What sujud as-sahw is

Sahw means forgetting. Sujud as-sahw means the two sujud of forgetting. They are two extra sujud (prostrations) you do at the end of your salah, to repair a mistake you made by accident.

This is a mercy. You do not have to start the whole prayer again for a small slip. Two extra sujud fix it, and they also annoy Shaytan, who tried to distract you¹.

Nabi ﷺ forgot too

Nabi ﷺ once ended a four rakah prayer after only two rakat. A man called Dhul-Yadayn asked him about it, and he finished the prayer and did sujud as-sahw². The full story is below.

Another time he stood up after two rakat without sitting for the first tashahhud. He carried on, and before the salam he did two sujud³.

He said: I am a human being like you. I forget as you forget. So if I forget, remind me⁴.

When you need it

Sujud as-sahw is for mistakes made by forgetting. There are three kinds:

• Adding something. For example, an extra rakah, an extra ruku (bowing), or an extra sujud¹¹.
• Leaving something out. For example, forgetting the first tashahhud (the sitting after two rakat)¹².
• Doubting. You are not sure if you prayed three rakat or four¹³.

Not every slip needs it

Salah has three levels of actions. What you do depends on which one you missed:

The schools sort some actions into different levels. The Shafi'is, for example, call the first tashahhud a sunnah, but a special one that still gets sujud as-sahw if you forget it.

How important are the two sujud?

• Hanafi and Hanbali: wajib (required) when there is a reason for them.
• Maliki and Shafi'i: a sunnah (strongly recommended).

How to do it

It is simple. You do two sujud, just like the sujud in every prayer, with Allahu akbar going down and coming up, and a short sitting between them. You say the same words you say in any sujud¹⁴.

The only question is when: before the salam or after it. The hadith show both. Nabi ﷺ did them before the salam when he missed the first tashahhud¹⁵, and after the salam when he prayed five rakat¹⁶ and when he ended early¹⁷.

Before the salam

• Sit for the last tashahhud and read it, with the salawat (blessings on Nabi ﷺ) and a du'a as usual.
• Instead of saying the salam, say Allahu akbar and do two sujud.
• Sit up and say the salam.

After the salam

• Finish the prayer and say the salam.
• Say Allahu akbar and do two sujud.
• Sit up and say the salam again. Malikis and Hanafis also read the tashahhud again before this salam.

Hanafi way: after the last tashahhud, say one salam to the right, do the two sujud, then read the tashahhud, the salawat and a du'a again, and end with the full salam.

Before or after the salam: the four schools

Each school is following real hadith, so do not worry about this. Most scholars say the prayer is fine either way. The difference is about which is better. Follow the way you were taught, or your local masjid.

Common mistakes and what to do

1. You forgot the first tashahhud and stood up

• If you are not yet fully standing: sit back down and read the tashahhud.
• If you are already fully standing: do not go back. Carry on with the prayer, and do sujud as-sahw at the end¹⁸. This is what Nabi ﷺ did¹⁹.

2. You added an extra rakah

• If you notice during the extra rakah: stop and sit down at once, even in the middle of it. Read the tashahhud, then do sujud as-sahw.
• If you notice after the salam: just do sujud as-sahw. Your prayer counts. Nabi ﷺ once prayed five rakat of Dhuhr, and when told, he did the two sujud after the salam²⁰.

3. You are not sure how many rakat you prayed

Nabi ﷺ said: if you do not know whether you prayed three or four, throw away the doubt and build on what you are sure of. Then do two sujud before the salam. If you really prayed five, the two sujud make it right. If you prayed four, they are a defeat for Shaytan²¹.

• No clear feeling either way? Take the smaller number. Three or four? Count it as three, pray one more, and do sujud as-sahw.
• A strong feeling one way? Nabi ﷺ also said to aim for what you think is right and finish on that²². Hanafis say: go with your strong feeling if you have one. Hanbalis say this mainly for the imam. Shafi'is and Malikis say: always take the smaller number.

4. You forgot a pillar, like one sujud

Say you did only one sujud in the second rakah, and noticed while standing in the third.

• Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis: if you notice before you reach the same point in the next rakah, go back, do the missing sujud, and carry on from there. If you only notice after reaching that point, the rakah with the mistake does not count. The rakah you are in takes its place, so add one rakah at the end. Then do sujud as-sahw.
• Hanafis: you can do the missed sujud whenever you remember, before the end of the prayer, and then do sujud as-sahw.
• Remembered after the salam? If it is soon after, go back and finish what is missing, as Nabi ﷺ did in the Dhul-Yadayn story, then do sujud as-sahw. If a long time has passed, or you have left the place and got busy, pray the whole prayer again.

Forgot the opening Allahu akbar? This one cannot be fixed. Without it you never entered the prayer, so start again.

Worked examples

Praying Asr alone, you stood up after two rakat and only noticed once you were fully upright.

Carry on. Pray the third and fourth rakat. Then do sujud as-sahw: before the salam (Shafi'i, Maliki, Hanbali) or after it (Hanafi).

Praying Isha, you are in sujud and suddenly cannot remember if this is the third rakah or the fourth.

No strong feeling? Count it as the third. Pray one more rakah, sit for the last tashahhud, and do sujud as-sahw.

Praying Maghrib, you said the salam after two rakat. A minute later you realize.

You do not start a new prayer. Say Allahu akbar, stand, pray the missing third rakah, sit for the tashahhud and finish. Do sujud as-sahw.

Praying Fajr, you stood up for a third rakah and noticed while reciting al-Fatiha.

Sit down straight away. Read the tashahhud and finish the prayer with sujud as-sahw.

When the imam makes a mistake

If the imam makes a mistake, the people behind him should gently remind him. Nabi ﷺ said: saying subhanAllah is for men, and clapping is for women²³²⁴.

• Men say subhanAllah (glory be to Allah) out loud.
• Women clap, for example by tapping the back of one hand on the other palm.
• If the imam slips in his recitation, someone who knows the ayah can read the correct words out loud to help him.

What the followers do

• The imam does sujud as-sahw: do it with him, even if you did not notice his mistake.
• The imam forgets the first tashahhud and is already standing: stand with him. The Companions stood with Nabi ﷺ when he did this²⁵.
• The imam stands for an extra rakah and does not respond to the reminder: you know for sure it is extra, so do not follow him into it. Many scholars say stay sitting and wait for him, then say the salam with him. If he is right and you are wrong, follow him.
• You make a small mistake yourself behind the imam: most scholars say you do not do sujud as-sahw. The imam's prayer covers it.
• You joined late: do the imam's sujud as-sahw with him. Then stand and finish the rakat you missed.

When doubts never stop (waswasa)

Waswasa means whispers from Shaytan. Some people doubt all the time: did I say Allahu akbar? Did I read al-Fatiha? Is my wudu broken?

Nabi ﷺ told us this is normal. Shaytan runs away when the adhan is called, then comes back and says: remember this, remember that, until the person forgets how much they prayed²⁶. A Companion once complained that Shaytan was mixing up his prayer and his recitation. Nabi ﷺ told him to seek refuge in Allah and spit lightly three times to the left. He did, and it went away²⁷.

What helps

• Ignore doubts after the prayer is over. Scholars agree: once you have finished, a doubt that comes later does not count.
• If you doubt all the time, ignore the doubts. Scholars say the rules on doubt are for the person who doubts now and then. If it happens in nearly every prayer, go with your first feeling and do not repeat anything.
• Do not leave the prayer for a feeling. Someone asked Nabi ﷺ about a person who thinks he passed wind in salah. He said: do not leave the prayer unless you hear a sound or notice a smell²⁸.
• Say a'udhu billahi min ash-shaytan ir-rajim (I seek refuge in Allah from Shaytan the outcast), and keep going.

Common questions

I made a mistake in a sunnah prayer. Do I still do sujud as-sahw?

Yes. Sujud as-sahw is for voluntary prayers too, the same way as the required ones.

I forgot to recite a surah after al-Fatiha in the first rakah.

For Hanafis adding a surah is wajib, so do sujud as-sahw. For the other schools it is a sunnah, so your prayer is fine without sujud as-sahw, though Malikis recommend it.

My phone rang during salah and I lost count.

Take the smaller number, finish the prayer, and do sujud as-sahw. Next time, put the phone on silent before you start.

My child pulled at me and I made two mistakes. Do I do four sujud?

No. Two sujud are enough for any number of mistakes in one prayer.

I am a woman praying behind the imam and he forgot a rakah. Can I really clap in the masjid?

Yes. Nabi ﷺ taught this himself²⁹. A quiet tap of the back of the hand on the palm is enough.

I am a new Muslim and I still mix up the order. Is my salah accepted?

Allah sees your effort. Learn a little at a time. When you know you forgot a part, use the rules above. The practice walk-through can help you learn the order.

The imam did sujud as-sahw after the salam, but I follow the Shafi'i way.

Follow the imam. Praying behind him means doing it his way.