Sajda al-Sahw for Returning from Standing to Sitting

Question

In a four-rak'a fard prayer the imam forgot to perform the first sitting and stood up for the third rak'a, then sat down; in this, a return from the higher to the lower (ruju' min al-a'la ila al-adna) took place. What is the ruling on the prayer in this case — is it valid or not? Will the imam be sinful or not? What is the position of Imam Abu Hanifa ﵀, and which is the view on which the fatwa is given (mufta bihi)?

Answer

The preponderant view (arjah) is that the prayer does not become fasid by this; sajda al-sahw will be necessary. This return from the higher to the lower is not for the sake of abandoning the higher, but for the sake of performing the higher in a complete manner: [ar]وإن عاد الساهي عن القعود الأول إليه بعد أن استتم قائمًا اختلف التصحيح في فساد صلاته، وأرجحها عدم الفساد، وقد…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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