Hazrat Abu Salamah bin Abdur Rahman and Saeed bin Musayyib narrate similarly.

Imam Sahib narrates from his teacher Muhammad bin Yahya the hadith of Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him). (Imam Sahib says) I heard Muhammad bin Yahya saying that all these chains of narration from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) are preserved and established according to us, except for the narration of Abu Bakr bin Sulaiman bin Abi Hathmah. Regarding this, I have a concern in my heart that it might be mursal from the narration of Malik, Shu'ayb, and Salih bin Kaysan, because Mu'ammar, contrary to them, has mentioned Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) in the chain of narration. (And Allah knows best.) Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that the words at the end of the narration of Muhammad bin Kathir from Awza'i (1040), "And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not perform the two prostrations of forgetfulness when the people reminded him," these are not the words of Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, but rather the statement of Imam Zuhri. Have you not seen that Muhammad bin Yusuf (narration number 1041) did not mention these words in this story, nor did Ibn Wahb in the narration of Yunus, nor did Walid bin Muslim in the narration of Abdur Rahman bin Amr mention these words (see narrations number 1042, 1043)? None of the narrators whose narrations I have mentioned have stated these words, except for Abu Salih, who narrates from Imam Zuhri through Layth. Indeed, he made a mistake in the narration and caused doubt of error in his narration. Thus, he mentioned the last statement of Imam Zuhri without mentioning Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not perform the prostrations of forgetfulness on the day of Dhu’l-Yadayn (the incident), and did not remember the complete story. Whereas Layth, in the narration from Yunus, has mentioned the complete story and clarified that indeed Imam Zuhri said that on that day the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not perform the prostrations of forgetfulness, and that none of his teachers narrated to him that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed the prostrations on that day. It is not that he narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not perform the prostrations on that day. Undoubtedly, it is narrated mutawatir from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed the prostrations of forgetfulness on the day of Dhu’l-Yadayn (the incident). No one who is acquainted with the sayings of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) can deny these narrations. Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that I have already dictated the narration of Shu’bah from Sa’d bin Ibrahim from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him). I have also mentioned the routes of narration of Yahya bin Abi Kathir from Abu Salamah from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him). And I have also mentioned the chains of narration of Muhammad bin Sirin from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him). I have also narrated the narration of Dawud bin Husayn from Abu Sufyan, the freed slave of Ibn Abi Ahmad, from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed the two prostrations of forgetfulness on the day of Dhu’l-Yadayn (the incident). Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that I have mentioned the chains of narration and the words of these narrations in Kitab al-Kabir.

And the evidence for the distinction between speaking in prayer out of forgetfulness and speaking in prayer intentionally is that our opponents from among the Iraqis agree with us on the distinction between giving salam before completing the prayer intentionally and giving salam out of forgetfulness. So they obligate the one who gives salam intentionally to repeat the prayer, and they permit the one who gives salam forgetfully in the prayer to complete the prayer and to build upon what he has already prayed before the salam.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Muawiyah bin Hudaij (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) led the prayer one day, and before completing the prayer, he said the salam, although one rak'ah of the prayer was still remaining.

Sayyiduna Muawiyah bin Hudaij رضي الله عنه narrates that I prayed with the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم, and he forgot and ended the prayer with salam after two rak‘ahs. Then, when the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم finished the prayer, a man said to him,“O Messenger of Allah, you forgot and ended the prayer with salam after two rak‘ahs.”So the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم ordered Sayyiduna Bilal رضي الله عنه, and he gave the iqamah for prayer, then the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم completed the remaining rak‘ahs. I asked the people about the man who had said,“O Messenger of Allah, indeed you forgot.”I was told,“Do you recognize him?”I said,“No, but if I see him, I can recognize him.”Then a man passed by me and I said,“This is the one.”The people said,“This is Talhah bin Ubaidullah.”This is the narration of Bundar. Imam Abu Bakr رحمه الله says that this incident is different from the incident of Dhul-Yadayn, because in this incident the one who informed the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم of his forgetfulness was Talhah bin Ubaidullah, while in that incident it was Dhul-Yadayn who informed him. In the incident of Dhul-Yadayn, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم forgot during the Zuhr or Asr prayer, and in this incident, he forgot during the Maghrib prayer, not in Zuhr or Asr. In the narration of Sayyiduna Imran bin Husain رضي الله عنه, the incident of Khirbaq is a third incident, because in the narration of Imran, it is mentioned that the salam was given after the third rak‘ah, while in the incident of Dhul-Yadayn, the salam was given after the second rak‘ah. In the hadith of Imran, it is mentioned that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم (after the prayer) went into his blessed chamber, then he came out from the chamber, and in the narration of Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه, it is mentioned that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم stood leaning against a piece of wood placed crosswise in the mosque (towards the qiblah). All these evidences indicate that these are three separate incidents. Once, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم forgot and ended the prayer with salam after two rak‘ahs; another time, he forgot and ended the prayer after the third rak‘ah; and a third time, he ended the Maghrib prayer after the second rak‘ah. On all three occasions, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم spoke, then completed the remainder of his prayer.

And the evidence for the error of those who claim that if someone gives salam after the third unit out of forgetfulness and then speaks while not remembering that some of his prayer remains, that he must repeat the prayer, is that this statement is contrary to the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.

Sayyiduna Imran bin Husain (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) ended the prayer after the third rak‘ah of ‘Asr, then he stood up and went into the blessed chamber. Then Khirbaq, a man with long arms, called out to him and said,“O Messenger of Allah, has the prayer been shortened?”So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came out angrily, dragging his cloak, and inquired about the matter. He was informed (that one rak‘ah had been left). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) performed the missed rak‘ah, then performed two prostrations, then gave salam. These are the words of Bundar’s narration—while other narrators have reported the words: then he gave salam, then performed two prostrations, then gave salam.

And the command regarding the two prostrations of forgetfulness if one prays five (units) without adding a sixth to them, and the evidence against the statement of those among the Iraqis who claimed that if he sat in the fourth (unit) for the duration of the tashahhud, he should add a sixth to the fifth, then perform the two prostrations of forgetfulness; and if he did not sit in the fourth (unit) for the duration of the tashahhud, then he must repeat the prayer. They claimed this, and this statement is an opinion from among them, contrary to the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, which Allah, Glorified and Exalted, commanded to follow. For the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, in the fourth (unit), either sat in it or did not sit for the duration of the tashahhud. If he sat in it for the duration of the tashahhud, he did not add a sixth to the fifth as they claimed, and if he did not sit in the fourth (unit) for the duration of the tashahhud, he did not repeat his prayer from the beginning. So their statement, in any case, is contrary to the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and they did not use as evidence for their opposition to the established Sunnah of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, any Sunnah that contradicts it, neither with an authentic nor a weak narration. And this is forbidden for every scholar to oppose the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, by his own opinion or by the opinion of anyone after the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.

Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) led us in five rak‘ahs (units of prayer), so we said,“O Messenger of Allah, has a new command been revealed regarding the prayer?”He (peace and blessings be upon him) said,“No.”We said,“You have led us in such and such number of rak‘ahs.”He (peace and blessings be upon him) said,“Indeed, I am a human being; I forget just as you forget. Therefore, when any one of you forgets, he should perform two prostrations (sujood).”Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) faced the qiblah and performed two prostrations.

Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he (peace be upon him) led five rak‘ahs in the Zuhr prayer. So one of the people said, "Has something been added to the prayer?" The Prophet (peace be upon him) asked, "What (addition) is that?" He replied, "You led five rak‘ahs." So after saying the salam, the Prophet (peace be upon him) performed two prostrations. This is the hadith of Muhammad bin Bakr.