Question # 385: A question with regards to Sajda-e-Sehwe سجده سهو. In sunna salat, if you missed reciting surah Fateha and realized afterwards, will sajda sehwe, be sufficient to complete the salat?

bismi-llahi r-raḥmani r-raḥīm,

Assalamu ‘laikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

All praise and thanks are due to Allah (سبحانه و تعالى), and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger (صلى الله عليه و سلم).

Dear questioner,

First of all, we implore Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) to help us serve His cause and render our work for His sake.

Shorter Answer: The following are the four scenarios in which one does not recite Al-Fatihah in any of the rak‘ahs out of forgetfulness and remembers it later:

  • If he remembers it while performing the ruku’ or after it, before standing up to perform the following rak‘ah, then he is obliged to stand up again and recite Al-Fatihah.
  • If he remembers after standing up to perform the following rak‘ah, then the previous rak‘ah is invalidated and this rak‘ah will be considered the first.
  • If he remembers after the tasleem and the time interval was short and insignificant, then he is obliged to stand up and perform another rak‘ah and then perform sujood as-sahw.
  • If he remembers after the tasleem and the time interval was long and significant, then he is obliged to perform the entire prayer over again.

Also please refer to Question # 396: Forgetting to Recite Another Soorah After Al-Fatihah in Salah (Prayer).

Long Answer: The Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said: “There is no prayer for the one who did not recite (in it) Al-Fatihah (the opening chapter of the Qur’an).”  (Sahih Al-Bukhari)

Hence, reciting al-Fatihah is an essential part of the prayer without which the prayer is not valid. It is essential to recite it, whether one is praying alone, as an imam or behind an imam, and whether the prayer is one in which Qur’an is recited out loud or quietly.

Imam An-Nawawi said in his book, Al-Majmoo’: “As for a worshipper who does not recite Al-Fatihah in any of the rak‘ahs out of forgetfulness and then performed the tasleem or ruku’ (i.e. bowing in the prayer) afterwards, there are two famous opinions in this regard. The most correct of these two opinions according to the consensus of the Shafi’i scholars, and this is according to the later Shafi‘i school of Fiqh, is that such a worshipper is not exempted from observing the obligation of reciting Al-Fatihah. If he remembers it while performing the ruku’ or after it, before standing up to perform the following rak‘ah, then he is obliged to stand up again and recite Al-Fatihah. If he remembers after standing up to perform the following rak‘ah, then the previous rak‘ah is invalidated and this rak‘ah will be considered the first. If the worshipper remembered after the tasleem and the time interval was short and insignificant, then he is obliged to stand up and perform another rak‘ah and then perform sujood as-sahw.

In case the time interval is long and significant, the worshipper is obliged to perform the entire prayer over again.

In the last case, sujood as-sahw will not suffice in redressing the omission of the recitation of Al-Fatihah since this is a due pillar of the prayer. Forgetting the performance of the pillars of the prayer does not exempt one from re-performing them and sujood as-sahw is not enough to redress the mistake in such a case.” (Islamweb.net, a web site belonging to the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs in the State of Qatar)

Allahu A’lam (Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) knows best) and all Perfections belong to Allah, and all mistakes belong to me alone. May Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) forgive me, Ameen.

Wassalaam