Source: Aḥkām wa Masāʾil – Discussion on Ṣalāh, Vol. 1, p. 199
If in Ẓuhr prayer the imām, by mistake, prays five rakʿāt, and the followers (muqtadīs) know it is the fifth rakʿah but do not say “Subḥān Allāh,” and then after the fifth rakʿah the imām gives salām, afterward someone informs him that he prayed five rakʿāt, so the imām performs sajdat al-sahw.
The imām then says:
The imām argues that:
The questioner believes the prayer does not need to be repeated, citing that in the time of the Prophet ﷺ he once prayed five rakʿāt in Ẓuhr, then made sajdat al-sahw without ordering anyone to repeat their prayer.
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ʿammā baʿd!
Your understanding is correct. This is explicitly proven by authentic aḥādīth in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim:
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
❖ Detailed Question:
If in Ẓuhr prayer the imām, by mistake, prays five rakʿāt, and the followers (muqtadīs) know it is the fifth rakʿah but do not say “Subḥān Allāh,” and then after the fifth rakʿah the imām gives salām, afterward someone informs him that he prayed five rakʿāt, so the imām performs sajdat al-sahw.
The imām then says:
- Whoever knew it was the fifth rakʿah but did not say “Subḥān Allāh,” his prayer is invalid and he must repeat it.
- Whoever spoke after salām but before the imām’s sajdat al-sahw, his prayer is invalid too and must be repeated.
The imām argues that:
- The one who knew and kept silent is guilty of deliberately allowing five rakʿāt, hence invalid.
- The one who spoke before sajdat al-sahw is invalid because the Prophet ﷺ said: “Tasbīḥ is for men and clapping is for women” — meaning men must say “Subḥān Allāh.”
The questioner believes the prayer does not need to be repeated, citing that in the time of the Prophet ﷺ he once prayed five rakʿāt in Ẓuhr, then made sajdat al-sahw without ordering anyone to repeat their prayer.
❖ Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ʿammā baʿd!
Your understanding is correct. This is explicitly proven by authentic aḥādīth in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim:
- The Prophet ﷺ once prayed five rakʿāt for Ẓuhr.
- After the prayer, the Companions (رضي الله عنهم) told him that he had prayed five.
- The Prophet ﷺ then made sajdat al-sahw, but he did not instruct anyone to repeat their prayer.
✦ Rulings Derived:
- Those who stayed silent during prayer:
- Their prayer remains valid, because they did not deliberately commit any mistake.
- Those who spoke after the salām:
- Their prayer is also valid, because the prayer had already ended.
- Even in the Prophet’s ﷺ incident, the Companions spoke after prayer, yet the Prophet ﷺ did not invalidate their ṣalāh.
- The Imām’s claim that silence or post-prayer speech invalidates ṣalāh is incorrect and has no basis in Sunnah.
Conclusion:
- If an imām prays five rakʿāt by mistake, the Sunnah solution is:
◈ Perform sajdat al-sahw.
◈ There is no need for anyone to repeat the prayer. - Silence during prayer or speaking after salām in such a case does not invalidate ṣalāh.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
