If the one who prays forgets the opening supplication, is the prostration for forgetfulness obligatory?
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The questioner : O Shaykh, one day I prayed the Maghrib prayer and I missed a rak'ah. In the second rak'ah, I forgot the opening supplication. When I stood for the third rak'ah, I remembered it and recited it. Is the prostration for forgetfulness required of me?
The Shaykh : No. First, may Allah reward you. The opening supplication in the Maghrib prayer and others is not obligatory, but it is a recommended practice (sunnah). If it is missed, it is missed. For example, if you begin reciting al-Fatihah in the first rak'ah before making the opening supplication, you do not go back to make it, because this is a recommended practice whose time has passed. Do you understand?
Did you understand, yes or no? Answer?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : I am asking, did you understand or not?
The questioner : No.
The Shaykh : I say: The opening supplication is a recommended practice (sunnah), not obligatory. If you forget it until you have begun the recitation, it is dropped, and there is no need to recite it. Likewise, if you do not remember it until the second rak'ah, you do not recite it. Do you understand?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : No. First, may Allah reward you. The opening supplication in the Maghrib prayer and others is not obligatory, but it is a recommended practice (sunnah). If it is missed, it is missed. For example, if you begin reciting al-Fatihah in the first rak'ah before making the opening supplication, you do not go back to make it, because this is a recommended practice whose time has passed. Do you understand?
Did you understand, yes or no? Answer?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : I am asking, did you understand or not?
The questioner : No.
The Shaykh : I say: The opening supplication is a recommended practice (sunnah), not obligatory. If you forget it until you have begun the recitation, it is dropped, and there is no need to recite it. Likewise, if you do not remember it until the second rak'ah, you do not recite it. Do you understand?
The questioner : Yes.