How is sajdah as-sahw (prostration of forgetfulness) performed according to Shafii madhhab? What are the things that necessitate sajdah as-sahw?

Dear Brother / Sister,

The deeds that are abandoned (forgotten) in prayer are divided into three: fard, sunnah and hay'at.

If what is abandoned is fard (rukn), only sajdah as-sahw (prostration of forgetfulness) is not enough. It is necessary to perform the fard that was abandoned immediately if a short period of time has passed.

If what is abandoned is sunnah, and if the rukn after that sunnah has not been started, that sunnah is performed. If the next rukn has been started, it is skipped. The prayer continues. Afterwards, sajdah as-sahw is performed.   

If what is abandoned is hay’at, nothing is done for it; sajdah as-sahw is not necessary for it.

A person who doubts about the rak’ahs he has performed continues his prayer based on the fewer rak’ahs.

Sajdah as-sahw is sunnah and it is done before salutation.

How to perform sajdah as-sahw:

A person who performs a prayer sits for tashahhud before he salutes; then, he reads salawat for the Prophet and his family; after that, he makes intention and performs two sajdahs like the ones in the prayer. 

Thus, sajdah as-sahw is completed.

STATES THAT NECESSITATE SAJDAH AS-SAHW ACCORDING TO SHAFII MADHHAB:

Sajdah as-sahw was rendered legitimate so that the deficiencies that take place in the prayer deliberately or by mistake are completed and Satan is depressed. For instance, if a person raises his head from sajdah before he settles (reaches itmi’nan), he performs that sajdah again and performs sajdah as-sahw at the end of the prayer.   

There is no drawback to completing something with more than that thing. For instance, when a person invalidates his Ramadan fasting by having a sexual intercourse with his wife, he has to free a slave as atonement but if he cannot do it, he performs fasting for sixty days.

Janazah prayer is based on lightness; therefore, sajdah as-sahw is not performed in janazah prayer. These sajdahs are among the properties of this ummah. It is sunnah al-muakkadah for a person who performs a prayer alone and the imam; it is wajib for a person who follows the imam when the imam performs sajdah as-sahw .  

Sajdah as-sahw consists of two sajdahs like the ones in prayer. A person sits normally between two sajdahs and by tawarruq after these sajdahs. Dhikr between two sajdahs are like dhikr between normal sajdahs in prayer.  

If sajdah as-sahw is done due to a deliberate deed, it is better to ask for forgiveness. The imam and a person who is performing a prayer alone need to make intention for sajdah as-sahw through the heart. If they do not make intention or if they make intention verbally, the prayer is invalidated. 

Sajdah as-sahw is performed after tashahhud and reading salawat for the Prophet (pbuh) and his family and before the salutation of the prayer.

After the salutation that is done deliberately, sajdah as-sahw becomes invalid. 

If a person forgets sajdah as-sahw and salutes and then remembers it after a time that is enough to perform a light two-rak’ah prayer, sajdah as-sahw becomes invalid. However, if he forgets sajdah as-sahw and salutes and then remembers it before a time that is enough to perform a light two-rak’ah prayer, he performs sajdah as-sahw without uttering takbir of iftitah and salutes again. 

The reasons for sajdah as-sahw are as follows:

l. To abandon one of the sunnahs that are parts of the prayer:

To doubt about the first tashahhud and qunut or one of them. For instance, if a person doubts whether he has read tashahhud or not and stands up, he does not return and sit but continues the prayer; he performs sajdah as-sahw at the end of the prayer before salutation. If he returns and sits down though he knows that it is haram and reads tashahhud, his prayer is invalidated. If he returns by forgetting or without knowing that his prayer will be invalidated, his prayer is not invalidated.

He performs sajdah as-sahw. This person, who does not know about it, is regarded as excused even if he is in a place where there are Islamic scholars.  For, such information is not known by everybody. When he stands up by forgetting, if he has not stood up fully yet and is closer to standing than sitting, it is permissible for him to return and sit for tashahhud again. He performs sajdah as-sahw at the end of the prayer. If he is closer to sitting than standing, he returns and sits for tashahhud again but he does not perform sajdah as-sahw.

If he abandons tashahhud deliberately, he does not return to tashahhud even if he has not stood up fully. If he returns though he knows that it is haram, his prayer is invalidated.

They are valid for a person who is performing a prayer alone and the imam.

If a person who is following the imam forgets tashahhud and stands up, it is wajib for him to return and follow the imam. If he does not return though he knows or if he does not make intention to leave the imam, his prayer is invalidated. It is wajib to return in that case when he stands up by forgetting.

If a person stands up deliberately without reading tashahhud, it is mandub for him to return before the imam stands up. The difference between abandoning those deeds deliberately and by mistake is as follows: In abandoning deliberately, a person abandons a virtue intentionally and moves on to another fard; he is left free to choose between two fards. One of them is the fard that he goes to and the other is following the imam. In forgetting, returning is better so that his thawab will increase. An example to this case is when the imam does not abandon tashahhud but a person following him abandons tashahhud as it is mentioned above. If the imam abandons and a person following him does not abandon tashahhud, it is not permissible for him not to follow the imam.  

If he remains behind deliberately and if he does not make intention to leave the prayer, his prayer is invalidated. If a person who is performing a prayer alone or if the imam forgets qunut and prostrates, and does not return for qunut, he performs sajdah as-sahw at the end. If he returns deliberately, his prayer is invalidated.

When he forgets qunut and has not prostrated fully or has reached some part of ruku’, it is permissible for him to return; if he does, he performs sajdah as-sahw at the end.

If he has not reached part of ruku, he returns and he does not perform sajdah as-sahw at the end. If he abandons qunut deliberately and has reached ruku’ limit, he does not return. If he returns though he knows that it is haram, his prayer is invalidated.

However, if he is a person that is following the imam, there is a difference between abandoning by forgetting and abandoning deliberately. If he abandons by forgetting or if the imam does not do it but he does it by forgetting, it becomes wajib for him to return to the state of the imam in order to follow the imam. If he does not return though he knows it, his prayer is invalidated.

If he abandons deliberately, he does not have to return to the state of the imam; he is free to return, to wait for the imam in prostration or to make intention to leave. 
Besides, if a person following the imam reads qunut deliberately though the imam does not read, he does not have to abandon it and return to the state of the imam. If he thinks that he can catch up with the imam in the first sajdah or the sitting between two sajdahs, it is mandub for him to complete qunut and catch up with the imam. If he thinks that he can catch up with the imam after the imam starts the second sajdah, it becomes wajib for him to abandon qunut or to make intention to leave the imam. 

If the imam returns after abandoning the first tashahhud or qunut, the person following him does not return. For, the imam either has forgotten or is ignorant. A person behind him does not follow him in these mistakes. Or, the imam has made it deliberately and his prayer is invalidated. In that case, the person following him either makes intention to leave the imam or waits for the imam standing or in prostration thinking that he has forgotten or he is ignorant. If a person following the imam returns to the state of the imam deliberately, his prayer is invalidated. However, if he returns to the state of the imam by forgetting or due to ignorance,   his prayer is not invalidated.

If the imam stands up by abandoning the first tashahhud and returns before the person following him stands up, it becomes haram for that person to continue sitting. He needs to stand up since the imam stands up and waits standing thinking that the imam has returned due to an excuse or makes intention to leave the imam.

Sajdah as-sahw is not performed due to hay’at sunnas being abandoned deliberately or by mistake.

2. Doubt about the number of rak’ahs that have been performed

For instance, if a person doubts whether he has performed three or four rak’ahs and his doubt continues until he stands up for the fourth rak’ah, he acts on based on the fewer rak’ah, completes the prayer and performs sajdah as-sahw. For, he has doubted about the one that is more. If he remembers in the third rak’ah that it is the third one, he continues the prayer and does not perform sajdah as-sahw in the end.  

If a person doubts about the number of rak’ahs that he has performed, he does not act based on his own thought and the words and deeds of others. However, if the warnings of others are repeated, he acts in accordance with them. 

In a four-rak’ah prayer, if a person forgets and stands up after the four rak’ah and if he remembers it before he sits down, he returns to the sitting that he has got up from; even if he thinks that the sitting he has got up from is the first sitting and if he has read tashahhud,  it is enough for him; he does not have to read it again. 

If he stands up for the fifth rak’ah and remembers it after he sits down and if he has read tashahhud in the fourth one, it is enough for him. He does not read tashahhud again; if he remembers that he has got up for the fifth rak’ah before he sits down and if he has not read tashahhud in the fourth one, he sits and reads tashahhud.

If he remembers it after he sits, he reads tashahhud; he performs sajdah as-sahw for all of them.

3. The deeds that invalidate prayer when they are done deliberately necessitate sajdah as-sahw when they are done by forgetting.

Deeds like performing one extra rak’ah, speaking a little, eating or drinking a little, and lengthening a short rukn like sitting between two sajdahs necessitate sajdah as-sahw at the end of the prayer when they are done by forgetting. If a person doubts whether he has done something like that, he does not perform sajdah as-sahw at the end of the prayer because what is essential is not to do them. 

However, deeds like eating, drinking and moving a lot invalidate prayer whether they are done deliberately or by forgetting; therefore, sajdah as-sahw is not performed at the end of the prayer for them. Even if it is performed, the prayer is still invalid. 

4. To move a reading that is necessary in the prayer to another place in the prayer deliberately or by forgetting.

It does not matter whether it is a rukn like al-Fatiha, a Sunnah that is part of a prayer like first tashahhud and qunut or an additional chapter, which is a sunnah of hay’at. 

Sajdah as-sahw is performed when a rukn is moved to another place deliberately or by forgetting. First tashahhud, which is one of juz sunnahs, is also like that. As for qunut, if it is moved to another place with the intention of qunut, sajdah as-sahw is performed at the end of the prayer.

If it is moved to another place with the intention of dhikr, sajdah as-sahw is not performed. If sunnahs of hay’at except reading an additional chapter are moved to another place, sajdah as-sahw is not performed. However, if the additional chapter is read in ruku’ or after standing up, sajdah as-sahw is performed. If it is read before al-Fatiha, sajdah as-sahw is not performed because it is in qiyam. Reading salawat for the Prophet (pbuh) before tashahhud is similar to this.    

To sum up, sajdah as-sahw is performed at the end of the prayer due to changing the places of reading like reading al-Fatiha after standing up from ruku’ or while sitting and reading tashahhud while standing or between two sajdahs deliberately or by forgetting. 

5. If an imam or a person who is performing a prayer alone doubts about any rukn except intention and takbir of starting and he remembers it before he does something as long as it, he does what he has doubted immediately; otherwise, his prayer is invalidated. If he remembers it after he does something as long as it, what he has done replaces it and the thing done between is annulled. That is, he completes the prayer without regarding that part as part of the prayer; he performs sajdah as-sahw for both cases. If a person who is following the imam doubts that he has left a rukn before salutation, he stands up after the imam salutes and performs one rak’ah; he does not perform sajdah as-sahw.

If he doubts that he has left a rukn after salutation, he stands up after the imam salutes, performs one rak’ah and performs sajdah as-sahw. For, his doubt occurs after leaving the imam.   
The following conditions are necessary for the case after salutation: The interval after the salutation must not be longer than usual; najasah (impurity) more than the exempted amount must not come to him; he must not speak more than six words; he must not do amal kathir. Otherwise, he has to perform the whole prayer again.

If he doubts about intention and takbir of starting and does not remember until an amount of time enough for itmi'nan passes, he starts the prayer again. For, his doubt is about binding the prayer; its non-existence is essential.  

If he remembers that he has done it before salutation and before an amount of time enough for itmi'nan passes, what he has performed belongs to him; he performs the remaining part based on it. 
If he doubts about it after salutation, his prayer is invalidated; he has to perform it again. If the doubt after salutation is about something except intention and takbir of starting, it does not invalidate the prayer. For, the prayer is completed with salutation.  

If a person who starts to follow the imam at ruku’ doubts whether he has performed ruku’ with the imam (caught up with the imam at ruku’), this rak’ah is not regarded to have been performed; for, what is essential is not reaching it. He completes this rak’ah after salutation and performs sajdah as-sahw. For, it is possible that he has performed one extra rak’ah. If a masbuq (a person who starts to follow the imam after the ruku’ of the first rak’ah) forgets and salutes with the imam and remembers immediately, he continues and completes the prayer; he performs sajdah as-sahw at the end of the prayer. For, forgetting has taken place after leaving the imam.  

It is wajib for a masbuq to perform sajdah as-sahw with the imam if the imam performs sajdah as-sahw. It is mandub for him to perform sajdah as-sahw after finishing his own prayer.  

Similarly, if a person starts to follow another person who is performing a prayer alone, it is wajib for him to perform sajdah as-sahw with the imam and mandub for him to perform sajdah as-sahw after finishing his own prayer.

If a person who is performing a prayer does something that necessitates sajdah as-sahw and doubts whether he has performed sajdah as-sahw or not, he needs to perform sajdah as-sahw. For non-existence of sajdah as-sahw is essential.    

If a person doubts whether he has performed one sajdah or two sajdahs, he performs one more sajdah.

If a person who is performing a prayer thinks that something has been forgotten and performs sajdah as-sahw, and it becomes clear that such a mistake has not been made afterwards, he performs sajdah as-sahw for the first sajdah as-sahw.

If a person performs sajdah as-sahw at the end of a shortened prayer and if it becomes necessary to complete this prayer later, he performs another sajdah as-sahw after completing the prayer.

If the imam salutes by forgetting and if the person following him salutes but the imam enters prayer again, reads salawat and salutes again and if the person following the imam warns him by saying (you saluted before) and if the imam says (I forgot salawat for the Prophet (pbuh)), the prayer of both of them are valid. For, the imam speaks after the second salutation. The speech of the person following the imam is little. However, this person needs to perform sajdah as-sahw for he leaves the imam after the first salutation; the imam cannot undertake his mistake.  

If somebody forgets something and then starts to follow the imam with this, the imam does not undertake his mistake; therefore, he needs perform sajdah as-sahw at the end of the prayer; or, if forgetting and mistakes occur in reading aloud, the imam undertakes them. Sajdah as-sahw does not become necessary for him; and his thawab does not decrease.

If the imam is not qualified for undertaking, for instance, if he is without wudu or has secret impurity on him, he cannot undertake the forgetting or other things of the person that follows him.
If the imam remembers that he is without wudu or has secret impurity on him and knows that the person following him has bowed down for ruku’ without finishing al-Fatiha, that is, if he knows that he has undertaken one rak’ah of him, he has to tell that person about his state so that he will perform that prayer again. However, this is done when there is a long interval. If there is not such a long interval, he stands up as soon as he is informed, performs one rak’ah and performs sajdah as-sahw at the end of the prayer.  

If a person who has caught up with the imam late stands up thinking that the imam has saluted and if he understands that the imam has not saluted, he needs to sit down and stand up again even if the imam has saluted meanwhile. He does not make intention of leaving the imam nor does he perform sajdah as-sahw in that case. For, forgetting has occurred in the state of following him.

If a person who follows the imam salutes thinking that the imam has saluted and if it is understood that he has not saluted, he has to salute again. After that, he does not have to perform sajdah as-sahw. For, forgetting has occurred in the state of following the imam.  

If a person who follows the imam raises his head from sajdah thinking that the imam has raised his head and thinks that the imam is in the second sajdah and performs the second sajdah but if it later becomes clear that it is the first sajdah, the sitting between two sajdahs and the second sajdah performed by him are not taken into consideration; he continues to follow the imam and he sits and performs the second prostration with the imam. He does not perform sajdah as-sahw. For, forgetting has occurred in the state of following the imam.     

If a person who is performing a prayer forgets the second sajdah in the last rak’ah and remembers it before salutation, he performs this sajdah and does not perform sajdah as-sahw.

If a person who is performing a prayer forgets salutation and a long time passes, he salutes and does not perform sajdah as-sahw if he has not changed his place. 

Note:

It is sunnah for a Shafii person who is performing the morning prayer (fajr) and the other prayers following a Hanafi imam to perform sajdah as-sahw.

For, a Hanafi person does not read qunut supplication in the morning prayer; he does not read salawat for the Prophet (pbuh) in the first sitting; if he does, he has to perform sajdah as-sahw according to his own madhhab. According to Shafii, sajdah as-sahw is performed when they are abandoned; therefore, it is Sunnah for a Shafii person who is following the imam to perform sajdah as-sahw after the imam salutes.

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