What is Sunan an-Nasa'i 1258 about?

This hadith from Sunan an-Nasa'i (Book of The Book of Forgetfulness (In Prayer)), narrated by It was narrated that Ibrahim bin Suwaid said:, states: ""Alqamah prayed five (rak'ahs) and was told about that. He said: 'Did I really do that?' I nodded yes. He said: 'What about you, O odd-eyed one?' I said: 'Yes'. So he prostrated twice, then he narrate…"

Is this hadith authentic?

This hadith is graded Sahih. Sahih hadiths are considered the most authentic grade in hadith classification.

Which collection is this hadith from?

This hadith is from Sunan an-Nasa'i, which contains 5,768 hadiths across 52 books. It is hadith number 1258 in the Book of The Book of Forgetfulness (In Prayer).

I searched for a different number — is this the right hadith?

Hadith numbering varies across editions and translations (USC-MSA, Dar as-Salam, Fath al-Bari, and others). If you followed a link citing a different number but landed here, you may have been redirected to the canonical version in our library. If you were looking for a different hadith entirely, use the search bar to find it by text.

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#1257

#1258

Sunan an-Nasa'i

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Sunan an-Nasa'i #1258

The Book of Forgetfulness (In Prayer)

Sahih

The Arabic includes the chain of narration (sanad) and the collector's commentary; the English translation shows the Prophet's words only.

أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ رَافِعٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي يَحْيَى بْنُ آدَمَ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا مُفَضَّلُ بْنُ مُهَلْهَلٍ، عَنِ الْحَسَنِ بْنِ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ سُوَيْدٍ، قَالَ صَلَّى عَلْقَمَةُ خَمْسًا فَقِيلَ لَهُ فَقَالَ مَا فَعَلْتُ ‏.‏ قُلْتُ بِرَأْسِي بَلَى ‏.‏ قَالَ وَأَنْتَ يَا أَعْوَرُ فَقُلْتُ نَعَمْ ‏.‏ فَسَجَدَ سَجْدَتَيْنِ ثُمَّ حَدَّثَنَا عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَنَّهُ صَلَّى خَمْسًا فَوَشْوَشَ الْقَوْمُ بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَى بَعْضٍ فَقَالُوا لَهُ أَزِيدَ فِي الصَّلاَةِ قَالَ ‏"‏ لاَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ فَأَخْبَرُوهُ فَثَنَى رِجْلَهُ فَسَجَدَ سَجْدَتَيْنِ ثُمَّ قَالَ ‏"‏ إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ أَنْسَى كَمَا تَنْسَوْنَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

"Alqamah prayed five (rak'ahs) and was told about that. He said: 'Did I really do that?' I nodded yes. He said: 'What about you, O odd-eyed one?' I said: 'Yes'. So he prostrated twice, then he narrated to us from 'Abdullah that the Prophet (ﷺ) prayed five (rak'ahs), and the people whispered to one another, then they said to him: 'Has something been added the prayer?' He said: 'No.' So they told him, and he turned around and prostrated twice, then he said: 'I am only human; I forget as you forget.'"

Narrated by It was narrated that Ibrahim bin Suwaid said:

Context

In this hadith, Alqamah prayed five rak'ahs and was questioned about it. The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) was informed, and he acknowledged that he could forget just like others. This incident highlights the human nature of the Prophet (ﷺ) and serves as a reminder that mistakes can happen even in acts of worship, and there are ways to rectify them, such as performing prostrations for forgetfulness.

Modern Application

In daily prayers, it's important to remember that everyone can make mistakes, including forgetting parts of the prayer. If you realize a mistake, you can correct it by performing prostrations of forgetfulness, which helps maintain focus and humility in worship.

Topics

This hadith is tagged with Prayer and Prostration (Sujud) because it illustrates the importance of acknowledging mistakes in prayer and the prescribed method of correcting them through prostration.

Prayer Prostration (Sujud)