The ruling when the one praying is uncertain about the number of rak'ahs
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Q: If the imam is uncertain in the four-rak'ah prayer and does not know whether he prayed three or four, and then he says the closing salam, and after the salam some of the ma'mum inform him that he did not pray more than three, in this case, does the imam say the takbir of ihram for the fourth rak'ah, or does he simply stand up and recite al-Fatihah without takbir? And what is the position of sujud al-sahw: before the salam or after it?
A: If the imam or the one praying alone is uncertain in the four-rak'ah prayer: whether he prayed three or four, then it is obligatory for him to build upon certainty, which is the lesser number, so he makes it three, and he performs the fourth, then he prostrates for forgetfulness before he says the salam; for it is established from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:. It was narrated by Muslim in his "Sahih".
As for if he said the salam from three and then was informed of that, then he stands up without takbir with the intention of prayer, then he performs the fourth, then he sits for the tashahhud, and after he finishes the tashahhud and the prayer upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the supplication, he says the salam, then he prostrates two prostrations for forgetfulness after that, then he says the salam.
This is the best for every one who says the salam from a deficiency in the prayer while in a state of forgetfulness; for it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said the salam from two in the Zuhr or 'Asr, so Dhu al-Yadayn informed him, so he stood up and completed his prayer, then he said the salam, then he prostrated for forgetfulness, then he said the salam.
And it is established from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said the salam from three in the 'Asr, so when he was informed of that, he performed the fourth, then he said the salam, then he prostrated the two prostrations of forgetfulness, then he said the salam.
A: If the imam or the one praying alone is uncertain in the four-rak'ah prayer: whether he prayed three or four, then it is obligatory for him to build upon certainty, which is the lesser number, so he makes it three, and he performs the fourth, then he prostrates for forgetfulness before he says the salam; for it is established from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:
If any one of you is uncertain in the prayer and does not know how much he prayed: three or four; then let him discard the doubt, and let him build upon what he is certain of, then let him prostrate two prostrations before he says the salam, for if he prayed five, they made his prayer even, and if he prayed the full amount, they were a humiliation for Satan
إذا شكَّ أحدُكم في الصلاة فلم يدرِ كم صلَّى: ثلاثًا أم أربعًا؛ فليطرح الشك، ولْيَبْنِ على ما استيقن، ثم ليسجد سجدتين قبل أن يُسلِّم، فإن كان صلَّى خمسًا شفعن له صلاته، وإن كان صلَّى تمامًا كانتا ترغيمًا للشيطانAs for if he said the salam from three and then was informed of that, then he stands up without takbir with the intention of prayer, then he performs the fourth, then he sits for the tashahhud, and after he finishes the tashahhud and the prayer upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the supplication, he says the salam, then he prostrates two prostrations for forgetfulness after that, then he says the salam.
This is the best for every one who says the salam from a deficiency in the prayer while in a state of forgetfulness; for it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said the salam from two in the Zuhr or 'Asr, so Dhu al-Yadayn informed him, so he stood up and completed his prayer, then he said the salam, then he prostrated for forgetfulness, then he said the salam.
And it is established from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said the salam from three in the 'Asr, so when he was informed of that, he performed the fourth, then he said the salam, then he prostrated the two prostrations of forgetfulness, then he said the salam.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.