Section

As for the “second question”—when the prostrations should be performed, before or after the salām (the salutation ending the prayer)—there are several well-known views.

One view is that they should always be performed before the salām; another, that they should always be performed after it; and a third distinguishes between additions and omissions. According to this third view, there is disagreement concerning cases of doubt.

Another view is that the basic rule is to prostrate before the salām, except in those cases where the Sunnah prescribes prostrating after it. In those cases, one prostrates afterward on the authority of the text, while all remaining cases follow the basic rule. This is the well-known position reported from Ahmad. The first view is that of al-Shāfi'ī; the second, that of Abū Hanīfah; and the third, that of Mālik and Ahmad, although differing reports have been transmitted from Ahmad. Thus, concerning someone who prays five units, two positions are reported from him as to whether the prostrations should be performed before or after the salām. A position has also been attributed to him that they should always be performed before the salām, but we have found no statement of his to that effect. It has likewise been attributed to him that they should always be performed after the salām, but this is entirely mistaken.

Al-Qādī and others say: “Imam Ahmad’s statements have never differed on the point that some of these prostrations