How to get rid of doubt regarding the number of rak'ahs
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
The questioner, in her second question, says: Satan makes me doubt the number of rak'ahs in the prayer. What should I do to stay away from that? May Allah reward you.
Answer:
If this doubt predominates over you, then you must act on the preponderance of your opinion. Act on your opinion, and praise be to Allah, and that is sufficient.
As for if it is not predominant, but is merely an occasional occurrence, then you must act as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) explained in the prayer. Build on certainty when you are in doubt. If you prayed two or three, make it two, build on certainty, complete the prayer, and prostrate for forgetfulness. And if you are in doubt in fasting, whether you drank or ate, the original state is that you did not do anything; the original state is fasting, and praise be to Allah, you did not eat. This is from Satan.
And if you are in doubt after the prayer, whether you prayed in a state of ritual purity or not, and you know that you performed the ablution, but you are in doubt whether you broke it or not, the original state is purity and that you did not break it. This is because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), when asked about that, said:Sahih Muslim 361 As for if it predominates over you and the whispers become numerous, then discard them and do not pay attention to them. Yes.
The questioner, in her second question, says: Satan makes me doubt the number of rak'ahs in the prayer. What should I do to stay away from that? May Allah reward you.
Answer:
If this doubt predominates over you, then you must act on the preponderance of your opinion. Act on your opinion, and praise be to Allah, and that is sufficient.
As for if it is not predominant, but is merely an occasional occurrence, then you must act as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) explained in the prayer. Build on certainty when you are in doubt. If you prayed two or three, make it two, build on certainty, complete the prayer, and prostrate for forgetfulness. And if you are in doubt in fasting, whether you drank or ate, the original state is that you did not do anything; the original state is fasting, and praise be to Allah, you did not eat. This is from Satan.
And if you are in doubt after the prayer, whether you prayed in a state of ritual purity or not, and you know that you performed the ablution, but you are in doubt whether you broke it or not, the original state is purity and that you did not break it. This is because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), when asked about that, said:
He should not return (from prayer) unless he hears a sound or perceives a smell (of passing wind).
لا ينصرف حتى يسمع صوتًا، أو يجد ريحًا
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.