Hadith Text & Context

Mu'awiyah prayed in front of them, and he stood up during the prayer when he should have sat. The people said tasbih, but he remained standing, then he prostrated twice while he was sitting, after he completed the prayer. Then he sat on the Minbar and said: 'I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: 'Whoever forgets something in his prayer, let him prostrate twice like this.'

Scholarly Commentary

This narration from Sunan an-Nasa'i 1260 demonstrates the established practice of *sujud al-sahw* (prostration of forgetfulness). The incident with Mu'awiyah, a companion, shows that even the righteous can err in prayer.

The people's *tasbih* (saying "subhanallah") was a recommended method for reminding the Imam, yet Mu'awiyah continued, showing that once an Imam is committed to an action in prayer, he should complete it and rectify it later with the prostrations.

The two prostrations performed *after* the *taslim* (completing the prayer) indicate one valid method for performing *sujud al-sahw* when the forgetfulness involves omitting a necessary element (*wajib*) of the prayer.

Legal Rulings Derived

1. The obligation of performing *sujud al-sahw* for omissions or additions in prayer.

2. It is permissible for the congregation to correct the Imam by uttering *tasbih*.

3. The Imam is not obliged to immediately respond to the correction if he has already commenced the next pillar (*rukn*).

4. The prostrations of forgetfulness can be performed after the *taslim* in cases where the forgetfulness is realized after the prayer's apparent completion.

Source & Authentication

This hadith is recorded in The Book of Forgetfulness (In Prayer) of Sunan an-Nasa'i, a canonical collection of hadith. Scholars of hadith have authenticated this narration, and it forms a foundational text for the jurisprudence of rectifying prayer errors.