How do you perform sajdah sahw (the prostration of forgetfulness)?

Step by step

1. In the final sitting, recite only the Tashahhud (At-Tahiyyat).
2. Give salam to the right side only.
3. Say "Allahu akbar" and go into prostration; say "Subhana Rabbiyal-A'la" three times.
4. Sit up with a takbir, then go into the second prostration with another takbir; say the tasbih three times.
5. Sit up with a takbir; recite the Tashahhud, Allahumma salli, Allahumma barik and the Rabbana supplications.
6. Give salam first to the right, then to the left.

When is it required?

• Forgetting the first sitting and standing up: if you are closer to sitting, you go back and sit; if you are closer to standing, you do not go back and you make sajdah sahw at the end.
• In the first sitting, reciting after the Tashahhud as much as "Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad" (which delays standing for the third rak'ah).
• Mistakes involving Al-Fatihah: not reciting Al-Fatihah, or reciting it twice, in the first two rak'ahs of a fard prayer; remembering Al-Fatihah after reciting the surah; not reciting the additional surah.
• Not reciting the Tashahhud in the sittings, or reciting it twice in the first sitting.
• Forgetting the Qunut in witr; saying too few or too many Eid takbirs.
• Forgetting the final sitting and standing up: if you remember before the prostration of the extra rak'ah, you go back, sit and make sajdah sahw.
• In a four-rak'ah fard prayer, not giving salam after the final sitting and standing up for a fifth rak'ah: if you notice before the prostration, you go back and make sajdah sahw.
• The imam reciting silently where the recitation should be aloud, or aloud where it should be silent.

If you forget how many rak'ahs you have prayed

Someone who has doubt about the number of rak'ahs for the first time starts the prayer again. If this happens often, they act on their strongest impression; if they cannot reach one, they take the lower number, sit and recite the Tashahhud at the end of each doubtful rak'ah, and make sajdah sahw at the end of the prayer.

When praying in congregation

• The imam's mistake requires sajdah sahw from both the imam and the congregation; if the imam does not make it, the congregation does not either.
• A follower's own mistake requires no prostration from either the follower or the imam.
• Someone who joined the imam late (masbuq) follows the imam in sajdah sahw, then stands up and completes their prayer; for a mistake made while completing it alone, they make a separate sajdah sahw.
• In crowded Friday and Eid prayers, sajdah sahw is not made, to avoid confusion.

When it is not required

• If an obligatory (fard) act is left out (even through forgetfulness), the prayer is invalid; it cannot be made good with sajdah sahw and must be prayed again.
• If a wajib act is left out deliberately, sajdah sahw is not enough; the prayer must be prayed again.
• Leaving out a sunnah does not require sajdah sahw (e.g. reciting a surah in the third and fourth rak'ahs of a fard prayer).
• Even if there are several mistakes, one sajdah sahw is enough.
• For someone who forgets the sajdah sahw and, after the salam, does something incompatible with prayer, such as talking or turning away from the qibla, the prostration lapses and the prayer is not repeated.

Differences between schools

Sajdah sahw is wajib according to the Hanafis and sunnah according to the Shafi'is. The Hanafis make the prostration after the salam, the Shafi'is before it; the Malikis make it before the salam for an omission and after it for an addition. When in doubt about the number of rak'ahs, the Malikis and Shafi'is take the lower number without making any distinction.

Related verses

• Al-Baqarah 2:286 — …do not impose blame upon us if we have forgotten or erred.

Quotations are from the Saheeh International translation; links open the full verse on Quran.com.

Frequently asked

I forgot to make sajdah sahw. Is my prayer valid?

If, after the salam, you did something incompatible with prayer (such as talking or turning away from the qibla), the prostration lapses and the prayer is not repeated. If you have not yet done so, you make the sajdah sahw straight away.

I forgot the first sitting and stood up. Should I sit back down?

If you are closer to sitting, you go back and sit; if you are closer to standing, you do not go back and you make sajdah sahw at the end of the prayer.

I made a mistake behind the imam. Should I make sajdah sahw?

No. In congregation, only the imam's mistake requires sajdah sahw; in that case the congregation prostrates together with the imam.

I recited a surah after Al-Fatihah in the third rak'ah of a fard prayer. Do I need sajdah sahw?

No. This goes against the sunnah but does not require sajdah sahw.

Sources

1. Diyanet High Council of Religious Affairs — For what reasons is sajdah sahw required, and how is it done? (in Turkish)
2. Diyanet, Islamic Manual (İslam İlmihali) — Sajdah sahw (pp. 200–205) (in Turkish)
3. Diyanet High Council of Religious Affairs — What should someone unsure how many rak'ahs they have prayed do? (in Turkish)
4. Diyanet High Council of Religious Affairs — What should someone who forgets sajdah sahw do? (in Turkish)
5. Diyanet High Council of Religious Affairs — What should someone who stands up without the final sitting do? (in Turkish)
6. Diyanet High Council of Religious Affairs — Is sajdah sahw needed for reciting a surah in the 3rd and 4th rak'ahs of a fard prayer? (in Turkish)
7. TDV Encyclopedia of Islam — Sajdah sahw (in Turkish)

This page is compiled from the rulings of Türkiye's Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) and the sources listed. Rulings follow the Hanafi school; where other schools differ, this is noted. For your personal situation, please ask a scholar at your local mosque. Last updated: 5 October 2026.

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