Attahiyat (Tashahhud): Arabic, Transliteration, and Meaning

What is Attahiyat (the Tashahhud)?

Attahiyat is the recitation you make while sitting in the prayer, and it takes its common name from its first word, at-tahiyyat, which means the greetings or salutations. Scholars also call it the Tashahhud, from the root that means to testify, because it contains the two-part testimony of faith. When people ask about at-tahiyyat or the tashahhud, they are asking about the same thing: the words you recite sitting back on your legs after the second prostration, once after every two rak'ahs and again at the very end of the prayer.

The Tashahhud is not a random collection of phrases. It opens by directing every kind of greeting, prayer and good word to Allah alone. It then sends peace upon the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and upon the righteous servants of Allah, and it closes with the declaration that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His servant and messenger. In a few short lines you move from praise, to greeting, to the core of your faith. That is why it sits at the heart of the prayer.

The wording most Muslims are taught was reported by the companion Abdullah ibn Masud, may Allah be pleased with him, and it is recorded in both Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, the two most rigorously authenticated collections of hadith. Ibn Masud described how the Prophet took him by the hand and taught him the Tashahhud the way he would teach him a chapter of the Quran, which tells you how much care was given to getting these exact words right. That is the version this guide presents in full.

If you are new to the prayer and still learning the overall sequence of standing, bowing and prostrating, it helps to read our full walkthrough on how to pray in Islam alongside this article. There you will see exactly where the sitting falls inside a complete prayer, and this guide then zooms in on the words you say once you are sitting.

The full Attahiyat: Arabic, transliteration, and meaning

Here is the complete Attahiyat in the version narrated by Abdullah ibn Masud and recorded in Bukhari and Muslim. Read the Arabic if you can, use the transliteration to guide your pronunciation while you learn, and study the meaning so the words are alive in your heart rather than just sounds on your tongue.

Transliteration: At-tahiyyatu lillahi was-salawatu wat-tayyibat, as-salamu alayka ayyuhan-nabiyyu wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, as-salamu alayna wa ala ibadillahis-salihin, ashhadu an la ilaha illallah wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluh.

Meaning in English: All greetings, prayers and good things are for Allah. 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 His Messenger.

Notice how compact it is. This is shorter than Surah Al-Fatihah, which you already recite in every rak'ah, so if you can manage Al-Fatihah you can certainly manage this. A common point of pronunciation to get right is the joining of words: at-tahiyyatu lillah runs together, and ibadillahis-salihin joins the words for the servants of Allah, the righteous, into one smooth phrase. Take it slowly at first and the flow will come.

One transliteration note that trips up beginners. The hyphens in the transliteration, as in at-tahiyyatu and as-salamu, are simply there to show where the Arabic definite article attaches and how the sounds run together. They are not pauses. Read across them smoothly. And the apostrophe-like marks stand for Arabic letters that do not have an exact English equivalent, so learning by ear from a good reciter will always beat learning from the page alone.

Attahiyat word by word

Understanding each phrase turns the Tashahhud from a memorized routine into a meaningful moment. Here is the recitation broken into its parts, so you know what every line is saying.

• At-tahiyyatu lillah means "all greetings, or all salutations of honor, are for Allah." The word tahiyyat carries the sense of the greetings, honors and expressions of reverence that people direct to a king; here they are directed to Allah alone, who is worthy of all of them.
• Was-salawatu means "and the prayers." This includes the acts of worship and the supplications that a servant offers, all of which belong to Allah.
• Wat-tayyibat means "and the good and pure things." Every good word and pure deed is for Allah and accepted by Him, for He is pure and accepts only what is pure.
• As-salamu alayka ayyuhan-nabiyy means "peace be upon you, O Prophet." You send greetings of peace directly upon the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
• Wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh means "and the mercy of Allah and His blessings," completing the greeting of peace upon the Prophet with mercy and blessing.
• As-salamu alayna means "peace be upon us," where you include yourself and everyone praying, along with the believers, in the greeting of peace.
• Wa ala ibadillahis-salihin means "and upon the righteous servants of Allah." This widens the greeting to every righteous servant of Allah, in the heavens and the earth, a beautiful reach of goodwill in a single phrase.
• Ashhadu an la ilaha illallah means "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah," the first half of the testimony of faith, affirming the oneness of Allah.
• Wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluh means "and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger," the second half of the testimony, affirming the prophethood of Muhammad, peace be upon him.

Sit with that last part for a moment. The Tashahhud contains the very words a person says to enter Islam, the two testimonies of faith. Every time you sit in prayer you renew that declaration. If you want to understand these two testimonies more fully, our guide to the Shahada explains their words and weight in depth, and it pairs naturally with what you recite here.

When Attahiyat is recited in salah

The Tashahhud has a fixed place in the prayer. You recite it while sitting, and there is a sitting for it after every second rak'ah. What that means in practice depends on how many rak'ahs the prayer has.

To picture it, remember the shape of a rak'ah: you stand and recite, you bow in ruku, you rise, then you prostrate twice with a brief sitting between the two prostrations. After the second prostration of an even-numbered rak'ah, instead of standing straight back up, you settle into the sitting and recite the Tashahhud. So the sitting always comes at the two-rak'ah mark and at the very end of the prayer.

• Fajr is two rak'ahs. There is a single sitting, at the end, after the second rak'ah. That one sitting is the final Tashahhud, so you recite Attahiyat and then the Durood before the salam.
• Maghrib is three rak'ahs. You sit for the first Tashahhud after the second rak'ah, stand for the third, and then sit again at the end for the final Tashahhud.
• Dhuhr, Asr and Isha are four rak'ahs each. You sit for the first Tashahhud after the second rak'ah, stand and pray the third and fourth, then sit at the end for the final Tashahhud.

How you sit matters too. The common way of sitting for the Tashahhud is to fold the legs and sit back, resting the left hand on the left thigh and the right hand on the right thigh, with the fingers near or over the knee. The gaze is lowered and settled. You are not slumped or fidgeting; you are sitting in calm attention, which is the whole spirit of this part of the prayer.

Read that table together with the meaning above and the picture becomes clear. Attahiyat appears once in a two-rak'ah prayer and twice in the longer prayers. In every case the final sitting is where you add the Durood, which we come to shortly.

Raising the finger at the shahada

One feature of the sitting that many beginners ask about is the movement of the right hand. During the Tashahhud you close the fingers of your right hand and point with the index finger. It is authentically reported that the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, would raise this finger and move it while making supplication in the sitting, and his companions described what they saw.

The finger points toward the Qibla, and the gaze is directed toward it. The pointing is understood as an affirmation of the oneness of Allah, matching the words of the testimony you are reciting: one Lord, one finger raised in acknowledgement. It is a small gesture that carries a large meaning.

Where the reports differ is the precise timing. Some describe the finger being raised and pointed throughout the sitting, from the start. Others describe it being raised specifically at the testimony, so that as you reach ashhadu an la ilaha illallah, the finger lifts in affirmation. Both are drawn from authentic narrations, and the scholars have accepted more than one way. If you were taught to raise it at the shahada, that is fine. If you were taught to point throughout, that is fine too. What you should avoid is turning it into a distracted, exaggerated motion; keep it calm and simple.

A practical tip for the very new: do not let the finger question paralyze you. If you are still working on the words themselves, focus on those first and add the finger once the recitation is steady. The prayer is valid while you learn, and the details settle into place with practice.

The first sitting versus the final sitting

In a prayer with three or four rak'ahs there are two sittings, and they are not identical. Knowing the difference keeps you from either cutting the final sitting short or dragging out the first one.

The first Tashahhud comes after the second rak'ah of a longer prayer. Here most worshippers recite only the Attahiyat, up to the testimony, and then rise for the next rak'ah without adding the Durood. It is meant to be the shorter of the two sittings, a brief pause before standing again. Reciting only Attahiyat here and then standing is the practice many are taught.

The final Tashahhud comes at the very end of the prayer, after the last rak'ah. Here you recite the Attahiyat and then continue with the Durood, the sending of blessings upon the Prophet, and you may add a short personal supplication before closing with the salam. This is the fuller, more unhurried sitting that seals the prayer.

There is also a difference in posture that many follow, drawn from the description of the Prophet's prayer. In the first sitting, the position called iftirash is used, where you sit upright on your folded left foot with the right foot standing on its toes. In the final sitting, the position called tawarruk is used, where you bring the left foot through to the side and sit directly on the ground, with the right foot still standing on its toes. This distinction between iftirash and tawarruk is emphasized in some schools and not required in others, so if the way you were taught differs, that is a known and accepted difference rather than a mistake.

So the short answer is this. Both sittings begin with the same Attahiyat. The final sitting adds the Durood and a supplication and ends the prayer, while the first sitting stops after the testimony and leads you back to standing.

The Durood that follows in the final sitting

After the Attahiyat in the final sitting, you send blessings upon the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. This is the Durood, widely known as the Salat Ibrahimiyyah because it mentions the family of Ibrahim. Its wording is well established in the authentic collections, taught by the Prophet himself when his companions asked how they should send blessings upon him. Here is the commonly recited form.

Transliteration: Allahumma salli ala Muhammadin wa ala ali Muhammad, kama sallayta ala Ibrahima wa ala ali Ibrahim, innaka Hamidun Majid. Allahumma barik ala Muhammadin wa ala ali Muhammad, kama barakta ala Ibrahima wa ala ali Ibrahim, innaka Hamidun Majid.

Meaning in English: O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent blessings upon Ibrahim and upon the family of Ibrahim. Indeed, You are Praiseworthy, Glorious. O Allah, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You blessed Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim. Indeed, You are Praiseworthy, Glorious.

The Durood has a beautiful symmetry. You ask Allah to honor the Prophet Muhammad and his family in the way He honored the Prophet Ibrahim and his family, connecting the final messenger to the great patriarch of the prophets, and you seal each part by praising Allah as Praiseworthy and Glorious. Minor differences in the wording exist across authentic narrations, such as reciting it with or without certain additional words, and all of the established forms are acceptable.

After the Durood, and before the salam, you may make a short personal supplication in your own words or with taught duas. A well-known practice is to seek refuge from four things: the punishment of the grave, the punishment of the Fire, the trials of life and death, and the trial of the false messiah. Then you close the prayer by turning your head to the right and saying as-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah, and to the left with the same. If you want to go deeper into the supplications made in and around the prayer, our guide to Dua Qunoot covers a related supplication and how it fits into the prayer.

Other authentic versions of the Tashahhud

The version of Ibn Masud is the one most people learn, but it is not the only authentic wording. Several companions narrated the Tashahhud with slightly different words, and the scholars of hadith graded these as established and permitted their use. Knowing this protects you from thinking that a wording different from your own is wrong; often it is simply another authentic narration.

The version of Ibn Abbas, recorded in Sahih Muslim, begins with the words at-tahiyyatul-mubarakatus-salawatut-tayyibatu lillah, meaning "all greetings, blessed things, prayers and good things are for Allah," and then continues with the greetings of peace and the testimony much like the version above. Ibn Abbas reported that the Prophet taught it to them the way he taught them the Quran.

The version of Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, was taught by him from the pulpit so the people would learn it, and it too opens by directing the greetings, the prayers and the good things to Allah. The version of Abu Musa al-Ashari, also recorded in the authentic collections, carries the same essential structure with its own slight variation in wording.

The point is not to memorize all of them at once. The point is to learn one wording well, most commonly the Ibn Masud version, and to know that the others are equally valid. Many great scholars considered the Ibn Masud narration the strongest for teaching because of how carefully it was transmitted, which is why it became the default in most communities. If you were raised reciting one of the other authentic forms, keep reciting it with confidence.

You may also come across a discussion about the phrase as-salamu alayka ayyuhan-nabiyy, meaning "peace be upon you, O Prophet," addressed in the second person. Some reports mention that after the Prophet passed away, certain companions recited it in a form that speaks of him in the third person. Scholars have discussed this at length, and the overwhelming practice, and the wording taught to the companions, keeps the second-person address. Learn it as presented here, and leave the finer scholarly discussion to the specialists.

How to memorize Attahiyat

If you cannot yet recite the Tashahhud from memory, do not worry. It is short, it repeats in every prayer, and steady practice fixes it in place faster than you expect. Here is a simple way to learn it.

Break it into four chunks. The recitation falls naturally into parts: the praise to Allah, the peace upon the Prophet, the peace upon the righteous, and the two testimonies. Learn one chunk until it is solid before adding the next. Trying to swallow the whole thing at once is what makes people give up.

Learn by ear, not just by eye. Transliteration is a helpful crutch, but Arabic has sounds that English letters cannot capture. Listen to a clear reciter say the Tashahhud slowly, and repeat after them out loud. Your ear will catch what the page cannot show you.

Use the repetition of the prayer itself. You will sit for the Tashahhud at least nine times a day across the five prayers, and more if you pray the sunnah units. That built-in repetition is the best memorization tool you have. Recite what you know, glance at a card for the rest, and each day you will lean on the card a little less.

Study the meaning in parallel. Knowing what the words mean, using the breakdown earlier in this guide, makes them far easier to hold in memory, because you are remembering meaning and not just sound. It also deepens your focus, since you understand the greeting and the testimony you are offering.

Be patient and consistent. Most people have the Tashahhud memorized within days of praying with it regularly. If your pronunciation is rough at first, that is completely normal. Keep going, ask someone knowledgeable to correct you, and it will smooth out. Allah knows your effort and your intention.

As you build up the words of the prayer, it also helps to strengthen the recitation you already lean on most, Surah Al-Fatihah, which you say in every rak'ah. Our guide to Surah Fatiha walks through it line by line, and the two together give you the core of what you recite standing and sitting.

How Niyyara helps you learn it

Learning the words of the prayer is one part of praying well. The other part is simply being there at the right time, facing the right way, prayer after prayer, until the whole thing becomes second nature. That is what Niyyara is built to help with, and it costs nothing.

Niyyara is a free, private, ad-free companion for a practicing Muslim. It gives you accurate prayer times calculated for your exact location and the current date, so you always know when each prayer has come in. It can sound the azan, the call to prayer, when the time enters, which for many people is the nudge that turns intention into a kept habit. It includes an accurate Qibla compass so you always face the right direction, the full Quran with audio to train your ear on the recitation, a collection of everyday duas, the 99 names of Allah, a tasbih for remembrance, the Islamic calendar, and a worship tracker to help you see your consistency grow over time.

Because it is completely free, with no subscriptions and no ads, there is nothing between you and your worship. Worship should never feel like a product being sold to you. Niyyara stays out of the way and simply helps you pray on time, face the right way, and keep learning the words and their meanings at your own pace.

The Tashahhud is one of the most repeated recitations in a Muslim's life. You now have the full Attahiyat in Arabic, a careful transliteration and meaning, the word-by-word sense, when it is recited, the raising of the finger, how the first and final sittings differ, the Durood that follows, and the other authentic versions the scholars accepted. Learn it well, sit in it with presence, and let it renew your testimony of faith in every prayer. May Allah accept your prayers and make the words easy on your tongue.