He also prayed five rakahs in the noon prayer. He was asked, “Has the prayer been increased?” He replied, “What do you mean?” They said, “You prayed five rakahs.” He then performed two prostrations after giving salām. Agreed upon 1.
He also said, “If any of you doubts during his prayer and does not know how many rakahs he has prayed—three or four—let him cast aside the doubt and build upon what he knows with certainty. Then let him perform two prostrations before giving salām. If he has prayed five rakahs, they will make his prayer even-numbered; and if he has prayed the correct number, they will be a humiliation for Satan.” Reported by Ahmad and Muslim 2.
119—He may perform the prostrations before or after giving salām 3.
120—(The prostration of recitation is recommended for the reciter and the listener, both during and outside the prayer) 4, 5.
(1) Recorded by al-Bukhārī, 1/403–405, and Muslim, no. 572.
(2) Recorded by Ahmad, 3/83, and Muslim, no. 571.
(3) There is no *tashahhud* after the prostrations of forgetfulness, as the Shaykh established. *Al-Mukhtārāt al-Jaliyya*, p. 36.
(4) B and T read: “It is recommended for the reciter and the listener, upon the recitation of a verse of prostration, to perform a single prostration, whether during or outside the prayer.”
(5) The Shaykh explained that when the prostration of recitation is performed during prayer, it is governed by the rulings of prayer. When performed outside prayer, however, it is a supplication and may be performed without ritual purity and without facing the qibla. It is not subject to the general prescriptions governing prayer but is more akin to supplication. The same applies—and with even greater reason—to the prostration of gratitude. *Al-Mukhtārāt al-Jaliyya*, p. 36.