Sujud al-Sahw
- Author died
- 1440 AH
- Editions
- Safir Press
Sujud al-Sahw: Mashru‘iyyatuhu wa-Mawadi‘uhu wa-Asbabuhu fi Daw’ al-Kitab wa-al-Sunnah ("The Prostration of Forgetfulness: Its Legitimacy, Positions, and Causes in Light of the Quran and Sunnah") is a concise legal treatise on the rules of the prostration of forgetfulness in Islamic prayer by Saeed bin Wahf al-Qahtani (d. 1440 AH / 2018 CE) .
Composition and Context
The author completed the treatise on the forenoon of Friday, 18 Sha‘ban 1420 AH . It was published as part of his collected series of writings (number 27), reaching a third edition in 1431 AH . In the opening preface, al-Qahtani notes that he drew extensively upon the legal determinations and juristic weightings (tarjihat) of his teacher, Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz .
Contents and Structure
The work is organized systematically into an introduction followed by three main topical sections:
Prophetic Precedents
Al-Qahtani establishes that the prostration of forgetfulness is obligatory for any omission or addition that would invalidate the prayer if done deliberately . He reviews five primary traditions preserved concerning the Prophet Muhammad's ﷺ forgetfulness in prayer:
- Concluding the prayer with taslim after two rak‘ahs and completing the remainder before prostrating after the salam, based on the hadith of Abu Hurayrah concerning Dhu al-Yadayn .
- Concluding after three rak‘ahs, completing the missing rak‘ah, and prostrating after the salam, based on the hadith of Imran ibn Husayn .
- Standing up after the first two rak‘ahs of Zuhr without sitting for the middle tashahhud and prostrating before the salam, based on the hadith of Abd Allah ibn Buhaynah .
- Praying five rak‘ahs in Zuhr and prostrating after being reminded and performing the salam, based on the hadith of Abd Allah ibn Mas‘ud .
- Instructions regarding doubt (al-shakk): building upon predominant assumption (ghalabat al-zann) and prostrating after the salam as in Ibn Mas‘ud's report, or building upon certainty (al-yaqin)—the minimum number—and prostrating before the salam as in the hadith of Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri .
Placement Before or After the Taslim
The author examines whether the two prostrations should occur before or after the concluding taslim. He notes that while prostrating at either point is permissible, it is preferable to perform them before the salam in general, except in two situations where they are performed after: when one delivers the taslim prematurely due to a deficiency or is reminded of an addition after the taslim, and when one resolves doubt by acting on predominant probability . In the footnotes, he outlines the classical views of the four Sunni schools—al-Shafi‘i, Abu Hanifa, Malik, and Ahmad ibn Hanbal—alongside the position selected by Ibn Taymiyyah .
Causes of Forgetfulness and Their Rulings
Al-Qahtani categorizes the causes of forgetfulness into three categories :
- Addition (al-Ziyadah): Covers added physical acts (such as extra bows, prostrations, or movements) and verbal additions. Extraneous bodily movements are categorized into those that invalidate prayer (continuous and substantial), disliked movements (slight without need), and permissible movements (slight for a valid need) . Verbal additions include reciting liturgical formulas out of place, premature taslim, and extraneous speech .
- Omission (al-Naqs): Differentiates between omitting an essential pillar (rukn), an obligatory component (wajib), and a recommended practice (sunnah) . He discusses the legal remedies if a worshipper recalls a missed pillar before or after commencing the subsequent rak‘ah or after the salam, citing the opinions of Ibn Baz, Abd al-Rahman ibn Nasir al-Sa'di, and Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymin .
- Doubt (al-Shakk): Details how to handle uncertainty arising after completing prayer, fleeting or obsessive doubts (waswas), doubts concerning omitted pillars or duties, and the rules governing a latecomer follower (al-ma’mum al-masbuq) following an imam who errs .
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