and those in a hurry had left, as noted earlier. Even if no scriptural ruling had been transmitted concerning this, it is known that this salām did not prevent completing the rest of the prayer by building upon what had already been performed. Likewise, the two prostrations of forgetfulness may be performed whenever one remembers them. If one omits them deliberately, there are two possible views:

Either one must still perform them, while bearing the sin of delaying them, just as one performs the compensatory acts required for deficiencies in Hajj. They remain an outstanding obligation until performed. Uninterrupted continuity is therefore not a condition for them, unlike the units of prayer, for which it is required when one is able. Thus, if someone deliberately ends the prayer with the salām before completing it, his prayer is invalid by universal agreement. This is because the prayer itself is a single act of worship with its own entry into and release from ritual restrictions. By contrast, the two prostrations after the salām are performed after release from the prayer’s restrictions, just as tawāf al-ifādah (the principal circumambulation of Hajj) is performed after the initial release from the pilgrim’s ritual restrictions.

Or uninterrupted continuity is a condition for these prostrations when one is able, and this requirement is waived only for an excuse, such as forgetfulness or inability, just as with continuity between the units of prayer. According to this view, whenever one delays them without an excuse, one’s prayer becomes invalid. For it has only been prescribed that they be separated from the prayer by the salām itself, and the command is to perform them immediately after the salām. Thus, whenever one knowingly and deliberately speaks, stands up, or does anything else that interrupts continuity, without an excuse, one’s prayer becomes invalid, just as it does if one omits the two prostrations before the salām.