I stood up for the fifth rak'ah, and the praying people reminded me. After I had straightened up, I realized it was the fifth, but I did not go back. What is the ruling on the prayer in this case?

The questioner : In the name of Allah, and all praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Our Shaykh, I stood up for the fifth rak'ah, and the praying people reminded me. After I had straightened up, I realized it was the fifth, but I did not go back. What is the ruling on the prayer in this case?

The Shaykh : When I prayed the fifth, I prostrated the prostration for forgetfulness.

The questioner : Yes, I prostrated.

The Shaykh : The prayer is valid, but you were in error, because when a person realizes an error, he must correct it and not continue in it, unless the Shari'ah commands him to continue. Here, there is nothing of that. So when you stood up in forgetfulness to the fifth rak'ah, and in your expression—and peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you—in your expression, you had fully straightened up, but you were reminded and remembered. You were required to immediately return to the tashahhud and not intentionally add a rak'ah to the four. Because by your standing up from the second and final tashahhud to the fifth rak'ah, you had not yet performed the fifth rak'ah. So your continuation in this rak'ah is an intentional error upon an unintentional error. But perhaps it is forgiven because the first error was not intentional. And in my opinion, this first error arose from analogizing this standing up to the standing up from the first tashahhud. He forgot the first tashahhud, so he stood up to the third rak'ah, then he remembered. Here, the Shari'ah, or the Sunnah in explicit terms, distinguishes between the one who remembers that he missed the first tashahhud before he has fully straightened up, in which case he is ordered to return, and the one who remembers after he has fully straightened up, in which case he is not ordered to return, and it is not permissible for him to return. In the first case, if he remembers the tashahhud from which he stood up and had not performed it, and he remembers it before he has fully straightened up and returns, there is no prostration for forgetfulness on him. But in the other case, if he remembers the tashahhud after he has fully straightened up, it is not permissible for him to return, and he must perform the prostration for forgetfulness. I think the incident you asked about was analogized to this, and this is an incorrect analogy. Therefore, everyone who stands up to the fifth rak'ah, even if it is in the first prostration, must cancel all of that and perform the tashahhud immediately, then prostrate the two prostrations of forgetfulness. Is that clear?

The questioner : It is clear, O our Shaykh.

The Shaykh : I say the final scenario: this fifth rak'ah is not completed except with the second prostration, correct?

The questioner : Repeat it, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh : This fifth rak'ah is not completed except with the second prostration?

The questioner : Yes, I understood.

The Shaykh : Well, some people continued in the error you mentioned earlier until the first prostration. So he must immediately cancel the second prostration; he does not complete the rak'ah with the second prostration, but rather he begins with the tashahhud immediately. Is that clear?

The questioner : Clear.

The Shaykh : Yes, and he performs the tashahhud and prostrates the two prostrations of forgetfulness, because this entire action, if...
Al-Halabi : Our Shaykh, well, in the same issue our brother mentioned, in some fiqh books, our Shaykh says that the prayer is invalid from the first aspect, because he engaged in a pillar before performing the obligatory act, or something of that sort.

The Shaykh : Yes, that is correct.
Al-Halabi : So there is no evidence for this. Do we not say that it is an error, meaning it is not something that invalidates the prayer?

The Shaykh : That is correct.