The regular prayer has two prostrations in every rak'ah (see How to Pray). Three more prostrations exist outside that pattern, each with its own trigger:
| Prostration | When | How many |
|---|---|---|
| Sujud al-sahw — forgetfulness | You made a mistake in the prayer, or are unsure what you prayed | Two, at the end of the prayer |
| Sujud al-tilawah — recitation | You recite or hear one of the prostration verses of the Quran | One |
| Sujud al-shukr — thanks | Good news reaches you | One |
Sujud al-sahw: when you make a mistake
The Prophet ﷺ made mistakes in prayer himself, and said so plainly: "I am a human being and I forget … so when I forget, remind me."5 How he repaired them is the whole of this ruling. Sujud al-sahw is two prostrations, exactly like the ordinary ones, each begun and ended with Allahu Akbar. It is for three kinds of slip:
- You left something out. He once stood up after the second rak'ah without sitting for the tashahhud; at the end he "said Takbir before Taslim and performed two prostrations while sitting and then finished the prayer with Taslim."1
- You added something. He once prayed five rak'ahs of Dhuhr; when told, he "performed two prostrations of Sahu after Taslim."2
- You are unsure. If you don't know whether you have prayed three rak'ahs or four, the Prophet ﷺ said you "should cast aside [your] doubt and base [your] prayer on what [you are] sure of," then "perform two prostrations before giving salutations."4 So if you can't tell whether you prayed three or four, count three, pray the fourth, and make the two prostrations.
What sahw cannot do is replace a pillar of the prayer. If you missed a bowing, a prostration, or a whole rak'ah, you make it up first — as the Prophet ﷺ did when he ended a four-rak'ah prayer after two, then "offered two more rak'at and performed Taslim" and then the prostrations.3141516
How to do it
- 1
Finish the final tashahhud
Complete the prayer up to the final sitting, with the tashahhud.
- 2
Two prostrations
Say Allahu Akbar and prostrate; rise and sit briefly; say Allahu Akbar and prostrate again; then rise and sit. Glorify God in them as in any prostration.3
- 3
End the prayer
End with the tasleem. Whether the two prostrations come before or after the tasleem is where the schools differ:
Both timings are found in the Prophet's ﷺ own practice, which is why the schools landed differently. If you are praying behind an imam, he does the prostrations and you follow him.
Sujud al-tilawah: the prostration of recitation
Quran.com marks fourteen verses of the Quran with a prostration sign — places where the text itself speaks of bowing down to God.13 When you recite one, or hear it recited, you prostrate once. The Prophet ﷺ did so publicly: when he recited An-Najm in Mecca, everyone with him prostrated,6 and when he recited As-Sajdah the crowd was so large that "some of us … would not find a place (for our foreheads) to prostrate on."7 The Prophet ﷺ described Satan's reaction to a believer's prostration: "the son of Adam was commanded to prostrate, and he prostrated and Paradise was entitled to him and I was commanded to prostrate, but I refused and am doomed to Hell."11
| # | Surah | Verse |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al-A'raf (7) | 206 |
| 2 | Ar-Ra'd (13) | 15 |
| 3 | An-Nahl (16) | 50 |
| 4 | Al-Isra (17) | 109 |
| 5 | Maryam (19) | 58 |
| 6 | Al-Hajj (22) | 18 |
| 7 | Al-Furqan (25) | 60 |
| 8 | An-Naml (27) | 26 |
| 9 | As-Sajdah (32) | 15 |
| 10 | Sad (38) | 24 |
| 11 | Fussilat (41) | 38 |
| 12 | An-Najm (53) | 62 |
| 13 | Al-Inshiqaq (84) | 21 |
| 14 | Al-'Alaq (96) | 19 |
The schools count fourteen or fifteen in all: the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools add a second prostration in Al-Hajj (22:77), and schools differ over whether the one in Sad is a prostration of recitation or of thanks — Ibn 'Abbas said "the prostration of Sad is not a compulsory one but I saw the Prophet (ﷺ) prostrating while reciting it."9 The best-known Maliki position counts eleven, leaving out the three in the last part of the Quran — though Abu Hurayrah prostrated at Al-Inshiqaq and said the Prophet ﷺ had done so.10141516
How to do it
- In the prayer: at the verse, say Allahu Akbar and go down into one prostration, glorify God as in any prostration, say Allahu Akbar and stand back up, and continue reciting or bow.
- Outside the prayer: the same single prostration — most scholars require wudu and facing the qibla for it, as for prayer.141516
Sujud al-shukr: the prostration of thanks
"When anything came to the Prophet (ﷺ) which caused pleasure (or, by which he was made glad), he prostrated himself in gratitude to Allah."12 It is a single prostration, made whenever good news reaches you — a birth, a recovery, a relief — outside the prayer, wherever you are. The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools recommend it; Abu Hanifah and Malik did not regard it as a sunnah, so practice varies by community.141516
In short
- Made a mistake? Make up any missed pillar, then two extra prostrations at the end — before or after the salam depending on your school.
- Recited a prostration verse? Prostrate once, then carry on.
- Heard good news? Prostrate once in thanks.
For the rest of the prayer life, see Beyond the Five.