Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Question: Assalamu alaykum
I was recounting the story of the origin of the tashahhud which I had learned through SeekersGuidance long before in a group. However, it was contested by someone.
After investigating the issue myself, I cannot find any chain of transmission through which this hadith is found. Could you please clarify this issue for me?
Answer: Wa ‘alaykum as-salam wa rahamtullah wa barakatuh
Thank you for your question.
There do not seem to be any sound chains of transmission for this. The fuqaha deduced it from the wording and the context of the Miʿraj, but it is not taken as an absolute.
What the greater focus should be on here is the extreme concern the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) had for his followers. This is clear from the number of times he returned to Allah to as for a decrease in the number of prayers made obligatory for us for fear of hardship for us (Muslim). May Allah bless him and grant him peace in a manner and to the extent which is suited to his great rank on our behalf. Some favours just cannot be thanked.
May Allah grant you the best of both worlds.
Wassalam,
[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat