The imam made a mistake in the four-rak'ah prayer; is it permissible for us to remind him of the mistake during the prayer before the taslim, where the mistake is either a missing or an extra rak'ah?
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The questioner : This questioner says, “O honorable Shaykh, the imam made a mistake in the four-rak'ah prayer; is it permissible for us to remind him of the mistake during the prayer before the taslim, where the mistake is either a missing or an extra rak'ah?”
The Shaykh : You must alert him; you must alert him if he makes a mistake. If there is an addition, alert him. How is the alert given? The alert is given by saying Subhan Allah for men and clapping for women. You say, “Subhan Allah.” If he understands what is intended, that is the intended and required action. If he does not understand, recite a verse that points to this. If we assume he left out a prostration and you alerted him but he did not notice, say or [Al-Hajj 22:77]. The important thing is that you alert him with something from the Qur'an. But sometimes the imam stands for an addition, such as standing for a fifth rak'ah in the Zuhr prayer. The ma'mum should alert him by saying, “Subhan Allah, Subhan Allah.” But if he insists on performing this rak'ah, we say they should sit down and not stand with him, then they should perform the taslim with him. He must alert them about the reason for the addition, because the reason for the addition may be that he forgot to recite al-Fatihah in one of the rak'ahs. If a person forgets to recite al-Fatihah until he stands for the next rak'ah, the rak'ah in which he forgot to recite al-Fatihah is invalidated, and the one after it becomes a substitute for it. Therefore, he must alert them and say, “I know that I stood for a fifth rak'ah, but I forgot to recite al-Fatihah in the first, second, or third rak'ah.” If a person forgets to recite al-Fatihah in a rak'ah until he stands for the next rak'ah, the next rak'ah becomes a substitute for the rak'ah in which he left out al-Fatihah.
Here I say that this forgetfulness is considered valid if it is genuine forgetfulness. But if it is doubt, it should not be attended to. If a person has many doubts, because some people have so many doubts that they hardly do anything without doubting, then the doubt is ignored and not attended to, just as if he doubts after finishing, he does not attend to that doubt. There are many examples of this. For instance, if he doubts about gargling and sniffing water while he is washing his hands and says, “I do not know if I gargled and sniffed or not,” we say if this doubt frequently occurs to him every time he performs wudu', it is not attended to, and he should consider himself to have gargled and sniffed.
Similarly, if he doubts after finishing the wudu' and says, “By Allah, I do not know if I wiped my head or not,” we say do not attend to it, because doubt after completing the act of worship is not considered. Likewise, if he doubts about the rounds of tawaf, whether he performed six or five, we say if it is during the tawaf, he should perform what he is doubtful about, and the matter ends. If it is after he has finished the tawaf and left, and he says, “By Allah, I do not know if I performed six or seven,” this doubt is not considered; this doubt is ignored and it is counted as seven. This is a useful rule for a person: if doubts become frequent with him, he should not attend to them. If the doubt occurs after completing the act of worship, he should not attend to it unless he becomes certain. If he becomes certain, he must perform what was missing.
The questioner : May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : You must alert him; you must alert him if he makes a mistake. If there is an addition, alert him. How is the alert given? The alert is given by saying Subhan Allah for men and clapping for women. You say, “Subhan Allah.” If he understands what is intended, that is the intended and required action. If he does not understand, recite a verse that points to this. If we assume he left out a prostration and you alerted him but he did not notice, say
And prostrate and draw near
وَاسجُد وَاقتَرِبO you who have believed, bow and prostrate
يا أَيُّهَا الَّذينَ ءامَنُوا اركَعوا وَاسجُدواHere I say that this forgetfulness is considered valid if it is genuine forgetfulness. But if it is doubt, it should not be attended to. If a person has many doubts, because some people have so many doubts that they hardly do anything without doubting, then the doubt is ignored and not attended to, just as if he doubts after finishing, he does not attend to that doubt. There are many examples of this. For instance, if he doubts about gargling and sniffing water while he is washing his hands and says, “I do not know if I gargled and sniffed or not,” we say if this doubt frequently occurs to him every time he performs wudu', it is not attended to, and he should consider himself to have gargled and sniffed.
Similarly, if he doubts after finishing the wudu' and says, “By Allah, I do not know if I wiped my head or not,” we say do not attend to it, because doubt after completing the act of worship is not considered. Likewise, if he doubts about the rounds of tawaf, whether he performed six or five, we say if it is during the tawaf, he should perform what he is doubtful about, and the matter ends. If it is after he has finished the tawaf and left, and he says, “By Allah, I do not know if I performed six or seven,” this doubt is not considered; this doubt is ignored and it is counted as seven. This is a useful rule for a person: if doubts become frequent with him, he should not attend to them. If the doubt occurs after completing the act of worship, he should not attend to it unless he becomes certain. If he becomes certain, he must perform what was missing.
The questioner : May Allah reward you.