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?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
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 ( 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.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/116637
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 116637
- 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