Is what I do —basing my determination of the number of rak'ahs sometimes on the غالبة الظن (preponderance of probability) and sometimes on the أكثر (the most likely)— considered correct? And is sujood as-sahw (prostration of forgetfulness) obligatory upon me in both cases? And is what I suffer from—frequent forgetfulness and absentmindedness in prayer, along with waswasah (whispers/obsessive thoughts) regarding the intention and takbeerat al-ihram—considered a shakk mustankah (habitual doubt) that exempts me from sujood as-sahw? And is there a difference between shakk (doubt), sahw (forgetfulness), and nisyan (forgetting) in this context? And what if I predominately think I am in the first prostration, should I consider it the second without heeding my predominant thought? And is it true that I should completely ignore these waswasah and enter into prayer without heeding anything?
He who is overwhelmed by doubt should build upon the greater number [of rak'ahs] and is not required to perform the prostration of forgetfulness (sujud al-sahw). As for habitual forgetfulness (al-sahw al-mustankah), it is an inattentiveness regarding an action of the prayer, and its ruling is to rectify what was forgotten and correct one's prayer without the prostration of forgetfulness. The difference between doubt (shakk) and forgetfulness (sahw) is that doubt is a hesitation between two matters, whereas forgetfulness is inattentiveness regarding an action of the prayer.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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