Missed First Qadah in Asr Sunnah: Is Salah Valid?
بِسْمِ اللہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
Ruling on Leaving the First Qaʿdah of a Sunnah Ghair Muʾakkadah Salah
Darulifta Ahlesunnat (Dawateislami)
Question
What do the noble scholars and jurists of Islamic law say about the following: If one forgot to sit in the second rakʿah of the sunnahs of ʿAsr and mistakenly stood up, and then performed sajdah al-sahw at the end, is the salāh valid?
Answer
In the situation in question, when one forgetfully skipped the first qaʿdah and performed sajdah al-sahw in the end, the sunnahs are valid. The reason for this is that the sunnahs of ʿAsr are sunnah ghair muʾakkadah, which are entirely subject to the rulings of nafl. Although every qaʿdah of a nafl salāh is fard, according to the saḥīḥ (correct) opinion when one offers a nafl salāh with the intention of four rakʿāt, the first qaʿdah attains the status of wājib. Therefore, if it is omitted forgetfully, then offering sajdah al-sahw will compensate for it, just as it does for other wājibāt, and the four rakʿāt will be deemed complete.
The Imām of Ahl as-Sunnah, Imām Aḥmad Razā Khān رحمة اللہ تعالى عليه (d. 1340 AH / 1921 CE) writes:
ہمین ست حکم سنن غیر راتبہ مانند چار رکعت قبلیہ عصر و عشا کہ آنہم نافلہ بیش نیست اما سنن راتبہ رباعیہ کہ قبلیہ ظہر و جمعہ است و ہمچو سائر رواتب حکمہا دارد فائق بر احکام نفل مطلق
Translation: The ruling of sunnah ghair muʾakkadah, such as the four rakʿāt before ʿAsr and ʿIshāʾ, is that they are nafl. As for the four rakʿāt sunnah muʾakkadah, such as the sunnah before Zuhr and Jumuʿah as well as other sunnahs, their rulings go beyond the ruling of a general nafl salāh. (Fatāwā Razawiyah, Vol. 08, p. 130, Publ. Razā Foundation, Lahore)
ʿAllāmah Radī-Uddin Muḥammad Bin Muḥammad Sarakhsī رحمة اللہ تعالى عليه (d. 571 AH/1175 CE) writes:
و لو صلى أربعا تطوعا و لم يقعد في الثانية جازت استحسانا و عن محمد رحمه اللہ و هو قول زفر رحمه اللہ: لا يجوز قياسا لأن كل شفع من التطوع صلاة على حدة بدليل أنه يقرأ فيه بالفاتحة والسورة . . . لهما: أن التطوع كما شرع ركعتين شرع أربعا فلما انتقل إلى الشفع الثاني تبين أن التحريمة أوجبت أربعا فصار كالفروض من ذوات الأربع
Translation: If one offered a four rakʿāt nafl salāh and did not perform qaʿdah in the end of the second rakʿah, the salāh is valid according to istiḥsān. According to Imām Muḥammad, and this is also the opinion of Imām Zufar رحمهما اللہ, the salāh is not valid according to qiyās because each shufʿah (pair of rakʿāt) of a nafl salāh constitutes an individual salāh. This is evident by the fact that sūrah al-Fātiḥah and a sūrah are recited in each shufʿah… But the evidence of Imām Aʿzam and Imām Abū Yūsuf رحمة اللہ تعالى عليهما is: just like nafl salāh is legislated as two rakʿāt, nafl is also legislated as four rakʿāt. Hence, when one proceeds to the second shufʿah, it became clear that the takbīr taḥrīmah obligated four rakʿāt, making it like a four rakʿāt fard salāh. (Al-Muḥīt al-Radawī, Book of Salāh, Ch. of general nawāfil, Vol. 01, p. 270, Publ. Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyah, Beirut)
ʿAllāmah Burhān-Uddīn Ibrāhīm Bin Muḥammad Ḥalbī رحمة اللہ تعالى عليه (d. 956 AH / 1549 CE) writes:
و إن شرع في الأربع من التطوع سنة كان أو غيرها و لم يقعد في اخر الركعة الثانية أي ترك القعدة الأولى . . . قالا أي أبو حنيفة و أبو يوسف رحمهما اللہ و لا تفسد صلاته في الصورة المذكورة ولا يلزمه قضاء شيء لأن القعدة على رأس الركعتين من النفل لم تفرض لعينها بل لغيرها و هو الخروج على تقدير القطع على رأس الركعتين فلما لم يقطع و جعلها أربعا لم يأت أو ان الخروج فلم تفرض القعدة
Translation: If one began a four rakʿah nafl salāh, whether it is a sunnah or other than a sunnah, and they did not sit at the end of the second rakʿah, (they skipped the first qaʿdah) then Imām Abū Ḥanīfah and Imām Abū Yūsuf رحمهما اللہ state that the salāh is not invalidated in the described situation, neither is it necessary to make up for anything. This is because performing qaʿdah at the end of two rakʿāt in a nafl salāh is not fard in itself. Rather, it is fard due to an external factor, which is exiting the salāh if one were to complete the salāh at the end of the second rakʿah. But when one did not complete their salāh and made it into a four rakʿāt salāh, then the time of completing the salāh has not arrived. Hence, that qaʿdah was not fard. (Ghunyah al-Mutamallī Sharḥ Munyah al-Musallī, Ch. of nawāfil, Vol. 02, p. 172, Publ. Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyah, Beirut)
The Imām of Ahl as-Sunnah Imām Aḥmad Razā Khān رحمة اللہ تعالى عليه (d. 1340 AH / 1921 CE) writes:
فالصحيح في التراويح النيابة عن شفع واحد مطلقا و لو صلى أربعا و لم يقعد إلا في الآخر و الصحيح في غيرها صحة الكل إن صلى أربعا
Translation: The saḥīḥ opinion regarding tarāwīḥ is that, in all circumstances, one shufʿah will be counted, even if one offered four rakʿāt and did not sit except in the last qaʿdah. But in other than tarāwīḥ, the saḥīḥ opinion is that if one offered four rakʿāt then all will be valid. (Jadd al-Mumtār ʿAlā Radd al-Muḥtār, Book of Salāh, Ch. of the mustaḥabbāt, Vol. 03, p. 468, Publ. Maktaba-Tul-Madīnah, Karachi)
ʿAllāmah ʿAlāʾ-Uddīn Muḥammad Bin ʿAlī Ḥaskafī رحمة اللہ تعالى عليه (1088 AH/1677 CE) writes:
و لو ترك القعود الأول في النفل سهوا سجد و لم تفسد استحسانا
Translation: If one forgetfully skipped the first qaʿdah in a nafl salāh, they should perform sajdah al-sahw at the end, and the salāh will not become invalid according to istiḥsān. (Al-Durr al-Mukhtār Sharḥ Tanwīr al-Absār, Book of Salāh, Ch. of sajdah al-sahw, p. 100, Publ. Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyah, Beirut)
ʿAllāmah Syed Aḥmad Bin Muḥammad Taḥtāwī Ḥanafī رحمة اللہ تعالى عليه (d. 1231 AH / 1815 CE) states in the commentary of the above text:
و عدم الفساد استحسان لأنه بقيامه جعلها صلاة واحدة فتبقى القعدة واجبة و الخاتمة هي الفرض
Translation: The ruling that the salāh will not become invalid is according to istiḥsān. This is because, by standing up, he made it into a single salāh. Thus, the qaʿdah remains wājib, while only the last qaʿdah is fard. (Ḥāshiyah al-Taḥtāwī ʿAlā al-Durr al-Mukhtār, Book of salāh, Ch. of sajdah al-sahw, Vol. 02, p. 514, Publ. Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyah, Beirut)
Sadr al-Sharīʿah Muftī Muḥammad Amjad ʿAlī Aʿzamī رحمة اللہ تعالى عليه (d. 1367 AH/1948 CE) writes:
چار رکعت نفل پڑھے اور قعدۂ اولیٰ فوت ہو گیا بلکہ قصداً بھی ترک کر دیا تو نماز باطل نہ ہوئی اور بھول کر تیسری رکعت کے لیے کھڑا ہو گیا تو عود نہ کرے اور سجدۂ سہو کر لے نماز کامل ادا ہوگی۔
Translation: If one offered four rakʿah of nafl and missed the first qaʿdah, even if he did so deliberately, the salāh will not become invalid. But if one forgetfully stood up for the third rakʿah, one should not return to the qaʿdah; rather one should perform sajdah al-sahw. In this way, the salāh will be complete. (Bahār-E-Sharīʿat, Vol. 01, pt. 04, p. 667, Publ. Maktaba-Tul-Madīnah, Karachi)
وَاللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَ رَسُوْلُہ اَعْلَم صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَ سَلَّم
(Allah Almighty knows best and His Messenger صَلَّی اللہُ عَلَیْہِ وَ اٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم knows best.)
Answered By: Mufti Muhammad Qasim Attari
Ref No: FAM-1143
Date: 14th Shawwāl al-Mukarram 1447 AH / 03rd April 2026