The imam performed sajda al-sahw and it later turned out that it was not wajib: what is the ruling on the prayer?

Question

A man was leading the prayer; he faltered in the recitation, but when he was prompted he corrected it. At the end, however, he also performed sajda al-sahw, although sajda al-sahw was not wajib at all. In such a case this was a superfluous act. So is the prayer valid, or will it have to be repeated (i‘ada)?

Answer

The prayer is valid. [ar]وَلَوْ ظَنَّ الْإِمَامُ السَّهْوَ فَسَجَدَ لَهُ فَتَابَعَهُ فَبَانَ أَنْ لَا سَهْوَ، فَالْأَشْبَهُ الْفَسَادُ لِاقْتِدَائِهِ فِي مَوْضِعِ الِانْفِرَادِ. وَفِي الْفَيْضِ: وَقِيلَ: لَا تَفْسُدُ، وَبِهِ يُفْتَى.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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