Islamic Manual

Sajdah Sahw, Sajdah Tilawah and Sajdah Shukr

The prostration of forgetfulness that fixes a mistake in prayer, the prostration due on reciting a verse of prostration, and the prostration of gratitude.

Sajdah Sahw means "prostration of forgetting." It's two extra times you put your forehead down, near the end of the prayer, to fix a mistake you made by accident.

The rules of Sajdah Sahw

  1. If you miss a whole pillar (like forgetting to bow), the prayer just doesn't count, whether that was on purpose or by accident: Sajdah Sahw can't fix that.
  2. If you only miss a sunnah or a recommended act, your prayer still counts and you don't need to do Sajdah Sahw at all.
  3. Sajdah Sahw works the same way for fard, wajib and nafl prayers.
  4. If you make more than one mistake, one Sajdah Sahw (two prostrations) fixes all of them; you don't need extra.
  5. If you accidentally make a mistake during the Sajdah Sahw itself, you don't need to do yet another one.
  6. If you forget to do Sajdah Sahw and only remember after the prayer, you can still do it, as long as you haven't yet turned away from the Qibla or started talking.
  7. If the imam makes a mistake, everyone, the imam and all the followers, does Sajdah Sahw together. If only one follower makes a mistake and the imam doesn't, nobody does Sajdah Sahw for it.

Sajdah Tilawah is a separate prostration you do when a "verse of prostration" is recited or heard.

Rules of Sajdah Tilawah

  1. It's only obligatory on people who are old enough and sane enough that prayer itself is obligatory on them, not on children, not on someone who isn't sane, and not on a woman during her period or after childbirth.
  2. It IS obligatory on someone who is drunk or who needs a full bath (ghusl).
  3. If it becomes obligatory while you're not praying, do it right away if you can; doing it later is still okay, just not as good. If it becomes obligatory WHILE you're praying, you must do it immediately.
  4. If the same verse gets recited or heard several times in one sitting, you only need to do this prostration once, unless the gathering breaks up (for example, everyone eats a proper meal, talks a lot, walks off somewhere, or starts buying and selling), then a second one is needed.
  5. It's disliked to recite a whole surah while skipping over its verse of prostration on purpose.

Sajdah Shukr is a prostration of thanks, not part of prayer at all.

Sajdah Shukr

  1. It's a good thing to do when something good happens to you, or when a problem you were facing goes away.
  2. It's disliked to do it right after finishing your prayer, so people don't get the wrong idea that it's actually part of the prayer.
  3. You do it the same way as Sajdah Tilawah.

Sajdah Sahw, the prostration of forgetfulness, consists of two extra prostrations, performed near the end of the prayer, to correct a mistake made unintentionally.

The rules of Sajdah Sahw

  1. If a pillar (rukn) of the prayer is missed, whether the omission is intentional or accidental, the prayer is not valid; Sajdah Sahw cannot remedy the loss of a pillar.
  2. Missing a sunnah or a mustahabb act leaves the prayer valid, and Sajdah Sahw is not required for it.
  3. Sajdah Sahw applies equally to fard, wajib and nafl prayers.
  4. Where multiple mistakes occur, a single Sajdah Sahw (two prostrations) is sufficient for all of them.
  5. If a further mistake happens during the Sajdah Sahw itself, no additional Sajdah Sahw is required for it.
  6. If someone forgets to perform Sajdah Sahw and only realises after completing the prayer, they may still perform it, provided they have not yet turned their chest from the Qibla or begun speaking.
  7. If the imam makes a mistake, both the imam and the followers perform Sajdah Sahw together; if only a follower makes the mistake, no one performs it.

Sajdah Tilawah is a separate prostration due on reciting or hearing a verse of the Qur'an that calls for prostration.

Rules of Sajdah Tilawah

  1. It is obligatory only on those on whom Salah itself is obligatory, whether for its performance or its makeup (qadha). It is not obligatory on minors, on someone who is insane, or on a woman during menstruation or postnatal bleeding, though if the insanity lasts less than a full day and night, it does become obligatory. It is obligatory on someone intoxicated or in a state of major impurity (janabah).
  2. If it becomes obligatory outside of prayer, it is better to perform it immediately; delaying it remains permissible, though disliked (makruh tanzihi). If it becomes obligatory during Salah, it must be performed immediately.
  3. If a single verse of prostration is recited multiple times in one gathering, only one Sajdah Tilawah is obligatory; likewise, if the same verse is heard from multiple people in the same gathering, only one is required, provided the gathering itself does not change. Eating more than a few bites, speaking more than a few words, taking several steps, or engaging in buying and selling counts as changing the gathering, after which two prostrations become obligatory.
  4. Reciting an entire Surah while deliberately omitting its verse of prostration is disliked (makruh).

Sajdah Shukr (the prostration of gratitude) is a further, distinct prostration, not a part of Salah.

Sajdah Shukr

  1. It is recommended when a person receives a blessing, or when a calamity is removed from them.
  2. Performing it immediately after Salah is disliked (makruh), so as to avoid the misconception among the unlearned that it is an obligatory or recommended prostration within the prayer itself.
  3. It should be performed in the same manner as Sajdah Tilawah.

Sajdat as-sahw comprises two additional prostrations, performed toward the close of the prayer, to remedy an unintentional (sahw) omission or defect.

The governing rules of sajdat as-sahw

  1. The omission of a rukn, whether deliberate or through sahw, invalidates the prayer outright; sajdat as-sahw cannot substitute for a missing rukn.
  2. The omission of a sunnah or a mustaḥabb act leaves the prayer valid and requires no sajdat as-sahw.
  3. Sajdat as-sahw applies without distinction to farḍ, wājib and nafl prayers.
  4. Where several sahw-errors occur within a single prayer, one sajdat as-sahw (two prostrations) discharges all of them.
  5. A further sahw occurring within the sajdat as-sahw itself does not oblige a second one.
  6. One who forgets to perform sajdat as-sahw and recalls it only after the prayer's completion may still perform it, provided he has not yet turned his chest from the qiblah or spoken.
  7. Where the imam commits the sahw, both he and the muqtadīn perform sajdat as-sahw together; where a muqtadī alone commits it, no one performs it.

Sajdat at-tilāwah is a distinct prostration occasioned by the recitation or hearing of an āyat as-sajdah.

The governing rules of sajdat at-tilāwah

  1. It is obligatory only on one for whom ṣalāh itself is obligatory, whether as adāʾ or qaḍāʾ; it does not obligate a minor, one of unsound mind, or a woman in ḥayḍ or nifās, save that where the insanity persists for less than a full day and night, the obligation does attach. It obligates one who is intoxicated or in janābah.
  2. Where it arises outside of ṣalāh, immediate performance is preferable; delay remains valid, though makrūh tanzīhī. Where it arises within ṣalāh, immediate performance is required.
  3. Where a single āyat as-sajdah is recited repeatedly within one gathering (majlis), only one sajdah is obligatory; likewise where the same āyah is heard from several reciters within the same majlis, provided the majlis itself has not changed. Consuming more than a few morsels, speaking beyond a few words, taking several steps, or engaging in a transaction of sale constitutes a change of majlis, after which a fresh, second sajdah becomes obligatory.
  4. Reciting an entire sūrah while deliberately omitting its āyat as-sajdah is makrūh.

Sajdat ash-shukr (the prostration of gratitude) is a further, independent prostration, external to ṣalāh.

Sajdat ash-shukr

  1. It is mustaḥabb on receiving a blessing (niʿmah), or on the removal of a calamity (balāʾ).
  2. Performing it immediately upon the conclusion of ṣalāh is makrūh, lest the unlearned come to suppose it an obligatory or recommended prostration belonging to the prayer itself.
  3. Its manner of performance is identical to that of sajdat at-tilāwah.

Terms on this page

sajdah sahw

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