Prayer is the foundation of faith, and the individual should strive to maintain proper focus and reflection whilst praying, and not let himself be distracted by worldly matters. But he may make a mistake in the prayer, by omitting or adding to some of its actions. This mistake needs to be compensated for, so the prostration of forgetfulness (sujud al-sahw) is prescribed in such cases. In this hadith, ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that one day the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) made a mistake in Zuhr prayer, and offered the prayer with five rak‘ahs. When he said the taslim at the end of his prayer, some of those who had prayed with him asked him: Has something been added the prayer? The aim was to ask whether something new had been introduced through revelation that had changed the ruling on the prayer, by adding to what was usually done. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said to them: “Why is that?” This is the question of one who did not realize what he did. They said: You prayed five [rak‘ahs]. So the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) knelt; he sat as for the tashahhud, then he prostrated twice, the prostration of forgetfulness. The point in this hadith is that whoever makes a mistake in his prayer, adding or omitting something by mistake because he forgot, then he remembers after saying the salaam, should turn to face towards the qiblah and do the prostration of forgetfulness, because the prostration of forgetfulness is part of completing the prayer. Even if it is done after saying the salaam, it is still part of the prayer, and it is stipulated that one should face towards the qiblah when doing it, as is required in the prayer. This hadith shows us that even the Prophets (blessings and peace of Allah be upon them) could make some mistakes in their actions, but that does not undermine the position of prophethood or undermine any of the teachings of Islam. It indicates that the prostration of forgetfulness consists of two prostrations. It indicates that it is valid to do the prostration of forgetfulness after saying the taslim at the end of the prayer..