Step 14 of 14
Mistakes and the Prostration of Forgetfulness (Sujud al-Sahw)
Everyone makes mistakes in prayer, and the Prophet ﷺ himself sometimes did. For a forgotten part of the prayer, an addition made by mistake, or doubt about how much you have prayed, the remedy is two extra prostrations at the end of the prayer, called the prostration of forgetfulness.
When the Prophet ﷺ stood up from the second rak'ah of Dhuhr without sitting for the first tashahhud, he made two prostrations before the salam. When he prayed five rak'ahs of Dhuhr, he made two prostrations after the salam, and when he gave the salam after only two rak'ahs, he completed the prayer and then made two prostrations.
If you are unsure whether you have prayed three rak'ahs or four, the Prophet ﷺ said to set the doubt aside, build on what you are certain of, and make two prostrations before the salam. A forgotten pillar, such as a bowing or a prostration, is never simply skipped: it must be made up, and the prostration of forgetfulness is added.
The four schools differ on some details. Show them
Each school's ruling, with the schools that share it named together.
Is the prostration of forgetfulness made before or after the salam?
The schools are split two and two.
Show each school
- After the salamHanafi
- Before for something missed, after for an additionMaliki
- Before the salamShafi'i
- Before the salam, except after an early salamHanbali
- Hanafi
- In every case it comes after a single salam to the right, followed by the tashahhud, the blessings on the Prophet ﷺ and the closing salam again.
- Maliki
- It comes before the salam when something was left out and after it when something was added; when both happen, it comes before.
- Shafi'i
- In the relied-upon (new) view of the school it always comes before the salam.
- Hanbali
- It comes before the salam, except when one gave the salam before completing the prayer, as in the hadith of Dhul-Yadayn, where it comes after; the placement is recommended, not required.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1224 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1226 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1229 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih Muslim 573Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih Muslim 571Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1232 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
What the hadith grades mean
- Sahih (authentic): an unbroken chain of trustworthy, precise narrators, free of hidden flaws or contradiction. It is acted upon.
- Hasan (good): like sahih, but a narrator's precision is slightly lighter. It is also accepted and acted upon. "Hasan sahih" means it reaches sahih by its routes.
- Da'if (weak): a break in the chain or a narrator who is not reliable enough. It is not used to establish beliefs or rulings.
- Very weak (munkar, matruk): a seriously flawed chain or a narrator accused of lying. It is not relied on at all.
- Mawdu' (fabricated): falsely attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. It may not be narrated as his words except to warn against it.
- The two Sahihs: every hadith with a full chain in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim is accepted as sahih by the scholars of hadith.
- Historical report: biographies and histories (Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabari) record events with chains that are often incomplete. They are used for the story, not for rulings.
- Hadith scholars grade a narration; the four madhhabs do not. Where a hadith carries a ruling, the page shows which schools act on it.
The positions of the four schools are summarised from their standard references and are pending review by a qualified scholar. Follow the school you were taught, and for your own situation, ask a scholar.
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