Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi
Question
It Is obligatory to send blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessing upon him) during the last sitting of the Prayer?
Answer
In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
I pray this finds you in the best of states.
The Ruling
Sending blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) during the last sitting of the prayer is not obligatory but is an emphasized sunna. [Shurunbulali, Nur al-Idah]
Making it a habit to miss it without excuse is sinful. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]
The Reason for This Ruling
The reason for this is that it is clearly understood from the Quran by the jurists of the Hanafi school that a prayer without sending blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) remains valid as the only obligatory actions listed in it are the standing, the recitation, the bowing, and the prostration. Claiming that a prayer needs more than that to be valid entails amending the book of Allah, Most High, without a valid reason.
As for the last sitting for the extent of the Tashahud being obligatory despite being established through hadiths it is because these hadiths have been established very strongly and clarify what has been left undetailed regarding the validity of the prayer in the Quran. Thus these hadiths are practically applied by the jurists as if it has the strength of a Quranic proof.
As for the hadiths establishing the sending of blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) during the last sitting, they don’t have this strength and are not indicative of a punishment for leaving it. Nonetheless, it remains an emphasized sunna to do so. [Marghinani, Hidaya; Laknawi, Hashiya on the Hidaya]
And Allah knows best.
Wassalam
[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching far and wide for answers to the fundamental questions of life and was disappointed at the answers he found.
Then he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor Shaykh Faraz Rabbani.
He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha‘ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others.
He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.