Fatwa ID: 03344

Answered by: Maulana Muhammad Imad Ali​

Question

What should you do if you forget the number of mistakes that you have made in salah?

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم

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

Answer

The following things are obligatory i.e. Wajib in Salah:

1. Recitation of Surah Fatiha in every raka’ah.
2. Adding a Surah (or three verses) in the first two rak’ahs of Fardh, and in every rak’ah of Witr and Nafl.
3. Standing up after ruku.
4. Tranquillity in each position.
5. The middle sitting.
6. Recitation of the Tashahhud in every sitting.
7. The words of Salam.
8. Reciting aloud the Fajr, Maghrib and Isha and reciting softly the Zuhr and Asr.
9. If one is praying by himself, he has the choice; if he wishes he may recite aloud where the imam would, making his voice audible to himself, or if he wishes he may subdue his voice in all the recitations.

Sajdah Sahwe will become obligatory if…;

1. Any Wajib act being omitted.
2. Any Wajib act being displaced, i.e. observing it before time or later than its actual occasion of being observed.
3. Any Wajib act being delayed to the extent of one rukn i.e. the time taken to say SubhanAllah three times.
4. Any Wajib act being reported.
5. Any Wajib act is being altered, i.e. loud recitation being recited in place of silent recitation.
6. Any Fardh act being displaced, i.e. observing it before time or later than its actual occasion of being observed.
7. Any Fardh act being repeated.

(Raddul Muhtar pg: 543 V: 2)

Regarding your question, if any of the above mishaps occur due to forgetfulness, only then Sajdah Sahwe will remedy the error. However, if a person deliberately missed the aforementioned things then his Salah will break. Sajdah Sahwe will not be sufficient.

If you omitted many wajibs from salah then one sajdah sahwe will be sufficient.

Only Allah knows best.

Written by Maulana Muhammad Imad Ali

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham