is required, and the tashahhud is not Qur’an; analogy therefore treats it as non-obligatory.

The ḥadīth of Ibn ʿAbbās, however—“The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, used to teach us the tashahhud as he would teach us a sūrah of the Qur’an”—implies that it is compulsory. Those who rely on this report hold as a principle that the Prophet’s words and actions within the prayer must be presumed obligatory unless evidence proves otherwise. The opposite principle is followed by those who disagree: only what is unanimously agreed upon, or explicitly stated to be obligatory, is deemed compulsory, and nothing else may be added to that category without a clear textual proof. Thus the two foundational approaches stand in direct opposition.

As for the preferred formula of the tashahhud, Mālik—may Allah have mercy on him—selected the version transmitted from ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with him, which he used to teach the people from the pulpit:

“All greetings are for Allah, all blessed greetings are for Allah, all pure prayers are for Allah. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Peace be upon us and upon Allah’s righteous servants. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.”

The scholars of Kūfah—Abū Ḥanīfah and others—preferred the tashahhud reported from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd. Abū ʿUmar [Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr] said that this was also the choice of Aḥmad and most of the ḥadīth scholars because its transmission from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, is firmly established. It reads:

“Greetings are for Allah, and prayers and all good things. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Peace be upon us and upon Allah’s righteous servants. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.”

Al-Shāfiʿī and his followers opted for the tashahhud