Is Precautionary Sajdah Sahw Allowed in Every Prayer?
بِسْمِ اللہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
Habitually Performing Sajdah Sahw as a Precaution
Darulifta Ahlesunnat (Dawateislami)
Question
What do the noble scholars and jurists of Islamic law say about the following: Zaid is the Imām of a masjid. He has a habit of performing a precautionary sajdah sahw at the end of every Salāh al-Tasbīḥ. He also informs the congregation beforehand regarding performing a sajdah sahw at the end of salāh as a precaution, regardless of whether or not any wājib is omitted. So the question is, what is the ruling about doing this? Furthermore, Zaid performs the salām of sajdah sahw before reciting the durūd.
Answer
According to sharīʿah, sajdah sahw becomes wājib due to leaving any wājib from the wājibāt asliyah of the salāh; sajdah sahw does not become obligated due to shortcomings in azkār and tasbīḥāt. Moreover, if sajdah sahw is not wājib, then performing it without any reason is an unnecessary addition to salāh which is prohibited by sharīʿah. In this case, once the person performs the salām of sajdah sahw, he will exit the salāh. It is for this reason that if the imām performs a precautionary sajdah sahw and the masbūq muqtadī (the one who missed all or some rakʿāt with the imam) obeys the imām in performing the precautionary sajdah sahw, his salāh will become invalid. Furthermore, if one joins the imām after he has performed the precautionary sajdah sahw, his salāh will be invalid. But, the salāh of the imam and mudrik muqtadī (the one who was in the congregation from beginning to end) will be valid.
Therefore, in the inquired situation, it is prohibited for Zaid to perform a precautionary sajdah sahw without any reason. However, in such a situation, the salāh of Zaid and the mudrik muqtadīs will be valid. But, if a masbūq muqtadī follows Zaid in the precautionary sajdah sahw, his salāh will become invalid. Also, the salāh of those who join after Zaid has performed the precautionary sajdah sahw will be invalid.
Keep in mind that if, in the salāh al-tasbīḥ, the imām has a habit of performing a precautionary sajdah sahw before reciting durūd without any reason, the imām will also be sinful due to his action. This is because even if the imām recites the durūd after the precautionary sajdah sahw, it will not be considered to have been recited during salāh as he exited the salāh as soon as performed the salām for the precautionary sajdah sahw. Hence, he will be regarded as habitual of omitting the recitation of durūd in salāh al-Tasbīḥ, whereas it is sunnah muʾakkadah to recite durūd after tashahhud in the last qaʿdah of salāh, and habitually leaving this is a sin. Furthermore, if a masbūq muqtadī joins the salāh after the imām performed a precautionary sajdah sahw, his salāh will become invalid. The cause for the invalidity of his salāh will be the imām’s precautionary sajdah sahw, and the imām will be blameworthy.
Sajdah sahw becomes wājib if any wājib from the wājibāt asliyah of salāh is forgetfully skipped. Thus, ʿAllāmah Ibn Nujaym Misrī Ḥanafī رحمة اللہ تعالى عليه (d. 970 AH/ 1562 CE) writes:
سببه ترك واجب من واجبات الصلاة الأصلية سهوا و هو المراد بقوله بترك واجب لا كل واجب
(Al-Baḥr al-Rāʾiq Sharḥ Kanz al-Daqāʾiq, Book of Salāh, Ch. of Sajdah Sahw, Vol. 02, p. 101, Publ. Dar al-Kitāb al-Islāmī)
Sajdah sahw is not required due to shortcomings in the tasbīḥāt of the salāh. Thus, it is stated in Al-Baḥr al-Rāʾiq Sharḥ Kanz al-Daqāʾiq:
لا یجب بترک السنۃ کالثناء و التعوذو التسمیۃ و تکبیرات الرکوع و السجود و تسبیحاتھا
(Al-Baḥr al-Rāʾiq Sharḥ Kanz al-Daqāʾiq, Vol. 02, p. 106, Publ. Dar al-Kitāb al-Islāmī)
Regarding performing sajdah sahw without any reason, ʿAlā Hazrat, the Imām of Ahl as-Sunnah رحمة اللہ تعالى عليه states in the answer to a question (If one performs sajdah sahw despite it not being required, is the salāh valid or not?):
بے حاجت سجدہ سہو نماز میں زیادت اور ممنوع ہے، مگر نماز ہوجائے گی۔ ہاں! اگر یہ امام ہے تو جو مقتدی مسبوق تھا یعنی بعض رکعات اس نے نہیں پائی تھیں،وہ اگر اس سجدہ بے حاجت میں اس کا شریک ہوا تو اس کی نماز جاتی رہے گی، لانہ اقتدی فی محل الانفراد۔
Translation: Performing sajdah sahw without any reason is an addition to salāh and is prohibited, but the salāh will be valid. However, if he is an imām, then the salāh of the masbūq muqtadī (i.e., the one who missed some rakʿāt) who joins him in the unnecessary sajdah will become nullified, because he followed someone while he was independent. (Fatāwā Razawiyah, Vol. 06, p. 328, Publ. Razā Foundation, Lahore)
If a masbūq muqtadī follows the imām in performing a precautionary sajdah sahw, his salāh will become invalid. Thus, Shams al-ʾAʾimmah, Imām Sarakhsī رحمة اللہ تعالى عليه (483 AH/ 1090 CE) writes:
أن المسبوق لو تابع الإمام في سجود السهو تبين أنه لم يكن على الإمام سهو، فصلاة المسبوق فاسدة
(Al-Mabsūt Lil-Sarakhsī, Ch. of Sajdah Sahw, Vol. 01, p. 229, Publ. Dār al-Maʿrifah, Beirut)
In the case of performing a precautionary sajdah sahw, the salāh will be complete once the imām performs salām. Thus, the Imām of Ahl as-Sunnah رحمة اللہ تعالى عليه writes in the answer to a question (If the imām forgetfully performs sajdah sahw, whereas sajdah sahw was not obligatory, what is the ruling of the imām and muqtadī’s salāh, and the salāh of the muqtadīs who joined the salāh after the sajdah sahw? Sajdah sahw was not actually required.):
امام و مقتدیانِ سابق کی نماز ہوگئی، جو مقتدی اس سجدہ سہو میں جانے کے بعد ملے ان کی نماز نہیں ہوئی کہ جب واقع میں سہونہ تھا، دہنا سلام کہ امام نے پھیرا ختمِ نماز کا موجب ہوا یہ سجدہ بلا سبب لغو تھا، تو اس سے تحریمہ نماز کی طرف عودنہ ہوا اور مقتدیان مابعد کو کسی جزء امام میں شرکت امام نہ ملی، لہٰذا ان کی نماز نہ ہوئی۔
Translation: The imām and muqtadī’s salāh are valid. But the salāh of the muqtadīs who joined after the sajdah sahw are invalid, given that sajdah sahw was not required. The salām that the imām performed to the right caused the termination of the salāh. This sajdah was unnecessary and useless. So, the imām did not return to the taḥrīmah (state) of salāh and the muqtadīs who joined after did not join the imām in any part of salāh. Thus, their salāh is invalid. (Fatāwa Razawiyah, Vol. 08, p. 185, Publ. Razā Foundation, Lahore)
In the answer to a question (What is the ruling of performing sajdah sahw when it was not wājib?), it is stated in Fatāwā Faqīh-e-Millat:
اگر وہ شخص منفرد ہے اورسجدہ سہو واجب نہیں تھا، لیکن کیا تو اس کی نماز ہوگئی، اسی طرح اگر امام نے بلا ضرورت سجدہ سہو کیا تو مُدرک اور امام کی نمازیں ہوجائیں گی، اس لئے کہ جب سہو واجب نہ ہو تو اس کی نیت سے سلام پھیرتے ہی نماز تمام ہو جاتی ہے۔
Translation: If the person is offering salāh individually and sajdah sahw was not wājib, yet he still performed it, his salāh will be valid. Similarly, if the imām performed sajdah sahw without any reason, the salāh of the Imām and mudrik are valid because when the sajdah sahw is not wājib, then performing salām while intending it concludes the salāh. (Fatāwā Faqīh-e-Millat, Ch. Sujūd al-Sahw, Vol. 01, p. 397, Publ. Nishān-e-Manzil Publication, Lahore)
It is stated in Al-Fatāwā al-ʿĀlamgīrī regarding nullifying the salāh without any reason:
ان قطع الصلاۃ لا یجوز الا لضرورۃ
(Al-Fatāwā al-ʿĀlamgīrī, Ch. of What nullifies salāh and what is Makrūh, Vol. 01, p. 109, Publ. Dār al-Fikr, Beirut)
It is stated in Bahār-E-Sharīʿat:
نماز توڑنا بغیر عذر ہو تو حرام ہے۔
Translation: If the salāh was nullified without any valid excuse, then it is ḥarām. (Bahār-E-Sharīʿat, pt. 4, p. 697, Publ. Maktaba-Tul-Madīnah, Karachi)
The act which leads to something impermissible is itself impermissible. Thus, it is stated in al-Hidāyah, Tabyīn al-Ḥaqāʾiq, Fatḥ al-Qadīr (the following is cited from al-Hidāyah):
الأصل أن سبب الحرام حرام
(Al-Hidāyah, Vol. 04, p. 374, Publ. Dār Iḥyā al-Turās)
According to the majority of the jurists, reciting durūd after tashahhud in the final qaʿdah is sunnah. Thus, it is stated in Fatḥ al-Qadīr, al-Mabsūt Lil-Sarakhsī, and Fatḥ Bāb al-ʿInāyah (cited from Fatḥ Bāb al-ʿInāyah):
(و بعد التشهد) الأخير (يصلي على النبي صلی اللہ علیہ و آلہ و سلم و هي سنة عندنا و يسيء تاركها، و ليست بواجبة، و عليه الجمهور)
(Fatḥ Bāb al-ʿInāyah, Book of Salāh, Vol. 01, p. 267, Publ. Dār al-Arqam, Beirut)
It is stated in Fatāwā Amjadiyah:
نماز میں درود شریف پڑھنا سنت مؤکدہ ہے۔
Translation: Reciting durūd in salāh is sunnah muʾakkadah. (Fatāwā Amjadiyah, Vol. 01, p. 75, Publ. Makatabah Razawiyah, Karachi)
It is stated in Bahār-E-Sharīʿat:
سنتیں بعض مؤکدہ ہیں کہ شریعت میں اس پر تاکید آئی، بلاعذر ایک بار بھی ترک کرے، تو مستحق ملامت ہے اور ترک کی عادت کرے تو فاسق، مردود الشہادۃ، مستحق نار ہے۔
Translation: Some sunnahs are muʾakkadah because sharīʿah has emphasized them. The one who skips it even once without a valid reason is deserving of reproach. The one who makes a habit of leaving it is a fāsiq, their testimony is rejected, and they are deserving of punishment. (Bahār-E-Sharīʿat, Vol. 01, pt. 4, p. 662, Publ. Maktaba-Tul-Madīnah, Karachi)
وَاللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَ رَسُوْلُہ اَعْلَم صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَ سَلَّم
(Allah Almighty knows best and His Messenger صَلَّی اللہُ عَلَیْہِ وَ اٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم knows best.)
Answered By: Mufti Muhammad Qasim Attari
Ref No: OKR-0143
Date: 18th Jumād al-ʾŪlā 1447 AH / 10th November 2025