What is the ruling on combining multiple instances of forgetfulness (suhū) of the same type within a single prayer?

Chapter on the Two Prostrations of Forgetfulness

Al-Mughni

Book of Prayer

Book 3 · Issue 1 · Bab 7

Open in Qurani

Primary text

If a person commits two or more instances of forgetfulness of the same genus (type) during prayer, two prostrations (sujūd) suffice for all of them. This view is held universally, with no known opposition. If the forgetfulness involves two different types of errors, the ruling is the same. This position is narrated from Ahmad, and it is the view of the majority of scholars, including Al-Nakha'i, Al-Thawri, Malik, Al-Layth, Al-Shafi'i, and the People of Opinion (Ahl al-Ra'y). The legal rationale is that the prostrations are intended to rectify the deficiency of the prayer (jabr). Since a single set of prostrations suffices for multiple errors of the same type, it likewise suffices when the errors are of different types when combined. Furthermore, the Prophet (peace be upon him) once performed one set of prostrations for two separate errors (one before and one after the salam), establishing the principle that a single prostration set covers multiple instances. The narration stating 'For every instance of forgetfulness, there are two prostrations' (Rahu Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah) is interpreted to mean for every prayer in which forgetfulness occurs, two prostrations suffice, as forgetfulness is a generic term covering all instances within that single prayer.

Supporting text

Some scholars, including Al-Awza'i, Ibn Abi Hazim, and 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Abi Salamah, maintain that if there are two required prostrations, one preceding the salam and one following it, each must be performed in its prescribed location. This is based on the explicit wording of the hadith, 'For every instance of forgetfulness, there are two prostrations,' which they interpret to mean two prostrations per distinct instance of forgetfulness. Some companions of the Shafi'i school argue that the two 'genera' refer to one instance being an addition (ziyada) and the other being a deficiency (nuqsan).