Doubts in Prayer (Shakkiyāt)-Part-2

According to the fatwas of the Grand Religious Authorities: Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, Ayatollah Sistani, and Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi (may Allah prolong their blessings):

Fatāwā presented without citing a differing opinion or a specific reference are the common rulings shared by all of the three respected Marāji‘. In cases where the ruling of one Marjaʿ differs from that of the other two, it is indicated in a footnote under the same number, mentioning the Marjaʿ by name.

Doubts in the units of Prayer

1. If a praying person doubts the unit (rak’ah) number, e.g., they do not know whether they have offered three or four units (Rak’ahs), they should consider which number seems more probable and complete the prayer; accordingly, the prayer is correct. Otherwise, if one’s probability remains fifty-fifty, one should act according to the rules discussed below.

2. There are two types of doubts in the unit (rak’ah) number of prayers:
a. Doubts which make the prayer invalid;
b. Doubts which do not make the prayer invalid.

a. Doubts which make the prayer invalid;

1- Doubt about the unit (rak’ah) number makes the prayer invalid in the following cases:

a) Doubt about the unit (rak’ah) number in a two-unit (Rak’ah) prayer, e.g., the dawn (fajr) prayer or the traveler’s shortened prayer. However, doubt regarding the unit (rak’ah) number of caution prayers does not invalidate them.
b) Doubt about the unit (rak’ah) number in a three-unit (Rak’ah) prayer (i.e., maghrib prayer).
c) Doubt occurring in a four-unit (Rak’ah) prayer as to whether or not one has performed one unit (Rak’ah) or more, such as when a person doubts whether they have performed one unit (Rak’ah) or two units (Rak’ahs) or whether they have performed one unit (Rak’ah) or three units (Rak’ahs).
d) Doubt in four-unit (Rak’ah) prayers before finishing the second prostration (sajdah). This rule holds true in such cases as whether he has performed two units (Rak’ahs) or more, e.g., a doubt between two or three units (Rak’ahs) before completing both prostrations (sajdah) or between two or four units (Rak’ahs) before performing both prostrations (sajdah).
e) Doubts regarding the unit (rak’ah) number in prayers when the person does not know at all how many units (Rak’ahs) they have performed.

2- If a doubt that invalidates prayer arises for the praying person, according to precaution, they are not allowed to break off the prayer immediately. Rather, they should think about it for a while; if it seems that the doubt is not resolvable (i.e., neither of the two choices seems more probable), then one may break the prayer.

Ayatollah Sistani: If one of the invalidating doubts occurs to a person, it is better that, for as long as the doubt remains, he should not break the prayer. Rather, he should reflect for a while—until either the form of the prayer is disrupted, or he loses hope of attaining certainty or even a probable assumption.

Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi: If one of the invalidating doubts arises for a person during the prayer, he is not permitted to break the prayer immediately. Rather, he must first reflect for a short time; if the doubt persists, he should then abandon the prayer.

b. Valid Doubts

1- In a four-unit (Rak’ah) prayer, if a doubt arises about the unit (rak’ah) number and, after thinking about it, one of the two choices seems more probable (e.g., the praying person thinks it is 60 per cent probable that they are in the fourth unit [Rak’ah]), one should act accordingly and finish the prayer; the prayer is valid. However, if no probability seems more than fifty per cent (e.g., the praying person thinks it is 50-50 whether they are in the fourth or fifth unit (Rak’ah), one must act as will be instructed here:

a) If, after the second prostration (sajdah), the praying person doubts (fifty-fifty) having offered three or four units (Rak’ahs), they should consider it as the third unit (Rak’ah), perform another unit (Rak’ah) and finish the prayer. Then one must perform a one-unit (Rak’ah) precautionary prayer (as will be mentioned later) while standing or a two-unit (Rak’ah) precautionary prayer while sitting.

Ayatollah Sistani: If, after entering the second prostration (sajdah), a person doubts whether he has performed two rakʿahs or three rakʿahs, he must assume that he has performed three rakʿahs, perform one additional rakʿah, and complete the prayer. After the prayer, he must perform one rakʿah of precautionary prayer (ṣalāt al-iḥtiyāṭ) while standing; and based on obligatory precaution, two rakʿahs of precautionary prayer while sitting are not sufficient.

Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi: In the case of doubt between “two and three” after lifting the head from the second prostration, one must assume that three rakʿahs have been performed, perform one additional rakʿah, and complete the prayer. After the prayer, one rakʿah of precautionary prayer while standing must be performed according to the method that will be explained later. If the doubt occurs during the second prostration after reciting the obligatory dhikr, then based on obligatory precaution, the same instruction should be followed, and afterwards the prayer should also be repeated. (This ruling applies to all cases in which the doubt must occur after completing the second prostration.)

b) After lifting the head from the second prostration (sajdah), if one doubts [fifty-fifty] as to whether they have completed two or four units (Rak’ahs), they should consider it as the fourth unit (Rak’ah), complete the prayer and offer a two-unit (Rak’ah) standing precautionary prayer.

c) When doubt occurs between the second, third, or fourth unit (Rak’ah) after performing the second prostration (sajdah), one should consider it as the fourth unit (Rak’ah), complete the prayer and perform a two-unit (Rak’ah) standing precautionary prayer and two units (Rak’ahs) while sitting.1

d) If, at any part of the four-unit (Rak’ah) prayer, one doubts whether they have completed three or four units (Rak’ahs), they should consider having performed the fourth unit (Rak’ah), complete the prayer and perform one-unit (Rak’ah) while standing or two units (Rak’ahs) of precautionary prayer while sitting.

e) If after the second prostration (sajdah), one doubts whether they have completed the fourth or the fifth unit (Rak’ah), one must consider themselves as having performed the fourth unit (Rak’ah) and finish the prayer. Then, one must perform two prostrations (sajdah) of inadvertence (sahw).

f) Before the bowing (rukū‘) in the standing position, if one doubts (fifty-fifty) whether they are performing the fourth or fifth unit (Rak’ah), one should sit down without bowing (rukū‘), recite the testament of faith (tashahhud) [the two fundamental pillars of faith], recite the concluding salutation (salam), and thereafter perform either a one-unit (Rak’ah) while standing or a two-unit (Rak’ahs) while sitting precautionary prayer.2

Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi: If one has a doubt between “three, four, and five” while standing, he must sit down. The doubt then effectively becomes a doubt between two, three, and four. He should assume that it is four, complete the prayer, then perform two rakʿahs of precautionary prayer while standing, followed by two rakʿahs while sitting. As an additional precaution, he should also repeat the original prayer.

1. Previously, it was mentioned that if one of these three doubts arises before the praying person has finished the second prostration (sajdah), the prayer is invalid.

2. There are some other cases of valid doubts which are mentioned in detailed fiqhī books, but normally these don’t arise very frequently.