When Is the Sahw Prostration: Before the Salam or After?

Shaykh Wahid Abdus Salam Bali first states the scholars' difference of opinion, and then shows — which view the evidence supports.

How the Question Comes

You prayed two rak'ahs and forgot to sit, so the middle tashahhud was missed. Or midway you wonder — did I pray three rak'ahs, or four?

Then your mind keeps going round — should I do the sahw prostration or not, if I do it, is it before the salam or after, and do I have to recite the tashahhud again after the prostration or not.

Some say always before, some say always after. Hearing all this, the salah itself becomes muddled, and doubt stays lodged in the heart.

So the question is simple — is the sahw prostration before the salam, or after the salam?

The Shaykh's Answer

If there is a shortfall in the salah, the sahw prostration is before the salam, and if there is an addition, it is after the salam.

The scholars differ on this — Imam Shafi'i, may Allah have mercy on him, says it is always before the salam, and Imam Abu Hanifa, may Allah have mercy on him, says it is always after the salam. The apparent view of the Maliki and Hanbali schools is: before for a shortfall, after for an addition — the Shaykh says the evidence supports this view.

The Evidence — What to Do When in Doubt

إِذَا شَكَّ أَحَدُكُمْ فِي صَلَاتِهِ فَلَمْ يَدْرِ كَمْ صَلَّى ثَلَاثًا أَمْ أَرْبَعًا فَلْيَطْرَحِ الشَّكَّ وَلْيَبْنِ عَلَى مَا اسْتَيْقَنَ ثُمَّ يَسْجُدْ سَجْدَتَيْنِ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُسَلِّمَ

If any of you has a doubt in his salah — whether he has prayed three or four — let him discard the doubt and build on what he is certain of, then prostrate twice before the salam. (Sahih Muslim)Copy

One day the Prophet ﷺ got up leaving the middle tashahhud — and he made two prostrations before the salam. Another day there was an addition in the salah — that day he made the prostration after the salam. (Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim)

What to Do

1. If you doubt the number of rak'ahs, assume the lesser — take it as three and pray the fourth.
2. Complete the full tashahhud, and make two prostrations before the salam — then give the salam.
3. In the prostration say “Subhana Rabbiyal A'la”, and between the two prostrations say “Rabbighfir li”.
4. After the sahw prostration there is no tashahhud again — simply give the salam directly.

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Source: Based on a talk by Shaykh Wahid Abdus Salam Bali

Translation and compilation: Raqi Faisal Ahmed Sabit — Al Qur'an Ruqyah Healing Center