My Personal Experience with Qabli and Ba'di

 

Written by Safa Alhassan 

I never really understood the sujood of forgetfulness. I've had people explain it to me, but I've always been really confused about it, because I keep asking "what if?" and then mix it up all over again. If we are being honest, i guess its the same for you as well. Don't be shy, there's no such thing as perfection my friend. Anyway let me tell you a little story.

You see, growing up, I've always only prayed behind my father, and I've never really had the responsibility of carrying the prayers on my shoulders. Been a soft girl since way back man! And I mean all five daily prayers including Ramadan. I do them behind my father. However if i am away, let's say at school or for some reason i just didn't get to pray in congregation then i do it myself. It’s been a family tradition and one that I grew up to be proud of.

In the earlier days, when I left home for university, I realised that just as I now have huge responsibilities over myself, my wellbeing and every other thing my parents have always helped me with (which was apparently everything), I now also have a responsibility over an important aspect of my life: my salah.

When I first started making these mistakes and hadn’t fully understood them, I remember some of the earliest lessons I got about it back in the university mosque during my first year as a fresher. Honestly, it was so confusing. I had a million questions, and I kept mixing things up. I couldn’t quite understand which part came first or what the exact process was. It became one of the most challenging aspects of salah for me because I had so many “what ifs.” What if I left already before realising I’d forgotten something? What if I didn’t recite a surah after Surah Al-Fatiha? What if I added two extra raka’ahs by mistake? What if I couldn’t even remember how many raka’ahs I’d done at all? What if I bowed twice in one raka’ah without meaning to? What if I stood up when I was supposed to sit? What if I forgot to say the first tashahhud? What if I recited something in the wrong order? What if my mind wandered so much that I couldn’t even remember where I was in the prayer? And trust me, there were plenty more “what ifs” where those came from.

This is the first time, in my early teen years, that I truly set out to understand what it means to forget in prayer. It was a little overwhelming, I can’t even lie especially because I began doubting myself and questioning the validity of my prayers. Oftentimes, when I’m at this crossroad, I just say “Astagfirullah” and start my prayers again from the beginning. But you see, that wasn’t the only issue for me. At that age, I didn’t really understand that it’s okay and completely human to make mistakes in salah (prayers) or even forget the exact number of raka’ahs I’ve prayed. So I’d beat myself up and feel guilty for being “reckless,” even when it wasn’t intentional. In the end, I’d just feel frustrated and start all over again. 

I felt like, out of all the things I do, this one which is my own prayer should be the thing I always get right. So when I would forget or get distracted, I’d feel like I was messing up the most important meeting of my life with my Creator. Sometimes, in the middle of prayer, a thought would just pop into my head and I’d lose track completely. I’d think, Why in the world would this happen now? Why, during the most important conversation with my Lord? And then I’d conclude, I must be a weak Muslim. Does this sound familiar?

Anyway, these were the thoughts I used to beat myself up over. Back then, as a teenager still figuring things out, i had a very strict way of seeing the world. To me it was either black or white, right or wrong and nothing in between. And I didn’t yet realise that all those whispers of doubt, doubting yourself, doubting your prayer, becoming overly self-conscious, blaming yourself, sinking into self-pity were all from shaytan. Yes, all of them. He is the source of every negative thought, especially the kind that makes you want to give up or feel unworthy. He is very jobless so he has time. His sole purpose is your downfall and he will come in every way possible to make sure that you are not happy and that he ruins anything that is beneficial to you. He comes subtly as innocent thoughts at first, creeping in gently and sometimes even comes to you through a friend or an ally.

But here’s the truth: is it okay to forget in your prayer? Yes, my dear friends, it totally is. And like every other mistake you’ve ever made, Allah’s love and mercy are always there and ready to guide you back and make it easier for you.

Let me give you a picture. Imagine you’ve applied for a high-level job and you’re invited for an interview with the President himself. Because this role means working closely with him, the interview is incredibly important. You’re nervous, you’ve polished your shoes, your suit is perfect, but still you’re sweating. You don’t want to make a single mistake. During the interview, you don’t exactly mess up, but maybe you stutter here and there, maybe the nerves get to you. Anyone would, right? And in the end, for reasons beyond your control, you’re not chosen or maybe someone with better qualifications who happens to be the nephew of the President got the role. You didn't even stand the chance in the first place. But do you know with Allah it's different? I'll tell you how. 

Now imagine this: when you go to pray, you’re meeting with the King. Not just any king, but the King of Kings, the Master, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. And yet… you’re so comfortable in this meeting that your mind starts wandering. You start thinking about some lousy errands or rush to finish so you can get back to something else, sometimes even delaying the prayer until later. You have no idea with your small brain what He is capable of doing. He only gives you the knowledge of things that He wishes to give to you. You and I are frail and unintelligent and dirty. We don’t have anything and we are nothing before Him. We are not even up to a speck of dust before Him yet we have the nerve with our lousy free will to do as we wish?

The truth is, if this was a meeting with the most powerful human you could think of, you wouldn’t dare be late. You wouldn’t dare be distracted. But with Allah, who owns everything from the mountains to the seas, to everything that has ever existed and everything there ever is, who holds your life entirely in His hands, who could change your world in the blink of an eye, who knows and controls what you can’t even begin to imagine, you stroll in distracted. That’s not just brave… that’s foolish.

And yet here’s the part that humbles me every time. This same Lord, with all power, majesty, and authority, is also the Most Loving, the Most Kind, the Most Forgiving. He knows you better than you know yourself. He forgives you quicker than you can ask.

Think about it: five times a day, you have a personal meeting with Him. No secretary, no security checks, no queues, nothing, no fine, you don't need to do anything out of the world. Just get yourself to the prayer mat and Allah is already waiting for you. And beyond that, He descends to the lowest heaven in the last third of the night in a way that befits His Majesty, calling out: “Who will ask of Me so that I may give them?” And i swear to you, this prayer you say and everything and anything you ask of Him at that moment, He will give it you. He’s there, every time, listening to you alone as though you were the only one speaking, even though He is listening to billions of others at the same moment. He hears you and He hears multiple others in their gazillions. Animals, humans, jinns, angels, plants, mountains and everything that exists that are hidden and apparent are praying to Him. He hears them all at the same time without confusing their voices. And He gives each and every one of them His attention and His love. 

I’m always in awe when I think of how Allah is to us and to me specifically. I can’t even fathom that kind of love. It’s excessive, boundless, and so pure. Nobody who has ever existed in this world will love you that way. Nobody! Not your parents, your siblings, not your children. Nobody’s love even comes close to this love.

People will always expect something in return when they give you something, even if they don’t say it out loud. But can you imagine this kind of love, where you have absolutely nothing to give back? Nothing you own or do could ever benefit Him. Even your prayers. Those very prayers you think you’re offering perfectly are not perfect. Yet He accepts them purely out of His mercy and love.

You could wrong Him a thousand times, and every single time you turn back, He forgives you. Could you do that with people? Not even with your parents. Who would you keep wronging over and over again, knowing they’d keep taking you back? Tell me, who in this world can you rely on to have your back one hundred and one percent and never let you down? That kind of person doesn’t exist.

Only Allah. My Allah. Your Allah.

It reminds me of the beautiful hadith Qudsi where the Prophet (SAW) narrated that Allah said:

"I am as My servant thinks of Me, and I am with him when he remembers Me. If he remembers Me to himself, I remember him to Myself. If he mentions Me in an assembly, I mention him in an assembly better than it. If he draws near to Me a handspan, I draw near to him an arm’s length. If he comes near to Me an arm’s length, I draw near to him a fathom’s length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him running.”

(Sahih al-Bukhari 7405, Sahih Muslim 2675)

This is one of my favourite Hadiths, but it frightens me at the same time. Just read that again slowly. This is the King of Kings speaking. The Lord of the heavens and the earth. The One who has no need for us. Yet He runs towards us when we take even the smallest steps towards Him. That’s not just love. It’s love in its purest, most forgiving, most patient form. And it’s yours, always. 

You can’t even walk into your village chief’s palace without permission. You can’t step into the White House and demand to see the President. But you can lay a mat anywhere in the world, whisper “Allahu Akbar,” and you are in the presence of the King of Kings.

And here’s the most beautiful part: when you make a mistake in that meeting, when you forget a raka’ah, add an extra movement, or get confused, He doesn’t cast you away. He doesn’t punish you. He gives you a way to fix it, easily and lovingly. That is the Sujood As-Sahw, the sujood of forgetfulness.

Even the doubts you feel after prayer, the guilt that makes you want to start over again and again, that’s not from Allah. That’s from Shaytan, who knows the benefit and sweetness your prayer brings to your heart and wants to rob you of it. Everything from Allah is pure. From Him comes ease. And for forgetfulness in prayer, He’s given you the remedy.

Sometimes I marvel at the religion. One of the miracles of it is how it is absolutely complete. There is nothing and no question you could ever ask that hasn’t already been answered by Allah. It’s amazing. 

This is another very basic analogy, and in no way compared to the love Allah has for us, Astagfirullah, but can you imagine how your mum loves you so much that your lunchbox for school is always complete, down to the cutlery, water in your bottle, and even plans for when she couldn’t cook your lunch? She sends it through the nannies or caretakers, or pays for food to be brought to you from the school cafeteria. At least I know my mum did that for me as a child. She always just had a solution. My point is that, think about all the things your mum would do for you selflessly out of the love she has for you. 

Now imagine my Allah whose love for me is more than that of a mother to a child.

He loves us so much that He has provided everything we could ever need and even those we didn't know we need yet, all for our comfort.

Just as I've made mistakes growing up and learnt better, I would love for you to learn about the sujood of forgetfulness (Sujood As-Sahw) and probably pick up a lesson or two from my story. Here is an explanation that is very comprehensive and basic about the two sujoods of forgetfulness, which I’ve nicknamed: The Knights of the Salah. 

So, picture this. You are in your room and just finished praying. You did salaam, turned your head right and left, smiled at the air, and then… your brain whispered, “Did you pray three or four raka’ahs?”

Cue panic.

And that’s how it happens. The sujood of forgetfulness comes in when you make a mistake in prayer. Either you forgot something, or you added something, or you got confused in the middle. And Allah, out of His endless mercy, gave us a way to fix it without tearing everything down and starting again.

Now there are two types of these “sujoods of forgetfulness.” Like two superheroes that come in at different times depending on what went wrong. They are called Qabli and Ba’di. 

If you forget something like a part of the prayer that should have been done and you realise before you say salaam, then you call in Qabli. This knight comes before the end of the prayer. All you need to do is to just do two extra sujoods before you say salaam. It is very easy.

But if you finish praying and say salaam and you're already done, and only then your brain goes “Ha-ha! You forgot!” or “Oops, you added an extra raka’ah!” then you call in Ba’di. This one comes after you’ve already said salaam. All you do in this case is to simply do two sujoods right after and say salaam again.

The Prophet (SAW) himself showed us both ways.

One time, he forgot and prayed only two raka’ahs for a four raka’ah prayer. He said salaam, stood up and left. But a companion (Dhul-Yadayn) gently asked, “Ya Rasulullah, was the prayer shortened or did you forget?” The Prophet (SAW) realised what had happened, came back, completed the prayer, and then after the salaam, he did two sujoods. (Sahih Bukhari & Muslim)

Another time, the Prophet (SAW) said:

“If one of you is unsure in his prayer and does not know how many raka’ahs he has prayed, let him ignore what he is unsure of and build on what he is sure of, then do two sujoods before saying the salaam.”

(Sahih Muslim)

See? It’s not complicated at all. Allah sees your heart and He knows that you will make mistakes. You are human. He is not asking you to restart your prayer or do something extraordinary. He loves you with all your flaws and only wants ease for you. 

And here’s something I asked that used to confuse me: “If I do the sujood of forgetfulness before salaam, do I need to say tahiyyat again after the sujood?”

The answer is no. You say your usual tashahhud, then do the two sujoods, and then straight to salaam. No need to sit back. You can just do your sujoods twice and end the prayer.

Now the beautiful part is that, in the case that you don’t even remember whether you forgot or added, or your brain is just doing musical chairs with your memory, all you should do is to just go with the number you’re sure about, and do two sujoods. Allah is so kind. Can you just imagine that? Are you not in awe of your Lord? Which of His favours can you deny? You don’t need to climb Mount Everest or Kilimanjaro, swim across the Atlantic, wrestle a lion, or pay a million dollars just because you fumbled your prayer. You don’t have to run an ultra-marathon through the Sahara or solve a thousand-piece puzzle blindfolded. Nope. Just two beautiful sujoods, and you’re done.

Till today,  I still forget sometimes. But now, when I do, I smile instead of being worked up. I do Sujood Qabli or Sujood Ba’di, whichever one fits. Because my Lord has already planned for my forgetfulness. And He gave me these sujood to gently fix it.

One thing I should add is that we must never forget that just as Allah is Kind, He is also swift in punishment. Whatever we do, we should do it with the fear of Allah. Let’s remember that He sees everything and nothing escapes His knowledge. He hears, and He is ever-present in all our affairs. He is present in our prayers, in how we deal with others, or even in how we deal with ourselves. In our daily lives, let’s strive to have a pure heart and remove all traces of envy, jealousy, wickedness, arrogance, backbiting, slander, gossip, and everything else that poisons the soul, because it ultimately reflects in how present and focused we are in our salah.

There is a very fine line in our understanding of Allah’s kindness towards us. If we go about doing wrong and then casually say, “Oh yes, Allah is kind and forgiving; He will forgive me,” without sincere effort to change, we are heading toward destruction. We must take our salah seriously, because our daily life reflects our sincerity in prayer and our attentiveness to Allah. Likewise, our prayers become a source of blessings and benefit in our lives when we perform them correctly, with the right intention, and when we put Allah above everything else. Do you understand me? It’s a very thin line.

So yeah, that’s the story. I think the most important lesson I learnt from this is that it's totally fine to make mistakes.

Think about it: you can miss a raka’ah, forget an important part of your prayer, or confuse how many raka’ahs you’ve done, and Allah still gives you a simple, gentle way to fix it with two short prostrations. No harsh punishment or impossible conditions. No “you’re done for.” Just two beautiful sujoods and that’s it. All thanks to a Lord who loves you far more than you can ever comprehend.

That right there is a life lesson. You see, if Allah, our Master and Creator treats our forgetfulness with such gentleness, then how much more should we treat ourselves with gentleness when we stumble in life? How much more should we avoid tearing ourselves down for every mistake? And if Allah, who knows our innermost flaws, still offers us a way back, then we have no business looking at others with harsh judgment when they make mistakes.

I’ve realised that a lot of our self-doubt, guilt, and low self-esteem comes from believing that a single mistake defines us. We think, “I failed, therefore I’m a failure.” But a lesson from Sujood As-Sahw says otherwise. It says: “Yes, you slipped but here’s how to get up again.” It teaches us that messing up doesn’t make us worthless. Forgetting doesn’t make us weak. What matters is what you do after. Do you stay down? Or do you take the simple step back to Allah?

And it’s not just about prayer. In daily life, you might mess up at work, in your studies, in your relationships, in keeping up with your goals, or even in your faith. You might get distracted in the middle of an important conversation. You might forget a promise you made. You might react badly to someone. And just like in salah, shaytaan will rush in with whispers: “You’ve ruined it. You’re not good enough. Why even try again?” But that’s a lie. The ways back to Allah and to becoming your best self are always open.

What I’ve learnt from Sujood As-Sahw is that life is about course correction. Allah doesn’t expect perfection from us but He expects effort, sincerity, and humility. He wants us to acknowledge when we’ve gone off track and simply turn back. The door is always open, the path is always clear, and He is always waiting with love.

So my dear friends, be gentle with yourself. Learn to rise after you fall. And be gentle with others too, because if Allah, who knows every detail of their mistakes, still forgives and makes it easy for them to return, who are we to hold their past against them? The sujood of forgetfulness is not just a part of salah, it’s a reminder that our Lord is kind, patient, and always ready to give us another chance. And if He can do that for us, we can do the same for ourselves and for one another.