There is also disagreement about performing the prostrations of forgetfulness and resuming the prayer after a long interval.

One view is that, if the interval is long, one neither performs the prostrations nor resumes the prayer. Those who hold this view define a long interval on no basis beyond their own assertion. This is the position of many followers of al-Shāfiʿī and Ahmad, including al-Qādī Abū Yaʿlā and others. They say that the interval may be short even if one has left, and long even if one has remained seated.

Another view is that one may perform the prostrations as long as one remains in the mosque; once one leaves, one may no longer do so. This is the position mentioned by al-Khiraqī and others, and it is explicitly reported from Ahmad. It is also the position of al-Hakam and Ibn Shubruma. This sets a limit based on place rather than time, specifically the place of worship.

A further view is that either factor precludes performing the prostrations: a long interval or leaving the mosque. Another position transmitted from Ahmad, however, is that one performs the prostrations even after leaving the mosque and going far away. This is also one position held by al-Shāfiʿī, and it is the stronger view. Setting a limit based on place or time has no foundation in the revealed law, especially when the time has not been precisely defined. People’s customary practice provides no known boundary between a long and a short interval to which one might refer, nor is there any scriptural evidence establishing such a boundary. With regard to performing the prostrations and resuming the prayer, the scriptural evidence makes no distinction between a long and a short interval, or between leaving the mosque and remaining in it. Indeed, he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had entered his home