Abū Īsā al-Tirmidhī said: “Alī’s hadith is graded fair. Ishāq ibn Ibrāhīm held that the four rak‘ahs before Asr should not be separated, citing this hadith as evidence. Ishāq said: ‘The statement that he separated them with the salutation means the tashahhud.’ Al-Shāfiī and Ahmad held that the voluntary prayers of both night and day are performed two rak‘ahs at a time; they preferred separating the four rak‘ahs before Asr.” (1) End quote.

I say: The apparent meaning is what Ishāq ibn Ibrāhīm stated. This is supported by the narration recorded by al-Nasā’ī: “giving the final salām at their conclusion.” (2) It is further reinforced by the fact that, if the salutation in the words, “He separates every two rak‘ahs by greeting with peace the angels brought near, the prophets, and the messengers…” meant the salutation by which one exits the prayer, the worshiper would necessarily have to intend that; yet no such prescription exists in the Sacred Law. This demonstrates that greeting with peace the angels brought near, and so forth, refers to the tashahhud—especially since it has been reported in a narration traced back to the Prophet that the tashahhud includes a greeting of peace to every righteous servant in heaven and on earth.