The ruling on doubt regarding the number of rak'ahs and the position of sujud al-sahw

Question:
Praise be to Allah. May Allah reward you. The sister M-D-Z from Riyadh sent a number of questions. In the first one, she says: A person prayed 'Asr and sat for the first tashahhud. During the recitation of the tashahhud, or after finishing its recitation, and before moving to the next rak'ah, he became uncertain whether he had prayed one rak'ah or two. Nothing tipped the scales for him, so he proceeded on the basis of the lesser number and performed a second rak'ah. Does he sit for the tashahhud again? And where is the position of sujud al-sahw? Does he prostrate before the taslim or after it, since he proceeded on the basis of the lesser number?

Answer:
Yes. If a person becomes uncertain about the number of rak'ahs, he proceeds on the basis of certainty, which is the lesser number, and completes his prayer. He performs sujud al-sahw, if he wishes, before the taslim, or if he wishes, after the taslim. However, the better course in this case is to prostrate after the taslim. If he prostrates before the taslim, that is permissible. The first tashahhud is after the second rak'ah. The first tashahhud is after the second rak'ah of a four-rak'ah prayer or of the Maghrib prayer. Yes.