Simplifying The Two Prostrations of Forgetfulness in Prayer

As-Sahw means “to forget” or “being unmindful”. There are two ways of being unmindful with regards to Salaah. The first is to be unmindful of Salaah, as in the saying of Allah:

“So woe to those who pray. Those who are unmindful of their Salaah.”

The second way is to be unmindful in Salaah, and this is what concerns us here.

Before we deal with the topic of Sajdatay as-Sahw, it is necessary for us to understand the pillars and obligations upon which the Salaah is built, as it is only due to one’s forgetfulness of these essential aspects of the prayer that the two prostrations are legislated. Thus, the two prostrations are legislated to amend for our omissions of pillars and obligations of Salaah.

So what are the pillars and obligations of Salaah?

The pillars of Salaah are known as Arkaan, the singular for which is Rukn, where as the obligations of Salaah are known as Waajibaat, the singular for which is Waajib.

What is the difference between a Rukn and a Waajib?

Rukn: Whether a person misses a Rukn intentionally, or due to forgetfulness, the person’s Salaah is rendered invalid. A person’s Salaah is not accepted unless he performs all of the Arkaan required in Salaah, and then performs Sajdah as-Sahw. For example: If one misses a Rukn in the first Rak’ah, and he remembers in the second Rak’ah that he has missed a Rukn in the first Rak’ah, then his first Rak’ah is void, thus he considers his second Rak’ah as if it were his first, and then he performs Sajdah as-Sahw at the end of the Salaah.

Waajib: If one misses a Waajib intentionally then the person’s Salaah is invalid, but if one misses it unintentionally, out of forgetfulness, then the Salaah is still valid, moreover one is not required to return and perform the neglected waajib, rather he should compensate for the omitted Waajib by performing Sajdah as-Sahw. An example of that is: If a person forgets to say: “Subhaana Rabbiyal-’Adheem” during Rukoo’, then he remembers it after standing up from Rukoo’, then he should not go back to Rukoo’ to say the words he missed, nor is his Salaah, or that Rak’ah invalid due to his forgetting to say what is Waajib on him, thus he should continue his Salaah as normal and make Sajdah as-Sahw at the end.

So what are the Arkaan and Waajibaat of Salaah?

The Arkaan of Salaah are Twelve:

1) Qiyaam – Standing up for prayer. Thus, the one who does not stand up for Salaah, without excuse, for obligatory prayers, his Salaah is invalid.
2) Takbeeratul-Ihraam – Takbeer is to say: Allahu Akbar. Takbeeratul-Ihraam is the first Takbeer with which one enters the Salaah, and so it is a Rukn of Salaah, unlike the rest of the Takbeeraat of Salaah
3) To recite Soorah al-Faatihah
4) Rukoo’. That is to bow. The perfection of Rukoo’ is achieved by placing ones hands on the knees, grabbing them, while the back is straight and the head in level with the rest of the back, and the elbows away from the sides. To fulfil the obligation of Rukoo’ is for hands to touch the knees.
5) Standing up after Rukoo’. This is until one’s back is straight. If one stands up in hurry, and does not straighten his back, then he misses out on a Rukn, which makes that rak’ah invalid.
6) Sujood. That is, to Prostrate. The perfection of Sujood is achieved by placing the hands in level with the shoulders with fingers joined together, while spacing out between the elbow and the sides, as well as between the thighs and the stomach. The obligation in Sujood is to prostrate on seven limbs: 1) The forehead and the nose, 2 & 3) the two hands, 4 & 5) the two knees, 6 & 7) the toes placed on ground facing the Qiblah. Thus, if any of these limbs are not on the ground, it renders the Sajdah to be invalid.
7) To sit between two Sajdahs. While in the position of Iftiraash: Which is to sit on one’s left leg, while the right foot is perpendicular to the ground, and the toes are facing the Qiblah.
8 ) To be tranquil in all the Arkaan.
9) The last Tashahhud. Tashahhud is to say: at-Tahiyaatu liLlaahi was-Salaatu wat-Tayyibaat… to his words: wa Ash-hadu anna Muhammadan ‘Abduhu wa Rasooluh.
10) Sitting for the last Tashahhud. This is regarded to be a Rukn in itself, because it is possible that one may begin reciting Tashahhud, during the process of getting up from Sujood, but before sitting for it, in which case, his Salaah is invalid, because he missed out on the Rukn of ‘sitting for Tashahhud’. If the Salaah only has one Tashahhud, like Salaatul-Fajr, then one sits in the position of Iftiraash, which has been described above. If Salaah contains two Tashahhud, like Dhuhr, ‘Asr, Maghrib and ‘Ishaa’ then one sits in the Tawarruk position whilst in the final tashahhud, which is to sit on one’s left thigh, while exiting both feet from the right side, making the right foot perpendicular to the ground, and the toes facing the Qiblah.
11) To end the Salaah with Tasleem, which is to say as-Salaamu ‘Alaikum wa-raHmatullah, by turning ones head to the right first, and then to the left.
12) Performing these Arkaan, in the order mentioned above. Thus, one may not perform Rukoo’ before Sujood and so on. For example: If one forgets to make Rukoo’ after al-Faatihah, but goes straight into ‘standing up after Rukoo’, and then remembers in the second Sajdah of the same Rak’ah that he forgot to make Rukoo’, then he should get up from Sujood, immediately, and perform Rukoo’ which he missed, and then perform all the usual Arkaan and Waajibaat that come after Rukoo’.

These are the twelve Arkaan of Salaah. If one leaves them intentionally or unintentionally, the Salaah is rendered invalid. One is obliged to perform the missed Rukn, as the Sajdah as-Sahw is not enough to replace it.

But, how am I supposed to remember it all?!

One can commit these Arkaan to his memory by doing three things:

i) Remember, that most of the Arkaan are the most visibly apparent actions of Salaah, such that an onlooker can tell whether the one praying has missed out a Rukn or added to it. For example, standing up for Salaah, or performing Rukoo’, or standing up after it, or performing Sujood etc.
ii) Remember the number, that they are 12, no more and no less.
iii) Remind yourself of the Arkaan, with the help of the above two points. So you set yourself a target of remembering 12 most apparent actions of Salaah, then begin counting from the first Rukn, which is Qiyaam, till the last, which is the order of Arkaan.

So just think, what is the first thing you do in Salaah?
Answer: You stand up.
Therefore, Standing up for Salaah is the first Rukn.

Then what do you do?
Answer: You say: Allaahu Akbar, thus, the second Rukn.

This is how you keep reminding yourself of the rest of the Arkaan, until you are able to count all 12 of them.

Obviously, not all of the Arkaan are most visibly apparent, like Takbeeratul-Ihraam or al-Faatihah, the last Tashahhud, but the secret of ease in remembering all the Arkaan lies in the fact that the invisible Arkaan are only three. Likewise, not all of the most visibly apparent actions of Salaah are Arkaan, rather some of them are Waajibaat, while others are only Sunan acts, for example; reciting al-Faatihah aloud in aloud prayers, or reciting a Soorah after al-Faatihah in the first two Rak’ahs, placing the right hand over the left in Qiyaam, or raising the hands, etc are from the Sunan, recommended actions of Salaah, and not from the Arkaan nor the Waajibaat of Salaah.

Another thing to remember with regards to Tashahhud, whether it is the middle one (which is a Waajib), or the last one (which is a Rukn as we said), is that whenever Tashahhud is mentioned, whether in Arkaan or Waajibaat, it is instantly followed by ‘Sitting for Tashahhud’. Thus, only by remembering one Rukn/Waajib of Tashahhud, you should automatically remember the next Rukn/Waajib which goes with it, which is to sit for Tashahhud.

Now, what are the Waajibaat of Salaah?

The Waajibaat of Salaah are only 7:

1) Takbeeraat, apart from Takbeeratul-Ihraam. That is to say Allahu Akbar, in the other appointed places, apart from the first Takbeer, because, as was previously mentioned, this is from the Arkaan, and not the Waajibaat.
2) To make Tasbeeh in Rukoo’ and Sujood, once only. Tasbeeh is to say SubhaanAllah. In the context of the Salaah, it means to say Subhaana Rabbiyal-’Adheem in Rukoo’, and Subhaana Rabbiyal-A’laa in Sujood. From the perfection of tasbeeh is to repeat it three times, but it is sufficient to say it only once to fulfil the obligation..
3) To make Tasmee’ and Tahmeed during and after standing up from Rukoo’ respectively. Tasmee’ is to say Samee’Allahu liman Hamidah, and Tahmeed is to say Rabbanaa wa-lakal-Hamd. One should make the Tasmee’ while standing up from Rukoo’, and Tahmeed after standing up completely.
4) To say: Rabbighfirlee (O Allah forgive me) between the two Sajdahs. From its perfection is to repeat this three times, but it is sufficient to say it only one to fulfil the obligation.
5) The first Tashahhud, Tashahhud is to say: at-Tahiyaatu liLlaahi was-Salaatu wat-Tayyibaat… to his words: wa Ash-hadu anna Muhammadan ‘Abduhu wa Rasooluh.
6) To sit for the first Tashahhud. This is regarded to be a Waajib on its own, because it is possible that one may begin reciting Tashahhud, during the process of getting up from Sujood, but before sitting for it, in which case, his Salaah is invalid, if he does this intentionally, but valid if he does it out of forgetfulness, and he should atone for it by performing Sajdah as-Sahw. In the first Tashahhud, one should also sit in the position of Iftiraash, which is, to sit on ones left leg, while the right foot is perpendicular to the ground, and the toes are facing the Qiblah.
7) To send the peace and the blessings of Allah upon the Prophet – SalAllahu ‘Alaihi wa-sallam, after the last Tashahhud.

Now how can I remember the Waajibaat?

1) Remember that they are only seven.
2) Place them all in order, like above, and start imagining Salaah from the beginning, and in the process, keep eliminating that which you already know to be a Rukn.

For example:
You ask yourself: What is the first action in Salaah?
Answer: To stand up, but that is a Rukn, so skip that!
What’s next? To say Takbeeratul-Ihraam, but that is also a Rukn as we mentioned. BUT, the rest of the Takbeeraat in Salaah are Waajibaat!

So that’s how you remember the first Waajib, which is the Takbeeraat, apart from the first one.

Then you ask: What comes next? So you begin to eliminate all the actions you already mentioned above in Arkaan, until you end up with the Dhikr in Rukoo’, which is called Tasbeeh. So you know that is a Waajib. But Tasbeeh in Salaah is more than just in Rukoo’. Indeed it is also in Sujood! Therefore, you remember a second Waajib, which is to make Tasbeeh in Rukoo’ and Sujood.

This is just one of the practical ways of easing memorisation of the Arkaan and the Waajibaat, and obviously, a person can adhere to whichever method he finds most suitable.

The Two Prostrations for Forgetfulness

Once we have known the Arkaan and the Waajibaat of Salaah, we can now begin with the topic of the two prostrations.

It becomes obligatory upon the one praying to make Sajdah as-Sahw in the following cases:

1) By adding an action/statement to Salaah.
2) By subtracting an action/statement from Salaah
3) Having doubts about having performed an aspect of Salaah.

1) Adding to Salaah:
This is when a person adds an action or a statement to his Salaah, and this is further divided to two categories:

a) Adding to Salaah, an action from Salaah itself; such as a Rukn, or a Rak’ah. This further subdivides into two categories:

i) Making this addition deliberately: If one makes such addition deliberately, such that he makes three Sujood instead of two, or that he adds a Rak’ah to his Salaah, his Salaah is rendered void, and there is no Sajdah as-Sahw for him.
ii) Making this addition out of forgetfulness: If one makes an addition to Salaah out of forgetfulness, such that he adds a Sajdah, or Rukoo’, then he is required to immediately discontinue his addition, and it suffices for him to make Sajdah as-Sahw at the end of Salaah.

If one adds a Rak’ah to his Salaah, and remembers while he is in that Rak’ah, he should sit for his last Tashahhud immediately and make Sajdah as-Sahw at the end of Salaah.

Similarly, if one makes Tasleem without performing the required number of Raka’aat, then he should simply stand up, and without making Takbeertul-Ihraam, he should perform the remaining Raka’aat, and then perform Sajdah as-Sahw at the end of Salaah.

Another issue related to this section, is if a person adds a Rak’ah to his Salaah out of forgetfulness. Then he remembers while he is in his additional Rak’ah, but he decides to continue with his additional Rak’ah, then his Salaah is invalid, because by not sitting for Tashahhud immediately upon remembering, he engaged in adding to his Salaah deliberately, and adding something to Salaah deliberately invalidates ones Salaah.

b) Adding a Waajib to Salaah; such that a person says Allahu Akbar after saying Tasmee’ upon standing up from Rukoo’, or reciting something in Sujood after Tasbeeh etc. In this case, the Salaah remains valid, while as-Sujood as-Sahw in this case, is only recommended, but not Waajib.

c) Adding to Salaah, an action not from Salaah itself: Such as walking, talking, looking around, and scratching oneself etc, addition of such actions to Salaah deliberately, or out of forgetfulness has the same ruling. This is also further divided into two categories:

i) Too much addition, such as constant moving, walking, talking, and too much scratching invalidates ones prayer. Because too much addition/movement has not been defined by the Sharee’ah, its definition falls back on the custom. Meaning, whatever is regarded to be too much movement by custom, invalidates ones Salaah. Such that if the one praying moves so much that an onlooker thinks that this person is not praying, then this amount of movement invalidates ones Salaah.
ii) Minor addition, such as scratching oneself when needed, or lifting a toddler into ones arms during Salaah, and so on, such that an onlooker would not consider him to be out of Salaah, just because of a few movements.

2) Subtracting from Salaah:
This is when a person omits a Waajib or a Rukn from Salaah, such that he leaves a Rukoo’, or leaves out the first Tashahhud. This further has two categories:

a) Subtracting something deliberately: Such as omitting the first Tashahhud, or to omit Tasbeeh in Rukoo or Sujood deliberately, invalidates one’s Salaah, and Sajdah as-Sahw does not suffice for this omission.
b) Subtracting something out of forgetfulness: Such as forgetting to say the Tasbeeh in Rukoo’ or Sujood from the Waajibaat, or missing out a Rukn such as a Qiyaam after Rukoo’, or Sujood. This can be further divided into two sub-sections:

i) Subtracting a Rukn:
If a person forgets a Rukn, then he must perform that Rukn and also perform the rest of the actions that follow it in order. For this, at the end of the Salaah one should make Sajdah as-Sahw. A Rak’ah is not counted with a Rukn missing.

For example: If a person forgets to make Rukoo’ after reciting al-Faatihah, and goes straight into Sujood, as soon as he remembers, he should immediately get up and perform Rukoo’, followed by the rest of the actions of that Rak’ah, like Qiyaam from Rukoo’, and then the two Sajdahs.

Another example: If one forgets a Rukn in a Rak’ah and only remembers when he has completely stood up – with his back straight – for the next Rak’ah, he should consider his first Rak’ah to be invalid, thus, making his second Rak’ah his first. Based on this, hypothetically speaking, if one were to make only four Sujood in four Rak’aat, and remembers it whilst in the fourth raka’ah before he makes Tasleem, he should perform the second Sajdah for his current Rak’ah, thus making his fourth Rak’ah his first, as all the previous raka’ah have been rendered void by omitting a sajdah from each raka’ah. He should then get up to perform the remaining three Raka’aat to complete his four.

This is how all the Arkaan are to be treated, except Takbeeratul-Ihraam, since the one who forgets to make Takbeeratul-Ihraam has failed to initiate his Salaah in the first place! This renders his entire Salaah invalid, and he must initiate a new prayer altogether.

ii) Subtracting a Wajib:
If a person forgets to perform a Waajib, then proceeds to the next action of Salaah, he must not go back to perform that Waajib while he has already proceeded to the next action. In this case, the obligation of performing that Waajib falls from his shoulders, and he is only required to perform Sajdah as-Sahw at the end of his Salaah.

For example: If a person forgets to make the Tasbeeh in either Rukoo or Sujood, he should not return to Rukoo or Sujood, in order to make the Tasbeeh. In fact, if he does so, without ignorance or forgetfulness, then his Salaah is invalid, because by doing this he has added an extra Rukoo or Sujood to his Salaah intentionally.

In this case the person should continue with his prayer as normal, and perform Sajdah as-Sahw at the end of Salaah.

Another example: If a person forgets to sit for the first Tashahhud, after the Sujood of the second Rak’ah, and instead stands up for the third Rak’ah, while his back becomes straight, then he should not return to perform Tashahhud, rather he should continue with his prayer as normal, and perform Sajdah as-Sahw at the end of the Salaah.

If this person misses the first Tashahhud and remembers it while he is in the process of standing up for the third Rak’ah, and his back is not yet straight, then he should sit down for the first Tashahhud. This is because if his back is not straight for the third Rak’ah, he is not considered to have entered the next action of Salaah after the Tashahhud, and therefore, he still has the chance of performing the Tashahhud, and then standing up for the third Rak’ah.

iii) Subtracting a Sunnah:
Sunnahs are of two types;
a) Sunnahs comprising of actions, such as raising the hands, placing the right hand over the left etc, and,
b) Sunnahs comprising of statements, such as to make the Tasbeeh in Rukoo and Sujood three times (as opposed to once, which is Waajib), or to recite aloud in aloud prayers or to recite silently in silent prayers.

There is no Sajdah as-Sahw for the Sunnahs of actions, nor for the Sunnahs of words except when one recites out aloud when he should do so silently and vice versa. In this case, Sajdah as-Sahw is legislated for him, but it is only Mustahab (recommended) and not mandatory, thus if he wishes he may perform it, or else he may leave it.

For example: If one recites out aloud in Dhuhr or ‘Asr prayer, or recites silently in Fajr, Maghrib or ‘Ishaa’ prayers, it is recommended for him to make Sajdah as-Sahw, though if he does not do so, there is no sin on him.

3) Having doubts
If one has doubt about performing an action in Salaah, then people are usually divided into three categories in this case; i) Imaam (the one leading the prayer), ii) Ma’moom (one being lead in prayer), and iii) One praying alone.

i) If the Imaam has doubts concerning performing an action that he should base his judgement on the strongest speculation. For example, if the Imaam is unsure, whether he prayed three Raka’aat or four, but he thinks it is most likely he has prayed four Rak’aat, then he should base his judgement on this, and sit for the last Tashahhud. This is because, if he errs, he has others behind him to correct him. Thus if he is corrected by someone praying behind him, he should stand up for the forth Rak’ah, and perform Sajdah as-Sahw at the end of his prayer.

ii) The Ma’moom (one lead in prayer), if in doubt, should always follow the Imaam.

Here we must add a few more points with regards to the Ma’moom:

If the Imaam makes as-Sujood as-Sahw, the Ma’moom should follow him in that. But if the Imaam errs and he is reminded, but still does not perform the Sajdah, then the Ma’moom, in this case, should perform Sajdah as-Sahw.

If the Ma’moom (one being lead in prayer) misses out a Waajib due to following the Imaam, then there is no Sajdah for him, unless his Imaam performs Sajdah as-Sahw. For example: If one joins the Imaam late, while the Imaam is in the second Rak’ah, then the Imaam’s second Rak’ah is his first Rak’ah, and likewise, his second Rak’ah will be the Imaam’s third Rak’ah. As it is obvious that Imaam will not sit for Tashahhud after the third Rak’ah, the Ma’moom will also have no choice but to follow the Imaam and miss out on the first Tashahhud. So here, the Ma’moom is forced to miss a Waajib due to following the Imaam, in which case he does not have to perform Sajdah as-Sahw.

But if the Ma’moom misses out an action which necessitates Sajdah as-Sahw, and the performance of that Sajdah does not mean that he will have to leave following the Imaam, then one must perform Sajdah as-Sahw. For example: If one joins the Imaam in the second Rak’ah, but forgets to make Tasbeeh in the Rukoo’. Then after the Imaam ends the prayer, the Ma’moom stands up to perform his forth Rak’ah. In this case he should perform Sajdah as-Sahw for missing out a Waajib because by doing so, he would not be contradicted the Imaam.

iii) One praying alone, if in doubt, should base his judgement on what he is certain, and not on the strongest speculation, unlike the Imaam. This is because he has no one behind him to correct him, unlike the Imaam. For example; if one praying alone is in doubt, whether he just did the third Rak’ah or the fourth, he should place aside the doubt, and base his judgement on certainty, which is that he has certainly prayed three Raka’aat, thus he should stand up to perform the fourth one. He should do this even if his strongest speculation suggests that he is in his fourth Rak’ah.

When to Perform Sajdah as-Sahw?

Sajdah as-Sahw is sometimes performed before the Tasleem and sometimes after it, and altogether it has four cases:

1) If one adds to Salaah (and that includes making Tasleem without completing the number Raka’aat), then the Sajdah should be made after Tasleem. The logic behind this is to avoid adding to Salaah twice, once out of forgetfulness, and twice by performing the Sajdah before Tasleem.
2) If one subtracts something from the Salaah, then the Sajdah should be made before the Tasleem. The logic behind this is to compensate for the omission by performing Sajdah as-Sahw before Tasleem.
3) If one has doubts about an action, with the probability of both possibilities being equal, then the Sajdah should be performed before the Tasleem.
4) If one has doubts about an action, with the probability of one of the possibilities being stronger than the other, then the Sajdah should be performed after the Tasleem.

And Allah knows best.