Does sajdah as-sahw become necessary if a person reads the additional chapters in a wrong order in a prayer?

- Does sajdah as-sahw become necessary if a person reads the additional chapters in a wrong order in a prayer? What should a person do if he reads the same additional chapter by mistake in any two rak’ahs of a prayer, say, the sunnah of the afternoon prayer?

- What should a person do if he confuses the orders of the additional chapters in prayer? Does it become necessary to perform a prayer again if a person reads the same additional chapter by mistake in any two rak’ahs of a prayer, say the sunnah or fard of the afternoon prayer? What should a person do if he wants to read the chapter of al-Ikhlas but gets confused and starts to read the chapter of al-Kafirun by saying "Qul ya ayyuhal kafirun..." instead of “Qul huwallahu ahad…”, realizes his mistake and starts again with al-Ikhlas?

Dear Brother / Sister,

It is makruh not to read the additional chapters in order in prayer. It does not invalidate prayer; it is not necessary to perform the prayer again. Sajdah as-sahw is not necessary either. If you start reading a chapter that you have read or a chapter that is wrong in order, it is necessary to complete it like that. Sajdah as-sahw is not necessary because of it.  

If a person makes a mistake while reading an additional chapter (after al-Fatiha) and starts reading it again from the beginning to correct his mistake, sajdah as-sahw does not become necessary. If a person starts to read a chapter, stops it and starts to read another chapter, sajdah as-sahw is not necessary either.

Some of the states that necessitate sajdah as-sahw (prostration of forgetfulness) are as follows: 

1. To bow down after al-Fatiha without reading an additional chapter. If one remembers it in ruku’, he stands up, reads the chapter and bows down again. He performs sajdah as-sahw at the end of the prayer.

2. To read al-Fatiha twice by mistake.

3. To forget the takbir and qunut supplication in witr prayer. If one remembers it in ruku’, he does not stand up to read qunut supplication; he continues and performs sajdah as-sahw at the end of the prayer.

4. To stand up after performing two rak’ahs by forgetting to sit in four-rak’ah prayers; that is, to abandon the first sitting. If the person has stood up fully or is closer to standing, he continues the prayer and performs sajdah as-sahw at the end of the prayer. If he is closer to sitting, he sits down and does not perform sajdah as-sahw. If he sits down after standing up fully, his prayer is invalidated. 
5. Not to stand up after reading at-Tahiyyat in the first sitting and to read salawat and supplications or to delay long enough to perform a rukn of a prayer. If the part read from salawat forms a sentence (like saying Allahumma salli ala Muhammadin), sajdah as-sahw is performed at the end of the prayer. However, if the part that has been read does not form a sentence, sajdah as-sahw is not necessary.

6. If a person stands up for the fifth rak’ah without sitting in the last sitting in four-rak’ah prayers, he sits down again if he has not performed the prostration of the fifth rak’ah; he performs sajdah as-sahw at the end of the prayer. For, he has delayed the last sitting, which is fard. If he has performed the prostration of the fifth rak’ah, this prayer becomes a nafilah prayer. He adds one more rak’ah to his prayer and performs a six-rak’ah nafilah prayer. Therefore, sajdah as-sahw is not necessary.

7. If a person stands up after sitting long enough to read tashahhud in the last sitting of a four-rak’ah prayer, he sits down at once and salutes. He does not have to read at-Tahiyyat again. He can even salute while standing because he has completed the fard sitting. However, if he salutes while standing, he abandons a Sunnah. It is necessary to perform sajdah as-sahw at the end of the prayer because salutation has been delayed.

8. If a person who has caught up with the imam late makes a mistake in the rak’ah(s) that he performs alone, he has to perform sajdah as-sahw for that mistake.

9. If the imam reads silently in places where it is necessary to read aloud or aloud in places where it is necessary to read silently, sajdah as-sahw becomes necessary. For instance, if the imam reads al-Fatiha and an additional chapter aloud in the noon prayer and silently in the evening prayer, sajdah as-sahw becomes necessary. If tasbihs and takbirs are read aloud in prayer, sajdah as-sahw is not necessary.

10. If a person thinks for a while what to read after reading al-Fatiha, sajdah as-sahw becomes necessary because wajib has been delayed.   

11. Abandoning ta'dil al-arkan also necessitates sajdah as-sahw.

12. Only one sajdah as-sahw is enough for more than one mistake necessitating sajdah as-sahw.

It is wajib to perform two prostrations and to read at-Tahiyyat and to salute after that in sajdah as-sahw. The salawat and supplications after at-Tahiyyat and takbirs and tasbihs in prostration are sunnah.

* In a prayer, if a person doubts about the number of rak’ahs, his prayer is invalidated unless he is a person with delusions. He has to perform it again. As a matter of fact, a person who hesitates whether he has performed a prayer or not has to pray it again if there is enough time.  Doubt about the number of rak’ahs is not taken into consideration after the prayer is completed. However, if a person realizes definitely that he has performed fewer rak’ahs than necessary, he performs that prayer again.

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