However, the Shafiʿis and the Hanbalis differ over the prayer that contains only a single tashahhud.

The Shafiʿis maintain that tawarruk is adopted in such a case, because the wording in the ḥadith of Abu Humayd—“When he sat in the last rakʿah…”—is general and therefore covers every final sitting, whether the prayer is two-rakʿah or otherwise.

The Hanbalis, by contrast, hold that tawarruk is confined to the last tashahhud of a prayer that has two tashahhuds. They argue that the context of Abu Humayd’s report supports this: it first describes the Prophet’s posture during the initial tashahhud and how he rose from it, and only thereafter mentions tawarruk, intending thereby the final tashahhud.

Their rationale is that tawarruk is prescribed in a prayer with two tashahhuds so that the two sittings may be distinguished. When the worshipper sits in iftirash for the first tashahhud he is already prepared to stand, whereas in the second he performs tawarruk because this posture conveys repose.

Ibn al-Qayyim preferred this sequence—iftirash then tawarruk—in his Zad al-Maʿad, yet al-Shawkani refuted his view in Nayl al-Awtar. Allah knows best.

The finest wording of the tashahhud is that narrated by ʿAbd Allah ibn Masʿud; it is the most authentic, and for that reason the scholars unanimously selected it. It reads:

“All greetings are for Allah, and all prayers and all pure words. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Peace be upon us and upon the righteous servants of Allah. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger.”

The scholars likewise agree that the taslīm is legislated, yet they disagree whether what is prescribed is two salutations or only one. The stronger view is that two salutations are required, for the ḥadiths supporting them are authentic, whereas those that mention only a single salutation are weak. Even were the single-taslīm reports judged sound, the two-salutation reports contain an additional element that does not contradict them, and an addition transmitted by a trustworthy narrator is accepted.

They also differ over whether the taslīm is obligatory. The Hanafis consider it non-obligatory, citing the report that al-Tirmidhi records from Ibn ʿUmar: the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—said, “If the imam raises his head from prostration, sits, and then enters a state of ritual impurity before uttering the taslīm, his prayer is complete.” They also adduce the ḥadith of the man who prayed poorly, in which the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—did not command him to perform the taslīm.