Prayer is an act of concentration, performed by people who get distracted. The tradition takes that seriously rather than pretending otherwise — so there is a built-in repair mechanism for the ordinary mistakes that concentration failures produce.
That mechanism is sujood as-sahw (سجود السهو), the prostration of forgetfulness: two additional prostrations at the end of the prayer that compensate for what went wrong. Its existence is itself the point. A forgotten tashahhud or a miscounted rak'ah is not meant to be a catastrophe.
What it is
Sujood as-sahw is two prostrations, identical in form to the prostrations of the prayer itself, performed at the end to make up for an error made unintentionally during the prayer.
The key word is unintentionally. Deliberately adding or omitting parts of the prayer is a different matter entirely — that invalidates it, and no prostration repairs it. Sujood as-sahw is for genuine forgetfulness.
The practice is established by the Prophet's ﷺ own example. Several well-known incidents are recorded in the collections of Bukhari and Muslim in which he made an error in prayer — praying two rak'ahs instead of four, or standing when he should have sat — and, on being informed, completed the prayer and prostrated twice. He did not start again.
The three causes
Classically, everything that calls for sujood as-sahw falls into one of three categories:
| Cause | Arabic | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Addition | زيادة — ziyadah | Praying a fifth rak'ah in Dhuhr; an extra sujood or ruku' |
| Omission | نقص — naqs | Missing the first tashahhud; forgetting a required remembrance |
| Doubt | شك — shakk | Not knowing whether that was the third rak'ah or the fourth |
The third category — doubt — is the most common in practice, and it has its own detailed procedure. That is covered separately in what to do when you forget how many rak'ahs you have prayed.
When it is — and isn't — required
A useful way to hold this: the prayer's components sit on three tiers, and which tier you missed determines what happens.
| Tier | If you omit it |
|---|---|
| Pillar (rukn) — ruku', sujood, the final sitting | Must be made up. The rak'ah does not count without it; sujood as-sahw alone is not enough. |
| Obligatory (wajib) — e.g. the first tashahhud | Not made up once you have moved past it. Sujood as-sahw compensates. |
| Sunnah — e.g. the opening supplication | Nothing required. The prayer is unaffected. |
Typical cases where it is required
- You stood up without sitting for the first tashahhud.
- You added a rak'ah, a ruku' or a sujood by mistake.
- You gave salam before the prayer was finished.
- You could not tell how many rak'ahs you had prayed.
- You recited aloud where it should be silent, or silently where it should be aloud.
Typical cases where it is not
- You forgot the opening supplication or the supplication after tashahhud.
- Your mind wandered — even a great deal. Distraction is not an error in the prayer's form.
- You recited a different surah than intended, or made a slip in recitation you corrected.
- You made a small unnecessary movement, such as scratching or adjusting clothing.
This is a plain-language summary of mainstream positions across the four Sunni schools. It is not a fatwa, and the schools genuinely differ on several particulars below. For a specific situation, ask a qualified scholar or your local imam.
How to perform it, step by step
The form is the same everywhere; only the placement differs. Assuming the Shafi'i placement (before salam), which is the most widely described:
- Complete the final tashahhud as normal, including the salutations upon the Prophet ﷺ.
- Say “Allahu akbar” and prostrate, reciting the usual remembrance of sujood.
- Say “Allahu akbar” and sit up briefly, as you do between the two prostrations of any rak'ah.
- Say “Allahu akbar” and prostrate a second time, the same way.
- Sit up and give salam to the right and left. The prayer is complete.
There is no separate obligatory formula for these prostrations. The remembrance you normally say in sujood is what is said.
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Before or after salam? The schools differ
If you have ever seen someone prostrate twice after giving salam and wondered whether they had made a mistake, this is why. Both placements are established, and each school reconciles the narrations differently.
| School | Placement |
|---|---|
| Hanafi | After salam. Give salam to the right, perform the two prostrations, then tashahhud and salam again. |
| Shafi'i | Before salam, in all cases. |
| Maliki | Before salam for an omission; after salam for an addition. |
| Hanbali | Generally before salam, with certain specific cases performed after. |
Follow the school you follow. If you do not follow one in particular, performing it before the salam is the simplest consistent practice and is accepted broadly. What matters far more than the placement is that the prostrations are made at all.
Praying in congregation
Behind an imam, you simply follow. If the imam performs sujood as-sahw, the congregation performs it with him — even those who did not notice any error, and even those who made none themselves. The imam's prostration covers the congregation.
If you joined the congregation late, there is one thing to watch. When the imam performs sujood as-sahw before salam, you follow him in the prostrations, then stand to complete your missed rak'ahs afterwards. When he does so after salam, you stand to complete your own rak'ahs first and perform sujood as-sahw at the end of your own prayer.
Situations it does not fix
Sujood as-sahw has limits. It does not repair:
- Deliberate additions or omissions — these invalidate the prayer outright.
- A missing pillar, such as an entire forgotten rak'ah. That rak'ah must be prayed; the prostrations then come afterwards in addition.
- A prayer prayed without wudu, or facing the wrong direction when you could have determined it, or before its time entered. These require the prayer to be repeated.
- A missed prayer. That is made up (qada'), not repaired.
Common questions
Is sujood as-sahw obligatory?
Where its cause exists, yes — it is required rather than optional, in the Hanafi school as wajib and in the others with comparable weight. It is not a voluntary extra.
What do I say during the two prostrations?
The same remembrance you say in any sujood. Some traditions mention an additional phrase, but there is no separate obligatory formula, and the standard remembrance is sufficient.
Can two mistakes be covered by one sujood as-sahw?
Yes. Multiple errors within a single prayer are covered by a single set of two prostrations. You do not repeat them per mistake.
What if I forget the sujood as-sahw itself?
If you remember shortly after and are still in place, perform it then and give salam. If a long time has passed, the majority hold the prayer remains valid and nothing further is required — though the schools differ on the particulars.
Does it apply to voluntary prayers too?
Yes. Sunnah and other voluntary prayers follow the same rules for errors as obligatory ones.
Do I need to repeat the prayer as well?
No. That is the entire purpose of sujood as-sahw — the prayer is repaired and complete. Repeating it is not required.