and does not know whether he has prayed three units or four, let him set aside his doubt and proceed on the basis of what he knows with certainty. Then let him perform two prostrations before the final salutation of peace. If he has prayed five units, these two prostrations will make his prayer even; otherwise, they will serve to humiliate Satan.” Another wording states:

“If his prayer was complete, they will serve as a humiliation.”

Thus, he likened these two prostrations to a sixth unit that pairs with the fifth unit added out of forgetfulness. This indicates that the person is rewarded for that additional unit, because he believed it was needed to complete the obligatory prayer and performed it to draw closer to Allah, even though this belief was mistaken. This also indicates that someone who, through his own effort to discern what is correct, performs something he believes to be an act of devotion is rewarded for it even if he is mistaken—although performing it would be forbidden to him if he knew it was not an act of devotion.

Furthermore, the two prostrations of forgetfulness are performed either before the final salutation or shortly thereafter. They are therefore connected to the prayer and included within it, and thus form part of it. Moreover, they make up for deficiencies in the prayer, so they are like a part of it. They also involve entering into and being released from the restrictions of prayer, for one concludes them with the salutation of peace and recites the testimony of faith. Their status as prayer is therefore even more firmly established than that of the funeral prayer.

In short, the two prostrations of forgetfulness are of the same kind as the two prostrations within the prayer, not of the same kind as