Fatwa ID: 07593

 

 

Answered by: Maulana Sakib Shadman

 

Question:

 

During Isha salah, I was on the last rakah and I was reading tashahhud but I wasn’t sure if I was reading the 3rd rakah or the 4th. I ignored this as I’d always get doubts like this in my mind. Was I right to do this?

 

Also I read on the islamqa.info website that once you complete a ibaadah such as rinsing the mouth during wudu or reading something and then you doubt it after it, is it ok to ignore it after you completed the act. Was I right in ignoring this doubt as it came when I was reading tashahhud and I was essentially nearly finishing my salah? Or do I need to repeat this prayer again?

 

 

 

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

 

Answer:

 

If a person suffers from constant waswasa and doubts, they should not pay heed to it because these whispers are from the Shaytan, who is trying to destroy our ibadah/acts of worship.

 

Once you have completed your Salat or your Wudu/ablution, if the Shaytan whispers to you and tries to make you doubt whether you washed a specific limb during Wudu, or whether you left out something from your salat, you should not pay any attention to this whisper.

 

Rather you should consider your Salat/ Wudu as complete. If you are in your final sitting of the prayer and you have already read the full tashahhud, then you are considered to have completed all the obligatory acts of salah, so if any whispers or doubts occur at that point, again you should ignore these doubts. 

 

However, before completing your tashahhud, or during your Salat, if you have any doubts about which rakat you are on, then you should resort to your predominant belief/ speculation. In other words you should try to speculate whether you have completed 3 or 4 rakats. Think back and try to recall how many rakats you think you performed.

 

If you are predominantly sure that you have completed 4 rakats, then you should sit in your final sitting and complete your prayer. And if you are predominantly sure that you have only completed 3 rakats, then perform your fourth rakat. No need to perform Sajdah sahw/ prostration of forgetfulness.

 

If you are absolutely not sure whether you have completed 3 or 4 rakats, then assume you have performed the lesser number, which is 3. This is because you are sure you have completed at least 3 rakats. So base the rest of your Salat upon that which you are sure of. In this scenario specifically (not the above scenario), you must perform the prostration of forgetfulness (sajdah sahw) in the final sitting. Furthermore, (again only in this scenario), as a matter of precaution, you should sit in tashahhud after the third rakat as well; just in case the third rakat is actually your fourth rakat.

 

Since you are not sure of how many rakats you performed, there is a chance that your third rakat is actually your fourth rakat; hence you must sit in tashahhud after 3rd rakat as a precaution. In this sitting, recite tashahhud only, and then get up to perform the fourth rakat, followed by your final sitting and sajdah sahw.

 

Finally, I would like to state that the more you ignore your doubts and whispers of Shaytan, the less doubts you will encounter in the future. So please try to ward off Shaytan’s whispers as much as possible, so that your future ibadah can be correct. 

 

 

Only Allah knows best

Written by Maulana Sakib Shadman 

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham

 

 

 

فأما إذا وقع الشك بعد الفراغ من الصلاة بأن شك بعد السلام مثلًا في ذوات الأربع أنه صلى ثلاثًا أو أربعًا، فهذا عندنا على أنه أتم الصلاة حملًا لأمره على الصلاح، وهو الخروج عن الصلاة، ولو شك بعدما فرغ من التشهد في القعدة الأخيرة على نحو ما بينا فكذلك الجواب على أنه أتم صلاته.

 

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قالوا: وهذا إذا كان الشك في خلال الوضوء، فأما إذا كان هذا الشك بعد الفراغ من الوضوء لا يلتفت إليه ومضى، وهو نظير ما إذا شك في صلاته أنه صلاها ثالثاً أو أربعاً إن كان هذا الشك في خلال الصلاة كان معتبراً، وإن كان بعد الفراغ من الصلاة لا يعتبر، حملاً لأمره على ما كان وهو الخروج عن الصلاة بعد التمام كذا ههنا.

 

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الشَّك فِي الرَّكْعَات وَمن شكّ أصلى ثَلَاثًا أَو أَرْبعا وَذَلِكَ أول مَا عرض لَهُ اسْتَأْنف بِالسَّلَامِ وَهُوَ أولى من الْكَلَام وَمُجَرَّد النِّيَّة لَغْو وَإِن كَانَ الشَّك يعرض لَهُ كثيرا عمل بِأَكْثَرَ رَأْيه فَإِن لم يكن لَهُ رَأْي أَخذ بِالْأَقَلِّ وَقعد حَيْثُ يتوهمه آخر صلَاته

 

كتاب تحفة الملوك- زين الدين الرازي  ص 109