When is Sajdah as-Sahw (prostration of forgetfulness) required? Where is it be performed?
Dear Brother / Sister,
A person is considered to have committed a karahah (disliked act) if he recites only al-Fatiha in a rak'ah of the prayer or only one or two verses along with al-Fatiha. However, since not reciting zamm as-surah (additional chapter or verses) intentionally is considered abandoning a wajib, it is required to perform the prayer again. If it is abandoned because of forgetfulness, sajdah as-sahw is performed. (al Muhit / Radiyuddin Sarakhsi)
Not reciting the duas after at tahiyyat in prayers either deliberately or by mistake does not invalidate the prayer and sajdah as-sahw is not required.
(Celal Yıldırım, Islamic Fıqh with Sources, Uysal Kitabevi: 1/272.)
Questions on Islam
- What should a person who forgets to read zamm-i surah (additional chapter or verses) after reciting al-Fatiha but goes to ruku and remembers it there do?
- Is sajdah as-sahw (prostration of forgetfulness) necessary if someone reads surah of al-Fatiha instead of at-Tahiyyat by mistake in the first or last sitting of prayer?
- If a person does not perform sajdah as-sahw though it is necessary, is his prayer invalidated? Is it possible to make a mistake while performing sajdah as-sahw? If it is possible, is sajdah as-sahw performed for sajdah as-sahw?
- Does forgetting to recite Qunut supplications in the witr prayer necessitate sajdah as-sahw?
- Is sajdah as-sahw necessary because of performing a prayer at the time of karahah? For instance, if a person delays performing the afternoon prayer to the time of karahah, does sajdah as-sahw become necessary due to delaying?
- Does sajda as-sahw (prostration of forgetfulness) become necessary if we change the places of the invocations that we recite in ruku and sajdah?
- Does sajdah as-sahw become necessary if a person reads the additional chapters in a wrong order in a prayer?
- Sajdah as-Sahw
- In the salah, if we forget an ayah while reading a short additional chapter like Surah al-Ikhlas, must we perform sajdah as-sahw?
- What should I do if I am late for the congregational prayer and the imam performs sajdah as-sahw?

