A man prayed the midday prayer, then said the closing salam after three rak'ahs, then remembered; what should he do in this situation?
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The questioner : A man prayed the midday prayer, then said the closing salam after three rak'ahs, then remembered after his salam that he had only prayed three rak'ahs; what should he do in this situation?
The Shaykh : This question is very important, because it happens frequently and its ruling is hidden from many people. On this occasion, I would like to urge my brothers, specifically the imams of the mosques, to study the rulings of the prostration for forgetfulness, because it happens frequently. In fact, forgetfulness itself happens frequently and is confusing for many people. If the imam is knowledgeable about the rulings of the prostration for forgetfulness, he benefits himself and benefits other people through his action and his speech, so that the rulings of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) spread in the community and they worship Allah the Exalted with understanding.
Then, the answer to this question is that we say to this man: If you remembered immediately after the salam, or in a short time that does not break the continuity of the prayer, then you perform the rak'ah you left, then say the salam from it, then prostrate for forgetfulness after the salam with two prostrations and say the salam. This is because it is established in the two Sahihs from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said the salam in the midday prayer after two rak'ahs, then they reminded him, so he went forward and prayed what he had left, then said the salam, then prostrated two prostrations after he had said the salam.
This is because this man added to his prayer; he added a tashahhud in a place where it does not belong and a salam in a place where it does not belong. From the hadith of Abu Hurayrah and the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud which was mentioned I say: From the hadith of Abu Hurayrah and the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud, it becomes clear to us that if the cause of the prostration for forgetfulness is an addition, then the prostration is to be done after the salam. This is the Sunnah. In fact, some scholars have held that if the place for the prostration for forgetfulness is after the salam, it is obligatory that it be done after the salam, and if its place is before the salam, it is obligatory that it be done before the salam. This group did not consider the prostration after or before the salam to be a recommended practice, but rather considered it obligatory. In any case, if the forgetfulness is an addition, then the prostration for it is to be done after the salam, based on the hadith of Abu Hurayrah and Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with them both).
Some people say: If we prostrate after the salam, we create confusion for the people.
We say: This is correct if they are not informed of the Sunnah, and if the Sunnah is not applied practically. But if they are informed of the Sunnah and the Sunnah is applied practically, this confusion disappears for them and the matter becomes known to them. We have tried this in our prayer and we saw that when we first did this, it was confusing for the people. Some of them, when the imam said the salam, would say "Subhan Allah," thinking that he had forgotten to prostrate for forgetfulness. But after they learned and understood, they no longer found it strange and became accustomed to it.
And I say: It is obligatory for the people of knowledge, if the Sunnahs are hidden from the general public, to clarify them by word and by action, so that the Sunnahs do not die.
Someone might say: That the prostration after the salam or before it is on the basis of recommendation, so it does not matter. We say: Even if we accept that it is on the basis of recommendation, it is not permissible to leave the Sunnahs until they die and until they are considered blameworthy if performed. The meaning of that would be that what is right becomes considered wrong among the general public, because they have not been informed of it and it has not been applied practically among them.
Now that we know that the prostration for forgetfulness is after the salam in the case of an addition, we say: It is also after the salam in the case of doubt where one of the two possibilities is more likely. For example, if you doubt whether you prayed three or four rak'ahs and it is more likely in your mind that it was three, then you perform the fourth rak'ah, say the salam, and prostrate for forgetfulness after the salam. If you doubt whether you prayed two or three rak'ahs and it is more likely in your mind that it was three, then you perform only the fourth rak'ah, say the salam, and prostrate for forgetfulness after the salam. So, if in a doubt one of the two possibilities is more likely, the prostration for forgetfulness is after the salam, and you build your prayer on what is more likely. But if in the doubt neither possibility is more likely, then you build on the lesser number and prostrate for forgetfulness before the salam. For example, if you doubt whether you prayed three rak'ahs or two and nothing is more likely in your mind, then consider it to be two rak'ahs, perform two rak'ahs to complete the four-rak'ah prayer, then prostrate for forgetfulness before you say the salam. This is how the Sunnah came regarding the difference between the two matters: the doubt where one possibility is more likely, and the doubt where neither possibility is more likely.
What I would like my Muslim brothers to do is to pay attention to the rulings of the prostration for forgetfulness, understand them, and study them, because they relate to the prayer, which is the most important pillar of Islam after the two testimonies. And success is from Allah.
The Shaykh : This question is very important, because it happens frequently and its ruling is hidden from many people. On this occasion, I would like to urge my brothers, specifically the imams of the mosques, to study the rulings of the prostration for forgetfulness, because it happens frequently. In fact, forgetfulness itself happens frequently and is confusing for many people. If the imam is knowledgeable about the rulings of the prostration for forgetfulness, he benefits himself and benefits other people through his action and his speech, so that the rulings of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) spread in the community and they worship Allah the Exalted with understanding.
Then, the answer to this question is that we say to this man: If you remembered immediately after the salam, or in a short time that does not break the continuity of the prayer, then you perform the rak'ah you left, then say the salam from it, then prostrate for forgetfulness after the salam with two prostrations and say the salam. This is because it is established in the two Sahihs from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said the salam in the midday prayer after two rak'ahs, then they reminded him, so he went forward and prayed what he had left, then said the salam, then prostrated two prostrations after he had said the salam.
This is because this man added to his prayer; he added a tashahhud in a place where it does not belong and a salam in a place where it does not belong. From the hadith of Abu Hurayrah and the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud which was mentioned
That the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed five rak'ahs, and they reminded him after he had said the salam, so he prostrated two prostrations and then said the salam
أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم صلى خمس ركعات فذكروه بعدما سلم فسجد سجدتين ثم سلمSome people say: If we prostrate after the salam, we create confusion for the people.
We say: This is correct if they are not informed of the Sunnah, and if the Sunnah is not applied practically. But if they are informed of the Sunnah and the Sunnah is applied practically, this confusion disappears for them and the matter becomes known to them. We have tried this in our prayer and we saw that when we first did this, it was confusing for the people. Some of them, when the imam said the salam, would say "Subhan Allah," thinking that he had forgotten to prostrate for forgetfulness. But after they learned and understood, they no longer found it strange and became accustomed to it.
And I say: It is obligatory for the people of knowledge, if the Sunnahs are hidden from the general public, to clarify them by word and by action, so that the Sunnahs do not die.
Someone might say: That the prostration after the salam or before it is on the basis of recommendation, so it does not matter. We say: Even if we accept that it is on the basis of recommendation, it is not permissible to leave the Sunnahs until they die and until they are considered blameworthy if performed. The meaning of that would be that what is right becomes considered wrong among the general public, because they have not been informed of it and it has not been applied practically among them.
Now that we know that the prostration for forgetfulness is after the salam in the case of an addition, we say: It is also after the salam in the case of doubt where one of the two possibilities is more likely. For example, if you doubt whether you prayed three or four rak'ahs and it is more likely in your mind that it was three, then you perform the fourth rak'ah, say the salam, and prostrate for forgetfulness after the salam. If you doubt whether you prayed two or three rak'ahs and it is more likely in your mind that it was three, then you perform only the fourth rak'ah, say the salam, and prostrate for forgetfulness after the salam. So, if in a doubt one of the two possibilities is more likely, the prostration for forgetfulness is after the salam, and you build your prayer on what is more likely. But if in the doubt neither possibility is more likely, then you build on the lesser number and prostrate for forgetfulness before the salam. For example, if you doubt whether you prayed three rak'ahs or two and nothing is more likely in your mind, then consider it to be two rak'ahs, perform two rak'ahs to complete the four-rak'ah prayer, then prostrate for forgetfulness before you say the salam. This is how the Sunnah came regarding the difference between the two matters: the doubt where one possibility is more likely, and the doubt where neither possibility is more likely.
What I would like my Muslim brothers to do is to pay attention to the rulings of the prostration for forgetfulness, understand them, and study them, because they relate to the prayer, which is the most important pillar of Islam after the two testimonies. And success is from Allah.