Source: Extracted from Hudiyyat al-Muslimīn – Namāz ke Aham Masāʾil maʿ Maqmal Namāz al-Nabawiyyah ﷺ by Shaykh Zubair ʿAlī Zai رحمه الله
From ʿAbdullāh bin Masʿūd (رضي الله عنه):
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"If any of you forgets (in prayer), then let him perform two prostrations (of forgetfulness)."
[Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1/213, Ḥadīth 572, summarized]
① This ḥadīth proves that if there is forgetfulness or an error in prayer, two prostrations of forgetfulness (Sajdat al-Sahw) should be performed.
② If there is doubt about the number of rakʿahs (e.g., three or four), one should act upon what is certain and perform the two prostrations before salām.
[Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1/211, Ḥadīth 571]
③ If the first tashahhud is missed, then Sajdat al-Sahw should be done at the end of the prayer.
[Sunan Abī Dāwūd: vol. 1, p. 155, Ḥadīth 1034–1035; authenticated by al-Tirmidhī: vol. 1, p. 89; Ibn Mājah: p. 74, Ḥadīth 1206–1207]
④ In Fatāwā ʿĀlamgīriyyah (1/125) it is written:
"The correct ruling is that one should give salām to one side only, and this is the opinion of the majority."
⑤ Shaykh al-Islām, the precise ḥadīth scholar and jurist, Ḥāfiẓ Khawājah Ḥamd Qāsim رحمه الله said:
"The Ḥanafīs perform Sajdat al-Sahw after salām, and in normal prayers they recite the full al-Taḥiyyāt and give salām to both sides. It is unknown who told them that for Sajdat al-Sahw one should only recite the tashahhud and give salām to one side. There is no such ḥadīth."
[Ḥayya ʿalā al-Ṣalāh, p. 163]
Ḥadīth Evidence
From ʿAbdullāh bin Masʿūd (رضي الله عنه):
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"If any of you forgets (in prayer), then let him perform two prostrations (of forgetfulness)."
[Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1/213, Ḥadīth 572, summarized]
Benefits and Rulings
① This ḥadīth proves that if there is forgetfulness or an error in prayer, two prostrations of forgetfulness (Sajdat al-Sahw) should be performed.
② If there is doubt about the number of rakʿahs (e.g., three or four), one should act upon what is certain and perform the two prostrations before salām.
[Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1/211, Ḥadīth 571]
③ If the first tashahhud is missed, then Sajdat al-Sahw should be done at the end of the prayer.
[Sunan Abī Dāwūd: vol. 1, p. 155, Ḥadīth 1034–1035; authenticated by al-Tirmidhī: vol. 1, p. 89; Ibn Mājah: p. 74, Ḥadīth 1206–1207]
④ In Fatāwā ʿĀlamgīriyyah (1/125) it is written:
"The correct ruling is that one should give salām to one side only, and this is the opinion of the majority."
- It is unclear who exactly these "majority" are. Just as in business dealings, some traders exaggerate by swearing prices have reached a certain level without evidence, religious rulings should not be presented with such ambiguity — as these are serious matters that can mislead people.
⑤ Shaykh al-Islām, the precise ḥadīth scholar and jurist, Ḥāfiẓ Khawājah Ḥamd Qāsim رحمه الله said:
"The Ḥanafīs perform Sajdat al-Sahw after salām, and in normal prayers they recite the full al-Taḥiyyāt and give salām to both sides. It is unknown who told them that for Sajdat al-Sahw one should only recite the tashahhud and give salām to one side. There is no such ḥadīth."
[Ḥayya ʿalā al-Ṣalāh, p. 163]
