Source: Aḥkām wa Masāʾil – Discussion on Ṣalāh, Vol. 1, p. 199
❖ Question:
What is the method of performing sajdat al-sahw?
- Should it be done during a pause (e.g., the imām makes two sajdahs immediately after sitting for tashahhud, then completes tashahhud and gives salām)?
- Is salām given to the right before making the two sajdahs?
❖ Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ʿammā baʿd!
- The Sunnah shows that sajdat al-sahw can be performed in two ways:
① Before salām (qabl al-salām)
② After salām (baʿd al-salām) - Both ways are established through authentic narrations. The detailed circumstances for each are explained in the books of ḥadīth and fiqh.
- As for the specific method you described — where the imām, upon sitting for tashahhud, performs two sajdahs immediately, then completes tashahhud and gives salām — this form is not established in any authentic ḥadīth.
✦ Clarification:
- When sajdat al-sahw is to be done before salām: one completes tashahhud, performs two sajdahs, then recites tashahhud again (if necessary), then gives salām.
- When sajdat al-sahw is to be done after salām: one gives salām first, then performs two sajdahs, then gives salām again.
Both patterns are found in the practice of the Prophet ﷺ.
✅ Conclusion
- Both before-salām and after-salām sajdat al-sahw are Sunnah, depending on the situation.
- The described method of making two sajdahs immediately upon sitting for tashahhud is not proven from authentic ḥadīth.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
