A man who prays and does not know whether he added or omitted

Sayyiduna Abdullah (bin Mas'ud) (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Once the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) led a prayer and added something to it or left something out. When he gave the salam and turned to face the people, they said, "O Messenger of Allah, has some new command been revealed about the prayer?" He asked, "Why, what has happened?" The people said, "Today you prayed such-and-such a prayer." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) at once turned his feet and made two prostrations. Then he gave the salam, turned to face the people, and said: "If any command about the prayer had been revealed, I would certainly have told you. Rather, the truth is that I am a human being like you; just as you forget, I too can forget. When I forget in the prayer, remind me. When any of you makes a mistake in his prayer, let him reflect and act on what seems correct to him. Then, when he gives the salam, let him make two prostrations."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When any of you has a doubt about his prayer, let him cast the doubt aside and act on what is certain. If he is certain of completion, let him pray one rak'ah and make the two prostrations of forgetfulness. If his prayer was already complete, this rak'ah and the two prostrations will become voluntary. If his prayer was incomplete, it will be completed by this rak'ah, and the two prostrations will humiliate Satan."

Awn bin Abdullah narrates from his father, who said: I prayed the four rak'ahs before Zuhr with Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) in his room. He said, "When you are in doubt about the prayer, pray more; do not pray less."

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When you are in doubt whether you have prayed less or more, pray one rak'ah, for Allah Almighty will not punish for praying more. If the prayer was incomplete, it will be completed by this rak'ah, and if this rak'ah turns out to be extra, there is reward for it.

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: If you are in doubt whether you have completed the prayer or not, complete what you are in doubt about, for Allah Almighty will not punish for praying more.

Sayyiduna Abdullah (bin Mas'ud) (may Allah be pleased with him) said: If any of you is in doubt about how much of the prayer he has prayed, let him reflect and act on what he most strongly thinks. If he most strongly thinks that he has prayed three rak'ahs, let him pray one rak'ah and make the prostrations of forgetfulness. If he most strongly thinks that he has prayed four rak'ahs, let him only make the prostrations of forgetfulness at the end.

Sayyiduna Abdullah (bin Mas'ud) (may Allah be pleased with him) said: He should reflect and make the prostrations of forgetfulness.

Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) used to say: Even if he only suspects that he has fallen short, he should complete it.

Salim said: If someone is in doubt whether he has prayed three rak'ahs or four, let him rid himself of the doubt and make the prostrations of forgetfulness. Yahya bin Sa'id said: I mentioned this statement to al-Qasim, and he said, "I say the same too; I say the same too."

Yahya bin Sa'id said: I mentioned that to al-Qasim, and he said, "I say the same too; I say the same too."

Ata bin Yasar said: I asked Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) and Ka'b: If a man is in doubt whether he has prayed three rak'ahs or four, what should he do? Both of them said: He should pray one rak'ah and then, at the end, make the prostrations of forgetfulness while sitting.

Ibrahim said: He should reflect and make the prostrations of forgetfulness.

Salim said: He should build on what he is certain of. He was asked, "Should he make the prostrations of forgetfulness?" He said, "Yes."

Makhul said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If any of you has a doubt about his prayer, how much he has prayed: if his doubt is between one rak'ah and two, let him count it as one, so that the uncertainty falls on the side of excess. Then, sitting in the tashahhud position, let him make the prostrations of forgetfulness before giving the salam, and after that give the salam." Muhammad (bin Ishaq) said: Husayn bin Abdullah said to me, "Did Makhul give you a chain for this hadith?" I said, "I did not ask him about that." He said, "He narrated it from Kurayb, from Ibn Abbas, that Sayyiduna Umar and Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) differed about this hadith; then Sayyiduna Abd al-Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) came and said, 'I heard this hadith from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).'"

Abd al-Karim said: If Sa'id bin al-Musayyib and Abu Ubaydah became uncertain about how much of the prayer they had prayed, and could not tell whether they had prayed three rak'ahs or four, both of them would make the prostrations of forgetfulness before giving the salam.

Sayyiduna Imran bin Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) led us in the Asr prayer and gave the salam after praying three rak'ahs. Then he went into his room. A man called al-Khirbaq came to him and said, "O Messenger of Allah, today you did such-and-such." At this the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came out angrily, dragging his cloak, and on reaching the people he said, "Is this man telling the truth?" The people said, "Yes." So he led that rak'ah, then gave the salam, made two prostrations, and then gave the salam again.

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) and al-Hasan said: He should act on his last uncertainty and make the prostrations of forgetfulness.

Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: Keep count as best you can, and do not repeat the prayer.

Abd al-Aziz bin Suhayb said: Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) sat in the third rak'ah, so the people behind him said "Subhan Allah". He stood up and completed the fourth rak'ah. When he gave the salam, he made the two prostrations of forgetfulness. Then he turned to the people and said, "When you become uncertain, do like this."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When you lose track of how much of the prayer you have prayed, make the two prostrations of forgetfulness while sitting in the tashahhud position."