The prayer of forgetfulness in Islam | Studio Arabiya in Egypt

What is the prayer of forgetfulness in Islam? and how to pray it. That’s what we will learn about in this article, let’s get started.

While praying we sometimes lose our concentration and forget how many Rakat did we pray, sometimes we add or omit a Rakah. Therefore, when that happens, we should do what is called “Sujud Sahwi.” Some refer to it as the prayer of forgetfulness.

How do you prayer of forgetfulness?

Sometimes we forget how many Rakat we pray, and there are three cases:

1- we added to the prayer.

2- We omitted Rakat.

3- We are not sure how many Rakat did we pray.

Here is what you should do in each case.

1- Forgetting a part of Rakat or a whole Rakat during Prayer.

Abdullah bin Buhaina Al-Asdi narrated: “the prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) stood up for the Zuhr prayer and he should have sat (after the second rak`a but he stood up for the third rak`a without sitting for Tashah-hud) and when he finished the prayer, he performed two prostrations and said Takbir on each prostration while sitting, before ending (the prayer) with Taslim; and the people too performed the two prostrations with him instead of the sitting he forgot.”

From this hadith, we understand that when we forget any part of the Raka, we should do the prayer of forgetfulness, which means to do two Rakat before the Taslim and after the Tashahhud.

Another hadith regarding the topic was narrated by Abu Hurairah, who said: “The Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) offered the noon prayer and he gave the salutation at the end of two Rakahs. He was asked. Has the prayer been shortened? then he offered two Rakahs of the prayer and made two prostrations (at the end of it).

2- When Adding Rakat to the prayer.

Abdullah narrated:” Once Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessing be upon him) offered five Rakat in the Zuhr prayer, and somebody asked him whether there was some increase in the prayer. Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessing be upon him) said, “What is that?” He said, “You have offered five Rakat.” So Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessing be upon him) performed two prostrations of Sahu after Taslim.”

From this hadith, we understand that when adding to the prayer we should do Sujud Sahwi after Taslim.

3- Doubting the number of Rakat.

If you forgot how many Rakat did you pray, don’t worry that’s normal, and there is nothing wrong with it. Let’s see what the hadith say about this situation.

Abu Saeed Al-Khudri narrated that, the prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said: “If one of you does not know whether he prayed three or four (Rakat), let him pray a Rakah then prostrate twice after that when he is sitting. Then if he prayed five (rak’ahs), they (the two prostrations) will make his prayer even-numbered, and if he had prayed four, they will annoy and humiliate the shaitan.”’

When you don’t know or are not sure of the number of Rakat you prayed then take the less number, for example, if you don’t know if you prayed three or four Rakat then take the less number which is three, and continue praying to finish the four Rakat. Then when you finish praying do the Sahw prostration.

How can we prostrate forgetfulness after Salaam?

As we said above there are three cases, not knowing whether you added or omitted Rakat, and sometimes not knowing how many Rakat you have prayed.

If you added a Rakah then perform the prostrate of forgetfulness after Taslim.
If you omitted Rakat then do the prostrate of forgetfulness before Taslim.

How do you perform Sajdah al SAHW?

There is a fatwa that says: “The first Tashahhud in the prayer is one of the obligatory parts of prayer, according to the more correct of the two scholarly views, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to do it and he said: “Pray as you have seen me praying.” If he omitted it by mistake, he should prostrate because of forgetting, and if he omitted it deliberately, then his prayer is invalid. The one who omitted it by mistake can make up for it by doing the prostration of forgetfulness before the salaam.”

So when adding to the prayer you should perform two prostrations after the Taslim and in the first Raka say Subhaana Rabbiyal-A’la (Glory be to my Lord most High) three times, then sit and say Rabb Ighfir li, Rabb Ighfir li (Lord forgive me, Lord forgive me). Then do the second Sujood and say Subhaana Rabbiyal-A’la (Glory be to my Lord most High) three times, that’s it.

If you omitted Rakat then do the prostrate of forgetfulness before Taslim. After finishing the Tashahhud and before the Taslim performs two prostrations. and in the first Raka say Subhaana Rabbiyal-A’la (Glory be to my Lord most High) three times, then sit and say Rabb Ighfir li, Rabb Ighfir li (Lord forgive me, Lord forgive me). Then do the second Sujood and say Subhaana Rabbiyal-A’la (Glory be to my Lord most High) three times then do the Taslim.

How do you correct a mistake in Salah?

You correct the mistake in Salah by offering sujood Sahw (prostrate forgetfulness). And here’s how to perform it:

sajdah of forgetfulness

If you omitted Rakat then do the prostrate of forgetfulness before Taslim. After finishing the Tashahhud and before the Taslim performs two prostrations. and in the first Raka say Subhaana Rabbiyal-A’la (Glory be to my Lord most High) three times, then sit and say Rabb ighfir li, Rabb Ighfir li (Lord forgive me, Lord forgive me). Then do the second Sujood and say Subhaana Rabbiyal-A’la (Glory be to my Lord most High) three times then do the Taslim.

What to recite in sujood Sahw?

In each Sajdah, you will recite Subhaana Rabbiyal-A’la (Glory be to my Lord most High) three times, and between the two sujoods recite Rabb Ighfir li, Rabb Ighfir li (Lord forgive me, Lord forgive me).

Prostration of forgetfulness Hanafi.

Al-Kaasaani wrote the following about the Prostration of forgetfulness according to the Hanafi school: “According to our school of Fiqh, it is recommended to perform the sujood as-Sahw after the Tasleem (i.e. concluding the prayer), whether the worshipper has added or omitted an act of the prayer entailing the performance of sujood as-Sahw.”

He added, “This is the recommended manner for performing it (sujood as-sahw); however, it is permissible to perform it before or after the Tasleem. If the worshipper performs it before Tasleem, he is not required to repeat the prayer because he has already performed the pillars of the prayer. However, by doing so he has neglected the recommended manner of performing it, which is after Tasleem…”

Sujood Sahw dua

Here is what you should say in the Sahw Sujood:

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