When to Offer Sujud As-Sahw? Before or After Salam?

Learn when to perform Sujud As-Sahw before or after the Salam, what to recite during it, the ruling on missing the first Tashahhud, and whether another Tashahhud is required afterward.

All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is His slave and Messenger.

Summary: If you add something to the prayer by mistake, perform Sujud As-Sahw after the Salam. If you omit an obligatory part of the prayer, perform Sujud As-Sahw before the Salam. If you are uncertain, the ruling depends on whether one possibility is more likely than the other.

1. When should Sujud As-Sahw be performed?

The strongest opinion among the scholars is that the timing of Sujud As-Sahw depends on the type of mistake made during the prayer.

If you added something to the prayer by mistake, perform Sujud As-Sahw after the Salam.
If you omitted an obligatory part of the prayer by mistake, perform Sujud As-Sahw before the Salam.

If you are uncertain about what happened during the prayer:

If one possibility seems more likely than the other, act upon what you believe is most likely and perform Sujud As-Sahw after the Salam.
If neither possibility seems more likely, act upon what you are certain of (the lesser number of rak'ahs) and perform Sujud As-Sahw before the Salam.

2. What if you forget the first Tashahhud?

The first Tashahhud is one of the obligatory parts of the prayer according to the stronger scholarly opinion.

The Permanent Committee for Islamic Research and Ifta' said:

"If a person omits the first Tashahhud by mistake, he should make up for it by performing Sujud As-Sahw before the Salam. If he deliberately leaves it, then his prayer is invalid."

Fatawa al-Lajnah ad-Da'imah, 8/7

3. Is another Tashahhud required after Sujud As-Sahw?

No. It is not prescribed to repeat the Tashahhud after performing Sujud As-Sahw, whether the prostration is before or after the Salam.

4. What should be recited during Sujud As-Sahw?

Sujud As-Sahw is performed exactly like the normal prostration in prayer. There is no special supplication that is unique to it.

During each prostration, say:

سُبْحَانَ رَبِّيَ الْأَعْلَى

Subḥāna Rabbiyal-Aʿlā

Glory be to my Lord, the Most High.

Between the two prostrations, say:

رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي، رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي

Rabbi-ghfir lī, Rabbi-ghfir lī

My Lord, forgive me. My Lord, forgive me.

There is no authentic evidence for reciting any special dhikr such as "Subḥāna man lā yashū wa lā yanām" during Sujud As-Sahw. The Sunnah is to recite the same dhikr that is said during the regular prostration in prayer.

Al-Mardawi (رحمه الله) said:

"The prostration of forgetfulness and what is said during it are the same as the prostration in the prayer."

Al-Insaf, 2/159

Al-Ramli (رحمه الله) said:

"The manner of performing Sujud As-Sahw is the same as the prostration in prayer with regard to its obligatory and recommended acts."

Nihayat al-Muhtaj, 2/88

Conclusion

Sujud As-Sahw is a mercy from Allah that compensates for mistakes made during the prayer. If you add something to the prayer unintentionally, perform it after the Salam. If you leave out an obligatory part by mistake, perform it before the Salam. During Sujud As-Sahw, recite the same dhikr as in the normal prostration, and there is no need to repeat the Tashahhud afterward.

And Allah knows best.