Sajdah-E-Sahw
How to Perform Sajdah-e-Sahw?
The method of performing Sajdah-e-Sahw is that immediately after the salām of the prayer, one must make the intention of Sajdah-e-Sahw and place their forehead, based on obligatory precaution, on something on which performing sajdah is permitted.
The recommended precaution is that one should recite dhikr in the sajdah, and it is better that the following is recited:
بِسْمِ اللهِ وَ بِاللهِ، اَلسَّلَامُ عَلَیْكَ أَيُّـهَا النَّبِيُّ وَ رَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَ بَـرَکَاتُهُ
“bismil lāhi wa billāhi, assalāmu ʿalayka ayyuhan nabiyyu wa raḥmatul lāhi wa barakātuh
“In the name of Allah and by Allah. Peace be upon you O Prophet, and Allah’s mercy and His blessings (be upon you too).”
Then, sit up and go into sajdah again, and recite the dhikr mentioned above again.
Then sit up and recite the tashahhud as follows
أَشْهَدُ أَن لَّا إِلٰهَ إِلاَّ اللهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِیكَ لَه. وَ أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَ رَسُولُهُ. اَللّٰهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَىٰ مُحَمَّدٍ وَّ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ
“Ash hadu al laa ilaaha illallaahu wahdahu laa shareeka lah, wa ash hadu anna Muhammadan `abduhu wa rasuluh Allaahumma salli `alaa Muhammadin wa Aali Muhammad”
“I bear witness that there is no god apart from Allah, Who is unique and without partners. I also bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Prophet. O God, bless Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad.”
after which you must say:
اَلسَّلَامُ عَلَیْكُمْ وَ رَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَ بَـرَکَاتُهُ
“assalāmu ʿalaykum wa raḥmatul lāhi wa barakātuh”
“Peace be upon you all. and Allah’s mercy and His blessings (be upon you too).”
Sajdah-e-Sahw – The Two prostrations for inadvertence
(According to the rulings of Ayatollah Sistani)
Ruling 1222. In the following two situations, one must perform Sajdah-e-Sahw after the salām of the prayer in a manner that will be explained later:
1. One forgets to say tashahhud;
2. In a four rakʿah prayer after going into the second sajdah, one doubts whether he has performed four or five rakʿahs, or he doubts whether he has performed four or six rakʿahs, as mentioned earlier in the fourth situation in the section on valid doubts.
Also, performing Sajdah-e-Sahw is necessary in three further situations, on the basis of obligatory precaution:
1.one generally knows that he has mistakenly omitted or added something in a prayer and the prayer is ruled as being valid;
2. one inadvertently talks during prayers;
3. one says the salām of the prayer at a time when he must not; for example, in the first rakʿah he inadvertently says the salām. The recommended precaution is that if he forgets one sajdah, or when he must stand – for example, while reciting Sūrat al-Ḥamd and the other surah – he mistakenly sits down, or when he must sit – for example, while saying tashahhud – he mistakenly stands up, then in these cases, he should perform Sajdah-e-Sahw. In fact, for anything that is mistakenly omitted or added in prayer, he should perform Sajdah-e-Sahw. The rules of these situations will be explained in the following rulings.
Ruling 1223. If a person talks mistakenly or because he imagines his prayer has finished, then based on obligatory precaution he must perform Sajdah-e-Sahw.
Ruling 1224. It is not obligatory for one to perform Sajdah-e-Sahw for the sound he makes when coughing; however, if one inadvertently groans, sighs, or says ‘oh’, then based on obligatory precaution he must perform Sajdah-e-Sahw.
Ruling 1225. If a person repeats correctly something that he had inadvertently recited incorrectly, it is not obligatory on him to perform Sajdah-e-Sahw for reciting it again.
Ruling 1226. If, while performing prayers, one inadvertently talks for a while and all his talking stems from one mistake, then performing Sajdah-e-Sahw after the salām of the prayer is sufficient.
Ruling 1227. If a person inadvertently does not say al-tasbīḥāt al-arbaʿah, the recommended precaution is that he should perform Sajdah-e-Sahw after prayers.
Ruling 1228. If at a time when he must not say the salām of the prayer one inadvertently says: assalāmu ʿalaynā wa ʿalā ʿibādil lāhiṣ ṣāliḥīn, or he says: assalāmu ʿalaykum even if after it he does not say: wa raḥmatul lāhi wa barakātuh, then based on obligatory precaution he must perform Sajdah-e-Sahw. However, if he mistakenly says: assalāmu ʿalayka ayyuhan nabiyyu wa raḥmatul lāhi wa barakātuh, then the recommended precaution is that he should perform Sajdah-e-Sahw. And if he says two or more words of the salām, then based on obligatory precaution he must perform Sajdah-e-Sahw.
Ruling 1229. If a person mistakenly says all three sentences of salām at a time when he must not say salām, Sajdah-e-Sahw will suffice.
Ruling 1230. If a person forgets one sajdah or tashahhud and remembers it before performing rukūʿ of the next rakʿah, he must go back and perform it; and based on recommended precaution, he should perform Sajdah-e-Sahw for the additional standing.
Ruling 1231. If a person remembers in rukūʿ or after it that he has forgotten one sajdah or tashahhud from the previous rakʿah, he must make up the sajdah after the salām of the prayer [for the forgotten sajdah]; and for [the forgotten] tashahhud, he must perform Sajdah-e-Sahw.
Ruling 1232. If a person intentionally does not perform Sajdah-e-Sahw after the salām of the prayer he commits a sin; and based on obligatory precaution, he must perform it as soon as possible. And in the event that he inadvertently does not perform it, he must perform it as soon as he remembers and it is not necessary for him to perform the prayer again.
Ruling 1233. If a person doubts whether or not, for example, Sajdah-e-Sahw has become obligatory on him, it is not necessary for him to perform them.
Ruling 1234. If a person doubts whether, for example, Sajdah-e-Sahw [i.e. two of them] has become obligatory on him or four, it is sufficient if he performs Sajdah-e-Sahw.
Ruling 1235. If a person knows that he has not performed one of the Sajdah-e-Sahw, and it is not possible to perform the other one on account of a long time having elapsed, or he knows that he inadvertently performed three sajdahs, then he must perform Sajdah-e-Sahw.’