Ruling on Standing for a Fifth Rakah in Prayer by Mistake

Author: Sheikh Mubashir Ahmad Rabbani (May Allah protect him)

Question:​

What should a person do if they mistakenly stand for a fifth rakah during prayer and realize it while standing? Should they sit down immediately or complete the rakah and then conclude the prayer?

Answer:​

If a person mistakenly stands for a fifth rakah in a four-rakah prayer and remembers during the standing position (qiyam) that they are in the fifth rakah, they should:

1. Immediately sit down if they remember while still standing, as the additional rakah is not part of the prayer.
2. Perform Sajdah al-Sahw (prostration of forgetfulness) at the end of the prayer before concluding with salam.

Evidence from the Sunnah​

1. Incident of the Prophet’s (ﷺ) Additional Rakah:
   Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud (رضي الله عنه) reported:
   "The Prophet (ﷺ) once prayed five rakahs for Dhuhr. When it was said to him, 'Has the prayer been increased?' He asked, 'What is that?' They replied, 'You have prayed five.' Then the Prophet (ﷺ) performed two prostrations after concluding the prayer with salam."
   [Saheeh al-Bukhari, Hadith no. 1226; Saheeh Muslim, Hadith no. 572]
   
   This hadith establishes that adding a rakah mistakenly does not invalidate the prayer, and performing Sajdah al-Sahw rectifies the mistake.

Opinions of Scholars​

1. Majority View (Malik, Shafi‘i, Ahmad, and others):
   
   • Adding a rakah mistakenly does not invalidate the prayer.
   • If the person remembers while still standing, they should sit down immediately.
   • Sajdah al-Sahw is performed to compensate for the error.
2. Hanafi View:
   
   • If the person mistakenly stands for a fifth rakah and does not sit for the tashahhud in the fourth rakah, their prayer is invalid.
   • If they sat for the tashahhud in the fourth rakah and then stood for the fifth rakah, the fifth is considered as nafil (voluntary). The person should add a sixth rakah to pair it and conclude the prayer with tashahhud and salam, followed by Sajdah al-Sahw.
3. Refutation of the Hanafi View:
   
   • The hadith of Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud (رضي الله عنه) does not indicate that the Prophet (ﷺ) added another rakah to pair the fifth. Instead, he immediately performed Sajdah al-Sahw and concluded the prayer.
   • Imam Nawawi and Imam Khattabi clarified that the Sunnah opposes the Hanafi view of pairing the fifth rakah, as the Prophet (ﷺ) did not implement this practice.

Conclusion​

According to the Sunnah and the majority of scholars:

1. If a person mistakenly stands for a fifth rakah, they should sit down immediately upon realizing their mistake.
2. After tashahhud, they should perform Sajdah al-Sahw and conclude the prayer with salam.
3. The prayer remains valid, and there is no need to add extra rakahs or repeat the prayer.

Allah knows best!