Doubts which are valid

1208. There are nine situations in which a person can have doubts about the number of Rak'ats in the namaz consisting of four Rak'ats. In those situations, one should pause to think, and if he arrives at any decision or probability, he should act accordingly. If doubt persists, he should follow these rules:

1. After the second Sajdah, if a person doubts whether he has performed 2 Rak'ats or 3, he should assume that he has performed 3 Rak'ats, and finish the prayers after performing one more Rak'at. And after finishing the prayers he should offer, as an obligatory precaution, 1 Rak'at of Namaz-e-Ihtiyat, standing.

2. If after the second Sajdah, a person doubts whether he has performed 2 or 4 Rak'ats, he should decide that he has performed 4 Rak'ats and finish his prayers. He should then stand up to offer 2 Rak'ats of Namaz-e-Ihtiyat.

3. If a person doubts, after the second Sajdah, whether he has performed 2, 3 or 4 Rak'ats, he should decide that he has performed 4 Rak'ats. After completing the prayers, he should perform 2 Rak'ats of Namaz-e-Ihtiyat standing, and 2 Rak'ats in the sitting position.

4. If a person doubts after the second Sajdah, as to whether he has performed 4 or 5 Rak'ats, he should decide that he has performed 4 Rak'ats and finish his prayers. After that he should perform two sajdatus sahv.
   And this rule applies to every situation of doubt between four and more Rak'ats, like, if one doubts whether he has prayed four or six Rak'ats. And there can be a situation where at one single time, one doubts whether he has performed less than four or more than four Rak'ats.
   If this doubt occurs after the second Sajdah, he will in each doubt, decide that he has performed four Rak'ats, then for a doubt that he might have performed less, he will redress it by Namaz-e-Ihtiyat, and for a doubt that he might have performed more, he will perform Sajdatus Sahv. In any of these four situations, if the doubt occurs after the first Sajdah, and before having gone into the second, the prayers will be void.

5. If a person doubts at any stage during his prayers, whether he has performed 3 or 4 Rak'ats, he should decide that he has performed 4 Rak'ats and finish his prayers. Thereafter he should offer Namaz-e-Ihtiyat of 1 Rak'at standing or of 2 Rak'ats in the sitting position.

6. If a person doubts while standing, as to whether he has performed 4 Rak'ats or 5, he should sit down and recite tashahhud and the Salam of prayers. Then he should stand up to offer Namaz-e-Ihtiyat of 1 Rak'at, or give 2 Rak'ats while sitting.

7. If one doubts, while standing, whether he has performed three or five Rak'ats, he should sit down and read tashahhud and Salam to finish the prayers. After that, he should offer 2 Rak'ats of Namaz-e-Ihtiyat standing.

8. If a person doubts while standing, as to whether he has offered 3, 4 or 5 Rak'ats, he should sit down and recite tashahhud and the Salam of prayers. Thereafter, he should offer Namaz-e-Ihtiyat of 2 Rak'ats standing, and another 2 Rak'ats in the sitting position.

9. If a person doubts, while standing, whether he has performed 5 or 6 Rak'ats, he should sit down and recite tashahhud and Salam of the prayers. Thereafter, he should perform two sajdatus sahv. In all the foregoing four situations one should, as a recommended precaution, also offer two sajdatus sahv for an extra qiyam.

1209. When a person has any of the above valid doubts, he should not break the prayers, if the time for namaz is very short. He should act according to the rules given above. In fact, even if there be ample time for namaz, it is a recommended precaution that namaz should not be broken, and the rules of redressing the situations of doubt be followed.

1210. If a person has one of those doubts for which offering of Namaz-e-Ihtiyat is obligatory, as a recommended precaution, he should offer the Namaz-e-Ihtiyat, and without doing so, he should not start praying again. And before any such act occurs which invalidates namaz, if he starts the namaz afresh, without having performed Namaz-e-Ihtiyat, it will be void. Of course, if in the meantime, an act occurred which renders namaz void, and he prayed without having offered Namaz-e-Ihtiyat, this namaz will be in order.

1211. When a person has any of those doubts which invalidate the prayers, and if he feels that by continuing to the next act, he may acquire certainty, or form a strong idea about the actual situation, he is not allowed to continue with that namaz if the doubt has occurred in the first 2 Rak'ats.
For example, if he doubts while standing, whether he has offered one Rak'at or more, and feels that if he goes into Ruku, the doubt may be allayed, it is not permissible to go to Ruku. But in all situations other than this, he can continue with the namaz if he feels that it would help him acquire certainty.

1212. If initially the feeling of a person is inclined on one side, and later both the sides become equally strong, he should act according to the rules of doubt. And if initially both sides are equally strong, and he decides to act according to his obligation, but later his feeling inclines to the other side, he should adopt it, and complete the prayers.

1213. If a person does not know whether his feeling is inclined on one side, or is equal on both sides, he should act according to the rules of doubt.

1214. If a person learns after prayers, that while in namaz, he was in a state of doubt as to whether, he offered 2 Rak'ats or 3 and that he decided in favour of 3 Rak'ats, but does not know whether his strong feeling favoured offering three Rak'ats, or whether it favoured both sides equally, he does not have to offer Namaz-e-Ihtiyat.

1215. If a person doubts after standing up, whether or not he has performed the 2 Sajdah, and simultaneously, has a type of doubt which would only be valid if it occurred after two Sajdah, like if he doubts whether he has performed two or three Rak'ats, his namaz will be valid if he acts according to the rule prescribed for that doubt.
But while in tashahhud, if he falls into a type of doubt which would be valid only if it occurred after two sajdah, assuming that he has done two Sajdah, if the remedy of that doubt was to decide upon a Rak'at which has no tashahhud, his namaz will be void. For example, if that doubt was between 2 or 3 Rak'ats. And if the remedy of the doubt was to decide upon a Rak'at which has tashahhud, his namaz will be valid, like if the doubt is between 2 and 4 Rak'ats.

1216. If a person doubts before he begins tashahhud, or before standing (Qiyam) in the Rak'ats which do not have tashahhud, whether he has performed one or both the Sajdah, and right at that moment, a doubt occurs which would only be valid if it occurred after two Sajdah, the prayers will be void.

1217. If a person doubts while standing, whether he is in third or fourth Rak'at, or whether it is third, fourth or fifth Rak'at, and at that time he remembers to have omitted one or both Sajdah of the preceding Rak'at, his prayers will be void.

1218. If one doubt of a person is allayed and another doubt takes its place, like, if he doubted first whether he had offered 2 or 3 Rak'ats, and later he doubts whether he has offered 3 or 4 Rak'ats, he should act according to the rules of the second doubt.

1219. If a person doubts after prayers, whether while in namaz, his doubt was about 2 and 4 Rak'ats or about 3 and 4 Rak'ats, he may act according to the rules of both the doubts; and also, he may break the namaz and after committing an act which invalidates namaz, he can repeat the prayers.

1220. If a person realises after prayers, that while he was in namaz, he had a doubt, but does not know whether it was a valid or unsound doubt, and further, if it was one of the valid doubts, he does not know to which type it belonged, in such a case, it is permissible for him to treat the prayers as void, and offer it again.

1221. If a person who prays in the sitting position has a doubt, which would oblige him to perform either 1 Rak'at Namaz-e-Ihtiyat standing or 2 Rak'ats in the sitting position, he should offer 1 Rak'at sitting. And if he has a doubt for which his obligation is to offer two Rak'ats of Namaz-e-Ihtiyat standing, he should offer 2 Rak'ats sitting.

1222. If a person, who normally offered prayers in the standing position, becomes unable to stand while offering Namaz-e-Ihtiyat, he should offer it as one who offers prayers in the sitting position. Rules of these have been detailed above.

1223. If a person, who normally sat when offering prayers, becomes capable of standing for offering Namaz-e-Ihtiyat, he should act according to the obligation of one who offers prayers standing.