This article explains the rulings of Sujud as-Sahw (the prostration of forgetfulness) according to the Hanbali madhhab. The rulings are summarized from Sharh Muntaha al-Iradat, Kashshaf al-Qina, and Matalib Uli al-Nuha.

To learn more in-depth about the Salah, read this article.

Sujud al-Sahw

Sujud al-sahw (the prostration of forgetfulness) is prescribed to compensate for unintentional mistakes made during the prayer. Depending on the type of mistake, it may be obligatory, recommended, or permissible, and it applies to both obligatory and voluntary prayers.

To learn more in-depth about the Salah, read this article.

It is prescribed for:

• Adding something to the prayer unintentionally.
• Omitting something unintentionally.
• Certain cases of doubt.

It is not prescribed for:

• Deliberate additions or omissions.
• The funeral prayer (Salat al-Janazah).
• The prostration of recitation (Sujud al-Tilawah).
• The prostration of gratitude (Sujud al-Shukr).
• Forgetting to perform a previous sujud al-sahw.

Likewise, it is not prescribed for persistent doubts arising from obsessive whisperings (waswas). Such doubts are ignored.

Rulings of Sujud al-Sahw

Recommended

Sujud al-sahw is recommended when a person unintentionally performs a prescribed statement in the wrong place within the prayer, such as:

• Reciting an additional surah in the last two rakʿahs of a four-rakʿah prayer or in the third rakʿah of Maghrib.
• Reciting the Qur’an while sitting, bowing, or prostrating.
• Reciting the tashahhud while standing.

Permissible

It is permissible to perform sujud al-sahw after forgetting a recommended act (sunnah), provided the person had intended to perform it. However, if they deliberately chose to omit that sunnah from the outset, sujud al-sahw is not prescribed, since no forgetfulness occurred.

For example, if someone intended to recite an additional surah after al-Fatihah but forgot and entered rukuʿ, they may perform sujud al-sahw.

Obligatory

Sujud al-sahw is obligatory whenever the mistake is one which, if committed deliberately, would invalidate the prayer, such as:

• Adding an extra pillar (rukn), such as an additional standing, sitting, bowing (rukuʿ), prostration (sujud), or rakʿah.
• Omitting an obligatory act (wajib).
• Completing a rakʿah or pillar after building upon certainty due to doubt.
• Making a grammatical error that changes the meaning of the Qur’an unintentionally.

Examples include:

• Standing for a third rakʿah in Fajr.
• Standing for a fourth rakʿah in Maghrib.
• Standing for a fifth rakʿah in a four-rakʿah prayer.
• Performing two bowings in one rakʿah.
• Performing three prostrations instead of two.

If such additions are made deliberately, the prayer is invalid.

Completing a shortened prayer (qasr) by praying four rakʿahs instead of two does not invalidate the prayer, although sujud al-sahw is only recommended.

Omitting Sujud al-Sahw

If sujud al-sahw is obligatory before the taslim, deliberately omitting it invalidates the prayer.

If it is forgotten:

• If remembered shortly afterward, it should be performed.
• If a long interval passes, ritual purity is lost, or one leaves the mosque, it is no longer performed and the prayer remains valid.

If sujud al-sahw is obligatory after the taslim, deliberately omitting it does not invalidate the prayer, although doing so is sinful because it occurs outside the prayer itself.

There is no sujud al-sahw for forgetting a previous sujud al-sahw, since sujud al-sahw itself is a compensatory act and is not compensated for by another prostration.

Before or After the Taslim

Both performing sujud al-sahw before and after the taslim are established in the Sunnah.

As a general principle:

• Mistakes whose prescribed place is before the taslim are corrected before the taslim.
• Mistakes specifically reported from the Prophet ﷺ as being corrected after the taslim, such as giving the salam before completing the prayer, are corrected after the taslim.

If both types of mistakes occur together, the prostration is performed before the taslim. If one is unsure whether it belongs before or after the taslim, it is performed before the taslim.

Performing Sujud al-Sahw

When sujud al-sahw is performed after the taslim, the worshipper:

1. Performs the two prostrations.
2. Sits and recites the final tashahhud.
3. Ends with the taslim.

The prostration itself is performed in the same manner as the regular prostrations of the prayer, including the takbir, tasbih, and the supplication between the two prostrations.

If the prayer is two rakʿahs, one sits in iftirash for this final tashahhud. In three- and four-rakʿah prayers, one sits in tawarruk.

Multiple Mistakes

Two prostrations are sufficient for all mistakes made in a single prayer, even if:

• There were multiple oversights.
• Their rulings differed.
• One occurred while praying in congregation and another while praying individually.

Common Cases

Standing for an Extra Rakʿah

Whoever unintentionally stands for an extra rakʿah must immediately return to sitting as soon as they remember, without saying another takbir while returning.

• If the final tashahhud has already been completed, they perform salah upon the Prophet ﷺ, perform sujud al-sahw, then conclude with the taslim.
• If the final tashahhud has not yet been completed, they first complete the tashahhud, then perform sujud al-sahw followed by the taslim.
• If they do not remember until after the prayer has ended, they perform the two prostrations of forgetfulness after remembering.

Forgetting the First Tashahhud

If the first tashahhud is omitted unintentionally:

1. Before standing upright: Returning to the tashahhud is obligatory.
2. After standing upright but before beginning al-Fatihah: Returning is disliked, though permissible.
3. After beginning the recitation of al-Fatihah: Returning is prohibited. The prayer continues, and sujud al-sahw is performed before the taslim. Deliberately returning at this stage invalidates the prayer.

The same principle applies to other obligatory acts (wajibat). A person returns to perform them only while still within their proper place. Once that place has passed, they do not return and instead complete the prayer and perform sujud al-sahw.

Omitting a Pillar (Rukn)

If a pillar (rukn) other than the opening takbir (Takbirat al-Ihram) is omitted unintentionally, the ruling depends on when it is remembered.

If the omitted pillar is remembered before beginning the recitation of al-Fatihah in the next rakʿah, the worshipper must:

1. Return immediately to the omitted pillar.
2. Complete everything that follows it in the proper order.
3. Perform sujud al-sahw.

For example:

• If the bowing (rukuʿ) is omitted, return to perform the bowing, then complete the remainder of the rakʿah.
• If the second prostration is omitted, perform the second prostration before continuing.
• If the sitting between the two prostrations was omitted, sit first, then perform the second prostration.

If the omission is remembered and the person deliberately refuses to return, the prayer is invalid.

If the omitted pillar is remembered after beginning the recitation of al-Fatihah in the following rakʿah, the previous rakʿah is invalid and the current rakʿah takes its place. The omitted rakʿah is disregarded entirely, and the prayer continues from the current rakʿah. Sujud al-sahw is then performed before the taslim.

Returning to complete the previous rakʿah after beginning the recitation of the next one is not valid. If this is done deliberately while knowing the ruling, the prayer is invalid.

If the omission is remembered after the prayer has ended:

• If a pillar from a rakʿah was omitted, that rakʿah is treated as though it never occurred. A replacement rakʿah is performed, followed by sujud al-sahw and the taslim, provided only a short interval has passed and the person has not broken their wudu or spoken.
• If only the final tashahhud or the taslim was omitted, only the omitted portion is completed, followed by sujud al-sahw and the taslim.

If a long interval passes, or the person speaks or loses their wudu before completing the omission, the prayer is invalid. If a person remembers that a pillar was omitted but is uncertain which pillar or which rakʿah it was, they act upon whatever ensures certainty that the prayer is complete.

For example:

• If unsure whether the omitted pillar was the bowing or the rising from bowing, they perform both.
• If unsure from which rakʿah a prostration was omitted, they treat it as though it came from the earliest possible rakʿah and complete the prayer accordingly.

Voluntary Prayer

If a person intended to pray a two-rakʿah voluntary prayer during the day but unintentionally stands for a third rakʿah:

• It is preferable to complete it as four rakʿahs.
• Sujud al-sahw is not required.
• Alternatively, they may return to sitting and perform sujud al-sahw.

If they stand for a fifth rakʿah, they must return immediately; otherwise, the prayer is invalid.

For voluntary prayers at night, standing for a third rakʿah takes the same ruling as standing for a third rakʿah in Fajr.

Doubts

During the Prayer

If a person doubts whether they performed a pillar (rukn) or doubts the number of rakʿahs, they build upon certainty, which is the lesser number.

For example:

• If uncertain whether they prayed three or four rakʿahs, they treat it as three.
• If uncertain whether they performed a pillar, they assume it was omitted and perform it.

They then perform Sujud al-Sahw. However, if the doubt later disappears and they become certain that their original action was correct, Sujud al-Sahw is no longer required.

No Sujud al-Sahw is prescribed for doubting whether an obligatory act (wajib) was omitted or whether an extra action was added after it has already been completed, since the default is that no omission or addition occurred. However, if the doubt arises while performing the possible addition, such as wondering during a prostration whether it is an extra prostration, Sujud al-Sahw is prescribed.

After the Prayer

Doubts that arise after the prayer has ended are disregarded and have no effect on its validity.

If a person knows an oversight occurred but is unsure whether it requires Sujud al-Sahw, they do not perform it. If they perform Sujud al-Sahw and later discover it was unnecessary, the additional prostrations themselves require Sujud al-Sahw. If they are certain Sujud al-Sahw was required but later doubt whether they performed it, they simply perform the two prostrations.

The Imam and the Follower

Correcting the Imam

If two trustworthy people or more correct the imam, he must return to the correct position unless he is certain they are mistaken or they disagree among themselves. He does not return based on the statement of a single person or the actions of the followers without verbal correction.

If the imam knowingly continues an extra rakʿah after being corrected, his prayer is invalid, as is the prayer of anyone who knowingly follows him. Those aware of the mistake must separate and complete the prayer individually. A latecomer who unknowingly joins the extra rakʿah is excused, but that rakʿah does not count toward his prayer.

If the imam omits a deficiency, such as the first tashahhud after standing upright, and does not return, his prayer is not invalidated because returning is not obligatory.

The Follower and the Latecomer

A follower who doubts independently builds upon certainty and does not rely on the imam’s actions. For example, if unsure whether they caught the imam in rukuʿ, that rakʿah is not counted, and if unsure whether they joined in the first or second rakʿah, they assume it was the second.

A follower does not perform sujud al-sahw for an oversight committed independently while following the imam. If the imam performs sujud al-sahw, the follower performs it with him, including the latecomer (masbuq), even if the imam’s mistake occurred before the latecomer joined the prayer.

If the imam omits sujud al-sahw, the latecomer performs it after completing the missed rakʿahs, while the follower who prayed the entire prayer with the imam performs it after losing hope that the imam will return to perform it.

A latecomer also performs sujud al-sahw for mistakes made while completing the missed portion of the prayer or for mistakenly giving the salam with the imam before completing the missed rakʿahs. If the imam begins sujud al-sahw after the latecomer has stood, the latecomer returns and joins him provided they have not yet begun reciting al-Fatihah.