Among those disputed matters is the first tashahhud and the sitting that accompanies it in any prayer containing two tashahhuds.

Imam Ahmad, al-Layth, Ishaq, Dawud, Abu Thawr, and al-Shafi‘i in one of the two reports from him, hold that both the first tashahhud and its sitting are obligatory. They rely on the hadiths concerning the tashahhud that speak in absolute terms, without limiting them to the final tashahhud. Among these is the narration now before us, and the report of ʿAbd Allah ibn Masʿud recorded by al-Nasa’i and by Imam Ahmad through trustworthy transmitters, in which the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—said: “When you sit after every two rakʿahs, say: ‘al-tahiyyatu lillah …’” and so forth.

The leading jurists Abu Hanifah, Malik, and al-Shafi‘i in the other report from him, deem the first tashahhud and its sitting merely recommended. Their proof is that the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—once omitted them inadvertently and did not return to perform them, nor did he censure the Companions who followed him in that omission; he compensated only with the prostrations of forgetfulness (sujud al-sahw).

The answer is that one must return to the sitting only if he remembers before fully rising to stand. Abu Dawud relates from al-Mughira ibn Shuʿbah that the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—said: “If one of you stands after two rakʿahs and has not yet straightened his back, let him sit; but if he has straightened up, let him not sit and instead perform the two prostrations of forgetfulness.” Those prostrations make good both what is obligatory and what is recommended.

The jurists also differ over the preferred manner of sitting. The Hanafis favor iftirash—spreading the left foot flat and sitting on it—in every sitting of the prayer, whether between the two prostrations or during either the first or the final tashahhud. In contrast, the Malikis consider tawarruk—placing the left foot under the right calf and resting both thighs on the ground—prescribed in every sitting, whether it is for the tashahhuds or between the two prostrations. The Shafiʿis recommend iftirash in the first tashahhud of a prayer that contains two tashahhuds, and tawarruk in the final tashahhud, whether the prayer is of two rakʿahs or more. The Hanbalis prefer iftirash in the first tashahhud and also in the final tashahhud of any prayer that has only one tashahhud, while they recommend tawarruk in the final tashahhud of a prayer that includes two tashahhuds.