Hadith Text

Abdullah bin Buhainah reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stood up following two rak'ahs of Zuhr and did not sit down (for tashahhud). When he finished the prayer he prostrated twice, saying Takbir for each prostration, while he was sitting, before he said the taslim, and the people prostrated with him. (He did that) in place of the sitting that he had forgotten.

Source Reference

The Book of Forgetfulness (In Prayer)

Sunan an-Nasa'i

Sunan an-Nasa'i 1261

Scholarly Commentary

This hadith establishes the legal ruling regarding the prostration of forgetfulness (sujud al-sahw) when one omits the first sitting (tashahhud) in a four-rak'ah prayer. The Prophet's action demonstrates that forgetting the first sitting does not invalidate the prayer, but requires two prostrations before the final taslim.

The timing of these prostrations is significant - they are performed after completing the prayer but before the final greeting (taslim). This indicates that the compensation prostrations are integrated into the prayer's conclusion rather than being performed as a separate act.

The collective prostration of the congregation with the Prophet shows that followers must imitate the imam in performing sujud al-sahw, maintaining congregational unity even in corrective actions.

Saying takbir for each prostration maintains the proper form and reverence of the prayer act, demonstrating that these compensatory prostrations follow the same etiquette as regular prayer prostrations.

Legal Rulings Derived

When one forgets the first tashahhud in a four-rak'ah prayer and stands for the third rak'ah, the prayer remains valid.

The required compensation is two prostrations of forgetfulness performed before the final taslim.

The takbir must be recited for each prostration in sujud al-sahw.

Congregants must follow the imam in performing prostrations of forgetfulness.

These prostrations substitute for the forgotten sitting and complete the prayer's validity.