[Q 642] Standing for Fifth Rak‘ah in Sunnah Prayer

QUESTION:

If someone forgot and stood up after tashahud of 4th rakat and also did the sajda of 5th rakat in 4 sunnate mu’akda of zuhr. What will be the ruling. Please guide

ANSWER:

If a person stands up for the fifth Rak‘ah (unit of prayer) after performing the Qa‘dah Akhirah (final sitting) and before making Salam (ending the prayer), then the ruling is that as long as he has not performed the Sajdah (prostration) of the fifth Rak‘ah, he should return to the sitting position and perform two Sajdahs of Sajdah Sahw (prostration of forgetfulness). Since this person stood up after having performed the Qa‘dah Akhirah, there is no need to recite At-Tahiyyat again before Sajdah Sahw. Rather, upon returning, he should perform Sajdah Sahw without reciting At-Tahiyyat, then recite At-Tahiyyat again as usual and complete the prayer with Salam. The four Rak‘ahs will be valid according to the intention with which they were started, such as the four Sunnah Mu’akkadah (emphasized Sunnah) of Zuhr mentioned in the question.

However, if he has already performed the Sajdah of the fifth Rak‘ah, then he may no longer end the prayer after five Rak‘ahs because there is no prayer consisting of five Rak‘ahs. Instead, he should add one more Rak‘ah, making a total of six Rak‘ahs. In this case, the last two Rak‘ahs will count as Nafl (voluntary prayer), while the first four Rak‘ahs will be valid according to the original intention with which they were begun. However, because there was a delay in making Salam after the first four Rak‘ahs, Sajdah Sahw (prostration of forgetfulness) will also become Wajib (necessary). By performing Sajdah Sahw, the prayer will be valid.

These rulings apply to the case where a person stood up for the fifth Rak‘ah after performing the Qa‘dah Akhirah. If someone stands up for the fifth Rak‘ah without having performed the Qa‘dah Akhirah, then the ruling is different and has its own detailed explanation.

It is stated in Munyat al-Musalli and its commentary Ghunyat al-Mutamalli:

“وان سھا عن القعدۃ الاخیرۃفی ذوات الاربع وقام الی الخامسۃیعود الی القعدۃ ما لم یسجد للخامسۃ…ویتشھد ویسلم ویسجد للسھو لتاخیر القعدۃ…وان قعد فی آخر الرکعۃ الرابعۃ ثم قام قبل ان یسلم یعود ایضا ما لم یسجد ویسلم لیخرج عن الفرض بالسلام … ويسجد للسھو لانہ اخر واجبا وھو السلام بسبب فعل زائد لم یلحق بالصلوۃ”
(Munyat al-Musalli ma‘a Ghunyat al-Mutamalli, pp. 399–400, Quetta edition)

Answered by: Mubashir Attari (AskMufti Scholar)
Verified by: Mufti Sajid Attari
Translated answer
Date: 4th June 2026