Ruling on Forgetting the First Tashahhud and Performing Sujūd al-Sahw

Forgetting the First Tashahhud in Prayer and the Ruling on Sujūd al-Sahw


Source: Fatāwā Arkān al-Islām

Question​

If a worshipper, instead of sitting for the first tashahhud, stands up directly, and when beginning the recitation realises that he forgot the tashahhud — should he stop reciting and sit back down for tashahhud? And in this case, should sujūd al-sahw be performed before or after salām?

Answer​

Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ‘alā Rasūlillāh, ammā ba‘d:

• If a worshipper stands fully for qiyām instead of sitting for the first tashahhud and begins the recitation, then remembers he has left it out:
  ◈ He should not return to sit for tashahhud, because he has fully separated from it and entered the next pillar (qiyām).
  ◈ Returning in this case is makrūh.
• If he does return and sit, his prayer is not invalid, because he has not committed a ḥarām act.
• In either case, sujūd al-sahw is obligatory, and it should be performed before salām.
• Some scholars also state that in this situation, the worshipper should continue the prayer without going back and perform sujūd al-sahw before salām due to leaving a wājib.

هٰذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب