If the Imam Forgets Pillars of the Solat

Imām had forgotten to sujūd then he repeated the rak’ah, but some of ma’mum didn’t follow suit.

The imam led us in 'Isya Solāt, but he was not the official imam. In the last rak’ah he did not performed the second sujud, and he said the Salam without anyone noticing it or reminding him. A few minutes later, one of the worshippers came and told him about that, so he got up straight away and said, “We will repeat the last rak’ah in order to do the prostration that was forgotten.”Is this correct? What is the ruling on those who did not do the second sujud with them?

In the Name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful;
All the Praise is to Allāh a. Peace and Blessings be upon  His Messenger.

Firstly: Obligation of Reminding the Imām during Solāt

If the Imam forgets something during the Solāt, then the Prophet (Sallallāhu `Alayhi Wa Sallam) commanded the members of the congregation to remind him. Ibn Mas'ud reported the Prophet (Sallallāhu `Alayhi Wa Sallam) said:

“...I am only human like you, and I forget as you forget, so if I forget then remind me...”

[Narrated by Muslim, 1168; al- Bukhari, 401]

The Prophet (Sallallāhu `Alayhi Wa Sallam) set the example of correcting the imām when his recitation becomes mixed up, when once "he (Sallallāhu `Alayhi Wa Sallam) prayed, reciting loudly, and his recitation became mixed up, so when he finished, he (Sallallāhu `Alayhi Wa Sallam) said to Ubayy ibn Ka'ab : Did you pray with us? He replied, 'Yes.' He (Sallallāhu `Alayhi Wa Sallam) said, So what prevented you [from correcting me]? "

[Abu Dawud, Ibn Hibban, Tabarani, Ibn `Asakir (2/296/2) & Diya' in al-Mukhtarah with a sahih isnad]

This indicates that correcting the imam is something that is essential.

Thus the congregation in the masjid should have said tasbīh (“Subhān Allāh”) so that the imām would notice and would do the second sujud.

Secondly: If one forgets pillars or essential parts of the Solāt.

Both the first and second sujud are pillars or essential parts of the Solāt, without which the Solāt is not valid. Whoever deliberately omits one or both of them has sinned, and his Solāt is invalid.

And whoever forgotten one or both of it has to perform it when he remember, regardless he is leading a congregation, following an imam or performing Solāt on his own. If he does not do that, his Solāt is deemed invalid.

Shaikh Ibn Salih Al-‘Uthaymeen (rahimahullah) said: The pillars or essential parts of the Solāt are obligatory and more important than the wajib (obligatory parts of Solāt), but they differ from them in that the pillars are not waived if one forgets or omitted it. Whoever forgets a pillar, his Solāt is not valid. One should complete what was omitted, and perform the Sujud al-Sahwi when he realized and reminded about it.

Whilst the wajib parts of the Solāt are waived but should be made up for by performing Sujud Al-Sahwi.

[Al-Sharh al-Mumti’, 3/315]

The pillars cannot be made up for by the Sujūd al-Sahwi alone, rather one should completed what was omitted, and perform the Sujud al-Sahwi when he realized and reminded about it.

The evidence for it is the sahih hadith of Abu Hurayrah (radiallāhu`anhu) who reported, “When the Prophet (Sallallāhu `Alayhi Wa Sallam) said the Salām after two rak’ahs in one of the two afternoon solāt, either Zuhur or ‘Asar, and they told him about that, he (Sallallāhu `Alayhi Wa Sallam) did the rest of the prayer, then he said the Salām, then he prostrated twice (sujūd al-Sahwi) after saying the Salām”

[Narrated by al-Bukhari, 482; Muslim, 573]

The Sunnah is that the pillars of Solāt cannot be waived by doing the Sujūd al-Sahwi; it is done after the omitted pillar is replaced.

[Al-Sharh al-Mumti’, 3/323]

In the case to what your imām had done that by repeating the final rak’ah in full after being reminded, this is in accordance with one of the two scholarly opinions on this subject, which is the one who omits a pillar or essential part of the final rak’ah and does not realize it until after saying the taslim should do the rak’ah in full.

This is also the view of Imam Ahmad (rahimallāh).

[See al-Mughni, 1/658].

Forgotten the final sujūd

Shaikh Ibn Baaz (rahimallāh), the Hanbalis’ scholar of Fiqh who was asked about an imām who forgot the final prostration in ‘Asar Solāt. He stood up and offered a complete rak’ah, then he said the tashahhud and the taslīm, then he did the Sujūd al-Sahwi.

He said: This is what is prescribed; if the imām forgot final prostration and said the taslīm, and then he remembered it or it was pointed out to him, he should stand up and do a full rak’ah, then say the Salām, and then do the sujūd al-Sahwi after saying the Salām. This is more appropriate. The same ruling applies to one who is performing Solāt alone. But if he does the sujūd al-Sahwi before the Salām, there is nothing wrong with that, but it is preferable after the Salām.

[Majmu’ Fatāwa Ibn Baaz, 11/277]

Imam al-Shāfi’e (rahimallāh) stated if a person or the imām had forgotten to perform the final sujud and said salām, they need not have to perform the rak'ah in full, rather they should perform the pillar that they had forgotten or omitted [i.e the final sujud] and whatever comes after it [and followed by sujūd al-Sahwi at the end of the Solāt].

[See al-Majmu’, 4/33]

If a person omitted inadvertently the pillars, one should completed what was omitted, and perform the Sujud al-Sahwi when he realized or reminded about it. The Solāt would then be considered valid. Otherwise one has to repeat the Solāt.

The sahih hadith of Abu Hurayrah (radiallāhu`anhu) who reported, “When the Prophet (Sallallāhu `Alayhi Wa Sallam) said the Salam after two rak’ahs in one of the two afternoon prayers, either Zuhur or ‘Asar, and they told him about that, he (Sallallāhu `Alayhi Wa Sallam) did the rest of the prayer, then he said the Salam, then he prostrated twice (sujud al-sahwi) after saying the Salam”

[Narrated by al-Bukhāri, 482; Muslim, 573]

And Allāh Almighty knows best.

[Adapted from Fatwa No: 47627 Islam QA]