What do I do if I make a mistake in prayer?
Most mistakes made by forgetting are fixed with sujud as-sahw: two extra prostrations near the end of the prayer. You do them if you forget a required part such as the middle Tashahhud, if you add something by mistake such as an extra rakat, or if you lose count. If you lose count, go with the lower number, finish the prayer, and make the two prostrations.
By Benjamin · Last updated
Step by step
- Keep going calmly. Do not stop the prayer. Finish it as well as you can.
- Sit for the final Tashahhud. Recite the Tashahhud and the salawat as usual.
- Prostrate once. Say "Allahu Akbar" and go into sujud. Say "Subhana Rabbiyal A'la", as in any prostration.
- Sit briefly. Rise to sitting with "Allahu Akbar".
- Prostrate again. A second sujud the same way, then sit up with "Allahu Akbar".
- End with salam. Turn to the right and then to the left. Your prayer is complete. This is the way most schools teach it; see below for the Hanafi and Maliki way.
When you make sujud as-sahw
- You forget a required part that is not a pillar, such as the middle Tashahhud. If you have already stood up fully, do not go back; carry on and make sujud as-sahw.
- You add something by mistake, such as a fifth rakat, an extra ruku or an extra sujud.
- You are unsure how many rakat you have prayed. Build on the number you are sure of, which is the lower one.
When it is not enough
If you leave out a pillar of the prayer, such as a ruku, a sujud or Al-Fatiha, the two prostrations alone do not replace it. Go back and do it if you remember during the prayer. If you only remember long after the prayer, pray it again.
Forgetting a small sunnah, such as raising the hands, needs nothing at all.
Before or after salam: the four schools
- Shafi'i: always before salam.
- Hanbali: usually before salam, and after it in a few cases, such as when you said salam too early and then completed the prayer.
- Maliki: before salam if you left something out, after salam if you added something.
- Hanafi: after one salam to the right, then the two prostrations, then the Tashahhud, the salawat and salam again.
Everyone forgets
The Prophet (peace be upon him) once stood up after two rakat of Dhuhr without sitting for the Tashahhud. He continued, and made two prostrations before salam (Bukhari and Muslim). He said: "I am only human. I forget as you forget" (Bukhari and Muslim). Forgetting is part of praying, and Allah made a way to repair it.
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Common questions
I lost count of the rakat. What do I do?
Go with the number you are sure of, which is the lower one, pray the rest, and make sujud as-sahw. The Hanafi school adds a step: if losing count rarely happens to you, start the prayer again; if it happens often, go with what seems most likely, and use the lower number when nothing seems more likely.
Do I make sujud as-sahw when I pray behind an imam?
No, not for your own small mistakes. You follow the imam, and if the imam makes sujud as-sahw, you make it with him.
What do I say in the prostrations of forgetfulness?
The same as in any sujud: "Subhana Rabbiyal A'la".
I make mistakes in almost every prayer. Is my prayer valid?
In most cases, yes. Mistakes made by forgetting are forgiven, and sujud as-sahw repairs most of them. Keep praying while you learn; praying along with a guide that shows each step helps, and the mistakes get fewer week by week.
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