Is the prayer of one who doubts the number of rak'ahs, then completes his prayer and then performs the prostration of forgetfulness (sujud al-sahw) valid? And should he always add a rak'ah if he doubts the number of rak'ahs?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
Whoever doubts the number of rak'ahs should base it on the lesser number, unless he is afflicted by obsessive whisperings (), in which case he should disregard the whisperings. If it becomes clear to the worshipper that he added an extra rak'ah after basing his prayer on the lesser number, he must immediately sit for the . If he continues with the extra rak'ah, knowing the ruling and doing so intentionally, his prayer becomes void. However, if he was ignorant of the ruling, his prayer is valid.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/136589
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 136589
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy