Title: How to Amend Mistakes during Prayers? Question: I want if possible a large explanation on making correction in prayers when you forgot a part of it. ALI BOUREIMA MAMADOU Answer: Though it would have been easier to give a specific answer to your question, if you had mentioned the specific mistake that one may have committed during prayers, yet as a principle, if any of the essential elements of Sala'h has been missed (as for instance the Qiyaam , the Ruku` , the Sajdah , the Qa`dah or the Salaam ), then one should perform the missed element, if he is reminded of the element so missed either before the end of his prayers or immediately afterwards and then at the end of the prayer (before performing the two Salaams ) he should go into prostration twice, after which he should perform the Salaam . This prostration is known as ' Sajdah-e-Sahav ' (the prostration in recompense for the errors committed). This prostration indicates that if Satan succeeded in driving our minds away from Sala'h , we, as a recompense for our mistake, would perform the deed which Satan hates most - that is, to prostrate before the Almighty - one additional time. If on the other hand, a person who has missed any of the essential elements of Sala'h but realizes his mistake quite sometime after having completed his Sala'h , he would be recommended to repeat his Sala'h and perform the Sajdah-e-Sahav at the end of the repeated Sala'h . If the person has performed all of the essential parts of Sala'h , but has missed out on a small part of Sala'h , which does not alter the overall shape of the Sala'h , as for instance, forgetting to recite a particular supplication or a tasbeeh , then he does not need to perform the missed part of the Sala'h. He should only perform the Sajdah-e-Sahav at the end of Sala'h after which he should perform the Salaam. I hope this helps. Regards, Moiz Amjad September 17, 2001