and in Sahih Muslim: “If any of you forgets, let him perform two prostrations.” (1) This is general in meaning. But if he omits a Sunnah practice that he does not usually observe, then the prostration of forgetfulness is not prescribed for him, because it never occurred to him to do it.

Issue: Among the prescribed practices of the prayer is khushuʿ (reverent attentiveness). Khushuʿ does not mean weeping; rather, it means that the heart is present and the limbs are still—that your heart is present, mindful of what you say and do in your prayer, and conscious that you stand before Allah, Exalted is He, and are speaking privately to your Lord. There is no doubt that this is part of the prayer’s perfection, and that prayer without it is like a body without a soul.

Some scholars are of the view that khushuʿ in the prayer is obligatory, and that if intrusive thoughts prevail throughout most of the prayer, it is invalid. At first sight, this may seem problematic, and one might say: If we were to adopt this view, we would generally require people to repeat their prayers whenever they pray; and if intrusive thoughts arose during the repeated prayer, they would repeat it again—and so on without end! In my view, however, this objection does not apply. For if a person is instructed to repeat a prayer even once, then in future he will pray attentively and will not let his mind turn to anything else. Thus, the view that khushuʿ is obligatory, and that the prayer is invalid if intrusive thoughts prevail throughout most of it, is undoubtedly a weighty one, since khushuʿ is the very essence and spirit of the prayer. What detracts from the strength of this view, however, is what the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, reported: that