What does the one who prays do if he doubts the number of rak'ahs during the prayer?
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The questioner : If a person is praying and his mind wanders during the prayer so that he does not remember how many rak'ahs he has prayed, what does he do in this case?
The Shaykh : If the one who prays doubts how many rak'ahs he has prayed, he is not free from two cases. The first case is that a specific number prevails in his mind, whether it is the lesser or the greater. If a specific number prevails in his mind, he acts upon that conviction and builds upon it. When he completes his prayer and says the taslim, he prostrates two prostrations for forgetfulness, then says the taslim. In this case, the place of the prostration for forgetfulness is after the taslim, as indicated by the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him).
The second case is that he doubts the number of rak'ahs and no specific number prevails in his mind as being more likely. In this case, he builds upon certainty, which is the lesser number. If he doubts whether he prayed three or four, and neither four nor three prevails in his mind as more likely, he considers it three and performs the fourth, then prostrates for forgetfulness before saying the taslim. In this case, he distinguishes between the doubt when one side prevails in his mind and when it does not. When one side prevails in his mind, he acts upon that prevailing conviction and prostrates for forgetfulness after the taslim. When nothing prevails in his mind and he is hesitating without a preference, he builds upon the lesser number and prostrates for forgetfulness before the taslim.
I hope my brother imams will pay attention to this chapter, namely the chapter of the prostration for forgetfulness, because it is confusing for many people, and the imam is followed. If they master the rulings of the prostration for forgetfulness, much good will result from that.
Here is a matter I would like to point out: some imams know that the place of the prostration for forgetfulness is after the taslim when their forgetfulness occurs, but they do not prostrate after the taslim. They say, "We are afraid of causing confusion for the people." It is true that it confuses the people, but if the people are informed of the legal ruling and the difference between what is before the taslim and what is after it is explained to them, this confusion will be removed and they will become accustomed to it. We have tried this ourselves, and we found that when we prostrate after the taslim in a case of forgetfulness where the place of prostration is after it, no confusion arises for the ma'mum (those praying behind the imam) because they know that this is the legal ruling. And our leaving the Sunnah out of fear of causing confusion means that we would leave every Sunnah that confuses the people while they are ignorant of it, and this is not permissible. Rather, what is required is to revive the prescribed matter among the people. If it is dead and not known, striving for it and reviving it is more worthy and more obligatory, so that this Shari'ah does not die among the Muslims. In this case, if the imam prostrates after the taslim when the requirement is to prostrate after the taslim, when he says the taslim, he should notify the congregation and say, "I only prostrated after the taslim because the place of prostration for this forgetfulness is after the taslim," and he should explain to them what he knows of these rulings so that they are aware of the matter.
The Shaykh : If the one who prays doubts how many rak'ahs he has prayed, he is not free from two cases. The first case is that a specific number prevails in his mind, whether it is the lesser or the greater. If a specific number prevails in his mind, he acts upon that conviction and builds upon it. When he completes his prayer and says the taslim, he prostrates two prostrations for forgetfulness, then says the taslim. In this case, the place of the prostration for forgetfulness is after the taslim, as indicated by the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him).
The second case is that he doubts the number of rak'ahs and no specific number prevails in his mind as being more likely. In this case, he builds upon certainty, which is the lesser number. If he doubts whether he prayed three or four, and neither four nor three prevails in his mind as more likely, he considers it three and performs the fourth, then prostrates for forgetfulness before saying the taslim. In this case, he distinguishes between the doubt when one side prevails in his mind and when it does not. When one side prevails in his mind, he acts upon that prevailing conviction and prostrates for forgetfulness after the taslim. When nothing prevails in his mind and he is hesitating without a preference, he builds upon the lesser number and prostrates for forgetfulness before the taslim.
I hope my brother imams will pay attention to this chapter, namely the chapter of the prostration for forgetfulness, because it is confusing for many people, and the imam is followed. If they master the rulings of the prostration for forgetfulness, much good will result from that.
Here is a matter I would like to point out: some imams know that the place of the prostration for forgetfulness is after the taslim when their forgetfulness occurs, but they do not prostrate after the taslim. They say, "We are afraid of causing confusion for the people." It is true that it confuses the people, but if the people are informed of the legal ruling and the difference between what is before the taslim and what is after it is explained to them, this confusion will be removed and they will become accustomed to it. We have tried this ourselves, and we found that when we prostrate after the taslim in a case of forgetfulness where the place of prostration is after it, no confusion arises for the ma'mum (those praying behind the imam) because they know that this is the legal ruling. And our leaving the Sunnah out of fear of causing confusion means that we would leave every Sunnah that confuses the people while they are ignorant of it, and this is not permissible. Rather, what is required is to revive the prescribed matter among the people. If it is dead and not known, striving for it and reviving it is more worthy and more obligatory, so that this Shari'ah does not die among the Muslims. In this case, if the imam prostrates after the taslim when the requirement is to prostrate after the taslim, when he says the taslim, he should notify the congregation and say, "I only prostrated after the taslim because the place of prostration for this forgetfulness is after the taslim," and he should explain to them what he knows of these rulings so that they are aware of the matter.