What should a person do if he sits down in the third rak’ah of a four rak’ah prayer by mistake?
I sat down in the third rak’ah of prayer by mistake and I remembered my mistake while reciting the prayer of Rabbana; What should I do in such a situation? I performed sajdah as-sahw and recited the same duas after saluting to the right and finished reciting the prayer of Rabbana and finished the prayer, is my prayer valid or should I perform it again? If I should repeat it, should I need to perform its sunnah as well?
Dear Brother / Sister,
When a person sits down for tashahhud in the third rak’a of a prayer of a four-rak’ah prayer by mistake, he stands up and continues his prayer when he realizes this, completes his rak’ahs and performs sajdah as-sahw (prostration of forgetfulness) at the end of the prayer because the qiyam, (the Standing Position in the Salat) which is one of the fards of prayer, is postponed.
Postponing a fard of prayer, not performing one of the wajibs by forgetting or postponing them or performing beforehand necessitate sajdah as-sahw.
It is necessary for you to perform that four rak’ah prayer again since there is a missing rak’ah in your prayer.
Questions on Islam
- Does sajdah as-sahw become necessary if a person reads the additional chapters in a wrong order in a prayer?
- What should a person who forgets the number of rak’ahs he has performed or who makes a mistake about rak’ahs do?
- How can I exit a prayer if I understand that I have made a mistake?
- How is sajdah as-sahw (prostration of forgetfulness) performed according to Shafii madhhab? What are the things that necessitate sajdah as-sahw?
- Sajdah as-Sahw
- 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?
- What should I do if I am late for the congregational prayer and the imam performs sajdah as-sahw?
- If a person who has started to follow the imam later gets up and continues the prayer after the imam salutes to the right and performs sajdah as-sahw, what should he (masbuq) do?
- How is a prostration (sajdah) that is skipped in a prayer performed; does sajdah as-sahw become necessary?
- Why do we read Salli and Barik supplications in the first sitting of the first sunnah prayers of the afternoon and night prayers?
