treats it as a prayer. Weaker still is the position of those who affirm a tashahhud in it by analogy.

The second view is that these two prostrations involve a tashahhud: one recites the tashahhud and says the salām when performing them after the salām. This is reported from Ibn Abbās, al-Nakha'ī, al-Hakam, Hammād, al-Thawrī, al-Awzā'ī, al-Shāfi'ī, Ahmad and the advocates of juristic opinion.

The third view is that they involve a salām without a tashahhud. This is the view of Ibn Sīrīn. Ibn al-Mundhir said: “The salām following them is established through several chains of transmission, whereas the evidence establishing the tashahhud is open to question.” It is reported from Atā' that one may, if one wishes, recite the tashahhud and say the salām, or refrain from doing so.

Abū Muhammad said:

“It is possible that the tashahhud is not obligatory, because the apparent meaning of the first two hadiths is that he said the salām without a tashahhud, and they are more authentic than this report. Furthermore, these are separate prostrations, so no tashahhud is required for them, just as with the prostration of recitation.”

I say:

As for the salām following these two prostrations, it is established in the authentic hadiths of Ibn Mas'ūd and Imrān. As mentioned earlier, the two Sahīh collections record that Ibn Mas'ūd said:

“The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed—Ibrāhīm said, ‘He added to or omitted from the prayer.’ When he had said the salām, he was asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, has something changed concerning the prayer?’ He asked, ‘What is that?’ They replied, ‘You prayed such and such.’ He then folded his legs, faced the qiblah, performed two prostrations and said the salām. Then he turned to face us.”

The hadith continues.