What Should I Do after Forgetting the Second Prostration of a Cycle of Prayer?

Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi

Question

During prayer, if you stand up fully after prostration thinking it was the second sajda and then you realize you only did one prostration, i.e. missed the second one and the sitting in between them – how do you move forward with this?

Answer

In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,

I pray this finds you in the best of states.

You will have to perform the second prostration of a cycle (rak‘a) as soon as you remember forgetting it. Thus, in your situation, you will have to leave the standing position you were in when you remembered forgetting the second prostration and perform this second prostration. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

From there, you continue to pray normally as if nothing happened. Nonetheless, it will be necessary (wajib) for you to perform the prostrations of forgetfulness at the end of the prayer. [Ibid.]

The reason for these rulings is that the prostrations are from the obligatory (fard) components of the prayer, and it is necessary (wajib) to follow the proper order between the actions of the prayer that are repeated within a cycle, such as the prostrations. [Tumurtashi, Tanwir al-absar; Marghinani, Hidaya]

Allah, Most High, says: “O believers! Bow down, prostrate yourselves.” [Quran, 22:77]

As for the sitting between the two prostrations, there is no need to repeat it because it is sunna. [Haskafi, Dur al-Mukhtar]

And Allah knows best.
Wassalam
[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching far and wide for answers to the fundamental questions of life and was disappointed at the answers he found. Then he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor Shaykh Faraz Rabbani. He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha‘ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others. He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.