Tell us about the cases of the prostration for forgetfulness?
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The questioner : The prostration for forgetfulness is a source of confusion for many imams and some questioners, whether it is performed after the closing salam or before it. Please tell us about these cases, may you be rewarded.
The Shaykh : Yes. The prostration for forgetfulness has three causes.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Addition, omission, and doubt. For addition, the prostration is performed after the salam, and for omission, the prostration is performed before the salam.
The questioner : Very well.
The Shaykh : As for doubt, it may be accompanied by a predominant suspicion or it may not. If it is accompanied by a predominant suspicion, one acts according to what is predominant in his suspicion and prostrates after the salam. If it is not accompanied by a predominant suspicion, he acts according to certainty, which is the lesser number, and prostrates before the salam.
The questioner : Very well.
The Shaykh : So, the prostration for forgetfulness is performed after the salam in two cases: in addition, and when one builds upon his suspicion. It is performed before the salam in two cases: in omission, and when there is doubt without a predominant suspicion. We will clarify this by saying: regarding addition, if a person adds a rak'ah to his prayer, such as praying five rak'ahs for the midday prayer and remembering while he is in the tashahhud, then in this case... he completes the tashahhud and says the salam, then prostrates two prostrations for forgetfulness and says the salam.
If he bows twice, this is an addition. We say: complete your prayer and say the salam, then prostrate two prostrations and say the salam.
If he stands up for an extra rak'ah, such as standing up for the fifth rak'ah in a four-rak'ah prayer, and then remembers after standing up, even after reciting al-Fatihah, or even after bowing, he returns, sits, recites the tashahhud, and says the salam, then prostrates two prostrations after the salam and says the salam. The evidence for this is the hadith of 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed the midday prayer with them for five rak'ahs. When he finished, they were asked: "Did the prayer increase?" He said: They said: "You prayed five rak'ahs." So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) turned toward the qiblah, sat on his heels, and prostrated two prostrations, then said the salam. This is prostration after the salam because he added a rak'ah. Another piece of evidence is the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed with them one of the two evening prayers, either the midday or the afternoon prayer, and said the salam after two rak'ahs. Then they reminded him, so he completed his prayer and said the salam, then prostrated two prostrations after the salam. However, the addition in this hadith of Abu Hurayrah is verbal, whereas the addition in the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud is practical.
As for omission, it is performed before the salam. This only occurs regarding obligatory acts, meaning if a person omits an obligatory act, such as forgetting to say in the bowing, for example, forgetting to say in the bowing "Glory be to my Lord, the Most Great" or forgetting to say in the prostration "Glory be to my Lord, the Most High". Here, he prostrates for forgetfulness before the salam. The evidence for this is the hadith of 'Abdullah ibn Buhaynah that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed with them and stood up from the two rak'ahs without sitting, meaning he did not sit for the first tashahhud. When he finished the prayer and the people were waiting for his salam, he prostrated two prostrations and then said the salam. This indicates that if he leaves an obligatory act among the obligatory acts, he prostrates before the salam, because leaving an obligatory act is an omission. The wisdom in this, meaning that the prostration for forgetfulness is after the salam in addition and before the salam in omission, is that if he prostrated for forgetfulness before the salam in the case of addition, two additions would be combined in the prayer. And in the case of omission, if he left the prostration until after the salam, there would be an omission in the prayer: the omission of what he left and the omission of the obligatory prostration to make up for that omission. And so that he does not leave his prayer until the omission has been made up, the prostration is before the salam. This is for addition and omission. As for doubt, we said that if there is a suspicion, he builds upon his suspicion and prostrates after the salam. If there is no suspicion, but he is hesitating between this and that, he builds upon the lesser number because it is certainty and prostrates for forgetfulness before the salam. An example of this is if he doubts whether he prayed three or four rak'ahs and it is predominant in his suspicion that it was three, let him come with the fourth, say the salam, then prostrate two prostrations and say the salam.
Or if he doubts whether he prayed three or four rak'ahs and it is predominant in his suspicion that it was four, his prayer is complete, so he recites the tashahhud, says the salam, and prostrates for forgetfulness after the salam. The evidence for this is the hadith of 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If one of you doubts in his prayer, let him seek the truth and build upon it, and let him prostrate two prostrations after he says the salam" This is the hadith or its meaning. As for if he hesitated and neither this nor that was predominant in his suspicion, he builds upon the lesser number, which is certainty, and prostrates for forgetfulness before he says the salam. An example of this is if he doubts whether he prayed three or four rak'ahs and it is not predominant in his mind that it was three or that it was four. If he prays and doubts whether he prayed three or four rak'ahs and it is not predominant that he prayed three or that he prayed four, he makes it three because he is certain of that, and comes with the fourth, and prostrates for forgetfulness before he says the salam. The evidence for this is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If one of you doubts in his prayer and does not know how many rak'ahs he prayed, three or four, let him discard the doubt and build upon what he is certain of, then prostrate two prostrations before he says the salam" This is the wording of the hadith or its meaning. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you. The listener Khalid 'A. M. from Kuwait says in his second question.
The Shaykh : Yes. The prostration for forgetfulness has three causes.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Addition, omission, and doubt. For addition, the prostration is performed after the salam, and for omission, the prostration is performed before the salam.
The questioner : Very well.
The Shaykh : As for doubt, it may be accompanied by a predominant suspicion or it may not. If it is accompanied by a predominant suspicion, one acts according to what is predominant in his suspicion and prostrates after the salam. If it is not accompanied by a predominant suspicion, he acts according to certainty, which is the lesser number, and prostrates before the salam.
The questioner : Very well.
The Shaykh : So, the prostration for forgetfulness is performed after the salam in two cases: in addition, and when one builds upon his suspicion. It is performed before the salam in two cases: in omission, and when there is doubt without a predominant suspicion. We will clarify this by saying: regarding addition, if a person adds a rak'ah to his prayer, such as praying five rak'ahs for the midday prayer and remembering while he is in the tashahhud, then in this case... he completes the tashahhud and says the salam, then prostrates two prostrations for forgetfulness and says the salam.
If he bows twice, this is an addition. We say: complete your prayer and say the salam, then prostrate two prostrations and say the salam.
If he stands up for an extra rak'ah, such as standing up for the fifth rak'ah in a four-rak'ah prayer, and then remembers after standing up, even after reciting al-Fatihah, or even after bowing, he returns, sits, recites the tashahhud, and says the salam, then prostrates two prostrations after the salam and says the salam. The evidence for this is the hadith of 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed the midday prayer with them for five rak'ahs. When he finished, they were asked: "Did the prayer increase?" He said:
And what is that?
وما ذاك؟As for omission, it is performed before the salam. This only occurs regarding obligatory acts, meaning if a person omits an obligatory act, such as forgetting to say in the bowing, for example, forgetting to say in the bowing "Glory be to my Lord, the Most Great" or forgetting to say in the prostration "Glory be to my Lord, the Most High". Here, he prostrates for forgetfulness before the salam. The evidence for this is the hadith of 'Abdullah ibn Buhaynah that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed with them and stood up from the two rak'ahs without sitting, meaning he did not sit for the first tashahhud. When he finished the prayer and the people were waiting for his salam, he prostrated two prostrations and then said the salam. This indicates that if he leaves an obligatory act among the obligatory acts, he prostrates before the salam, because leaving an obligatory act is an omission. The wisdom in this, meaning that the prostration for forgetfulness is after the salam in addition and before the salam in omission, is that if he prostrated for forgetfulness before the salam in the case of addition, two additions would be combined in the prayer. And in the case of omission, if he left the prostration until after the salam, there would be an omission in the prayer: the omission of what he left and the omission of the obligatory prostration to make up for that omission. And so that he does not leave his prayer until the omission has been made up, the prostration is before the salam. This is for addition and omission. As for doubt, we said that if there is a suspicion, he builds upon his suspicion and prostrates after the salam. If there is no suspicion, but he is hesitating between this and that, he builds upon the lesser number because it is certainty and prostrates for forgetfulness before the salam. An example of this is if he doubts whether he prayed three or four rak'ahs and it is predominant in his suspicion that it was three, let him come with the fourth, say the salam, then prostrate two prostrations and say the salam.
Or if he doubts whether he prayed three or four rak'ahs and it is predominant in his suspicion that it was four, his prayer is complete, so he recites the tashahhud, says the salam, and prostrates for forgetfulness after the salam. The evidence for this is the hadith of 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If one of you doubts in his prayer, let him seek the truth and build upon it, and let him prostrate two prostrations after he says the salam" This is the hadith or its meaning. As for if he hesitated and neither this nor that was predominant in his suspicion, he builds upon the lesser number, which is certainty, and prostrates for forgetfulness before he says the salam. An example of this is if he doubts whether he prayed three or four rak'ahs and it is not predominant in his mind that it was three or that it was four. If he prays and doubts whether he prayed three or four rak'ahs and it is not predominant that he prayed three or that he prayed four, he makes it three because he is certain of that, and comes with the fourth, and prostrates for forgetfulness before he says the salam. The evidence for this is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If one of you doubts in his prayer and does not know how many rak'ahs he prayed, three or four, let him discard the doubt and build upon what he is certain of, then prostrate two prostrations before he says the salam" This is the wording of the hadith or its meaning. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you. The listener Khalid 'A. M. from Kuwait says in his second question.