Should a person do the prostration of forgetfulness for absentmindedness?
Question

                Should a person do the prostration of forgetfulness (sujood al-sahw) in every prayer, on the grounds that his mind is bound to have wandered a little?.
Praise be to Allah.
      We have previously listed the reasons for which it is 
      prescribed to do the prostration of forgetfulness in prayer, which are 
      that a person has done something extra or omitted something, or he is 
      confused about his prayer and does not know how many rak’ahs he has 
      prayed. See question no. 12527 

    What is mentioned in the question about doing the prostration 
    of forgetfulness because of one’s mind wandering is not one of the reasons 
    for which the prostration of forgetfulness is prescribed. Shaykh al-Bahooti 
    (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: 

    The prostration of forgetfulness is prescribed when one of 
    the reasons for it is present, namely doing something extra, omitting 
    something, or not being sure (of how many rak’ahs one has prayed), except in 
    the case of janaazah (funeral) prayer. This does not include when one’s mind 
    wanders, because it is not possible to avoid it, so it is forgiven.

    Kashshaaf al-Qinaa’, 2/465. 
The Standing Committee 
    was asked: When I say the opening takbeer and start to recite al-Faatihah, I 
    always lose my focus and my mind strays to matters other than prayer, until 
    I finish the prayer… 

    They replied: 

    Your prayer is valid if you have done all the obligatory 
    parts of the prayer. Our advice to you is to ward off the Shaytaan from 
    yourself as much as you can and strive your utmost, until these whispers 
    depart from you and the plot of the Shaytaan is foiled. 

    Something that will help you to do that is turning to Allaah 
    and seeking refuge in Him from the Shaytaan when beginning to recite, and to 
    say that quietly to yourself all the time; pondering the meanings of the 
    Qur’aan in such a way as to make you think of the greatness of Allaah; 
    reciting takbeer (Allaahu akbar – Allaah is Most Great), tahleel (La ilaaha 
    ill-Allaah – there is no god except Allaah), tasbeeh (Subhaan Allaah- glory 
    be to Allaah) and tahmeed (Al-hamdu Lillaah – praise be to Allaah); 
    remembering that you are standing before Allaah and conversing with Him in 
    your prayer and that you must observe proper etiquette with Him; focusing on 
    what you say when you speak to Him and call upon Him in du’aa’; hoping that 
    Allaah will ward off these whispers and save you from the traps of the 
    Shaytaan and that He will help you to turn to Him and turn away from the 
    Shaytaan. 

    Fataawa al-Lajnah, 7/156. See 
    also 7/36. 
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may 
    Allaah have mercy on him) was asked about a woman whose mind wanders a great 
    deal whilst praying – should she repeat her prayer? 

    He replied: 

    Waswaas (whispers) come from the Shaytaan. What you have to 
    do is to pay attention to your prayer, focus on it and be at ease with it, 
    until you are doing it as it should be done. Allaah says (interpretation of 
    the meaning): 

    “Successful indeed are the believers.
2. Those who offer their 
    Salaah (prayers) with all solemnity and full submissiveness”
    [al-Mu’minoon 23:1] 

    When the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon 
    him) saw a man who was not praying properly and was not at ease in prayer, 
    he told him to repeat it and said to him: “When you stand to pray, do wudoo’ 
    properly, then stand to face the qiblah and say takbeer. Then recite 
    whatever you can of Qur’aan, then bow until you are at ease in bowing, then 
    stand up until you are standing straight. Then prostrate until you are at 
    ease in prostration, then sit up until you are at ease in sitting, then 
    prostrate until you are at ease in prostration, then do that throughout your 
    prayer.” Agreed upon. 

    If you remember that when you are praying you are standing 
    before Allaah and conversing with Him, may He be glorified, that will prompt 
    you to be focused and humble in your prayer. It will keep the Shaytaan away 
    from you and protect you from his whispers. 

    If you experience a great deal of waswaas (whispers from the 
    Shaytaan) in your prayers, then spit drily to your left three times and seek 
    refuge with Allaah from the accursed Shaytaan three times, then he will 
    depart from you in sha Allaah. 

    The Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) 
    commanded one of his companions to do that, when he said to him: “O 
    Messenger of Allaah, the Shaytaan makes me confused about my prayer.” See 
    Saheeh Muslim, 2203. 
You do not have to 
    repeat your prayer because of waswaas, rather you have to do the prostration 
    of forgetfulness if you did something that necessitates it, such as omitting 
    the first tashahhud by mistake, or forgetting to say tasbeeh when bowing or 
    prostrating. 

    If you are not sure whether you have prayed three rak’ahs or 
    four, when praying Zuhr for example, then you should assume it is three and 
    complete your prayer (by praying another rak’ah), and do the two 
    prostrations of forgetfulness before saying the salaam. 

    If you are not sure whether you have prayed two or three 
    rak’ahs in Maghrib, then you should assume it is two and complete your 
    prayer (by praying another rak’ah), then do the two prostrations of 
    forgetfulness before saying the salaam, because this is what the Prophet 
     (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) enjoined. And Allaah is the 
    Source of strength. 

    Fataawa al-Shaykh, 11/260 
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen 
    (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked: If a person is overwhelmed by 
    wandering thoughts whilst praying, what is the ruling on his prayer? How can 
    he rid himself of these thoughts?  

    He replied: In this case, if a person is overwhelmed by 
    thoughts of either worldly matters or religious matters whilst praying, such 
    as if he is a seeker of knowledge and when he starts to pray his mind 
    wanders to thoughts of issues of knowledge, and this happens during most of 
    his prayer, most scholars are of the view that his prayer is still valid and 
    that it is not invalidated by this waswaas, but it is severely lacking. A 
    person may be distracted whilst praying so only one-half of it, or 
    one-quarter, or one-tenth or less, is recorded for him, as it says in 
    Saheeh al-Musnad, 18400; Abu Dawood, 796. 
But he has discharged 
    his duty, even if that happened a great deal. But he should be focused when 
    praying, because that is khushoo’ (proper focus and humility), and khushoo’ 
    is the essence and spirit of prayer. 

    The remedy for that is to do what the Prophet  (peace and 
    blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded, namely spitting drily to the 
    left three times and seeking refuge with Allaah from the accursed Shaytaan. 
    If he does that, Allaah will take it away. 
If a person is praying 
    in congregation, standing in the row, then he cannot spit because there are 
    people to his left. In that case he should just seek refuge with Allaah from 
    the accursed Shaytaan. If he does that and repeats it, Allaah will take that 
    away from him. And Allaah is the Source of strength. 

    Fataawa al-Shaykh, 14/88.