l-Yadayn, and he instructed them to remind him. This applies so long as the imam is not absolutely certain of his own correctness; but if he is sure he is right, it is impermissible for him to yield to them, because the statement of two trustworthy men produces only probability, while certainty takes precedence over probability. The proof is the incident of Dhu’l-Yadayn: when the Prophet ﷺ was convinced that he had performed the prayer properly, he did not accept Dhu’l-Yadayn’s objection; yet once doubt arose and, through the report of Abū Bakr and ʿUmar, he realized that he had in fact forgotten, he acted on their word. Thus the hadith is evidence both for persisting when one is certain and for returning to what becomes certain after doubt arises.

12 – We have already noted that, according to the Ḥanbalī school, anything that falls short of certainty is treated as doubt, which must be set aside while one builds on what is certain. The other view is that one is obliged to act on the stronger presumption: whenever one possibility outweighs the other, he must follow it. This is the position chosen by Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah, who states that all matters of the Sacred Law rest on predominant probability, not on absolute certainty.

This principle applies in many fields of learning. Among its proofs is his ﷺ saying in this very hadith, “If any of you is uncertain about his prayer, let him seek out what is correct and complete his prayer on that basis.”

Scholarly disagreement:

The jurists have differed over the proper timing of the prostrations of forgetfulness.

• The Ḥanafīs hold that they are performed after the salām, citing al-Bukhārī’s version of this hadith: “let him complete his prayer, then give the salām, then prostrate,” as well as the report narrated by Aḥmad, Abū Dāwūd, and al-Tirmidhī from al-Mughīra, who said that the Prophet ﷺ finished the prayer, gave the salām, and then performed the two prostrations of forgetfulness, saying, “This is how I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ do it.”

• The Shāfiʿīs maintain that the prostrations come before the salām. Their evidence is the narration recorded by Muslim (571) from Abū Saʿīd in which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “then he should prostrate two prostrations before…”