Too many rakats

[Human_Being]

K um so I made a mistake i did 4 rakats instead of 3 for maghrib an it wasn't like i forgot how many i did it was more like i thot for some strange reason i was supposed to do 4 then about five minutes after finishing i sat down and realised i did 4 when i was only supposed to do 3 what shud i do?

im still learning to pray but i should know by now off by heart how many fard rakats to do for each prayer time. Haven't learned how many for reccomended extra sunnah ones but inshallah ill work up to that like.

[Ramadhan]

When you remember your mistake AFTER you finished your shalah fard, there's nothing that you can do. Of course you have the option to repeat it, although I'm not sure if it's compulsory to repeat shalah fard. Just be careful next time.
But when you can't remember which rakaat you are in, or that you are doing some mistakes WHILE still performing shalah fard, here's what you can do:
- you can't remember whether you're in second or third rakaat --> just pick whichever you have more confidence, or pick the earliest if you absolutely have no confidence, and then later after thiyyat akhiur (the last sitting) you can perform sujood sahwy before you say your salam. Just prostrate twice and you may say "subhanallah rabiyyyal a'la wabihamd" like what you say in your normal prostration or just "astaghfirullah".
- The same goes for any major mistakes during shalah, for example you forgot to do your tahiyyat awwal sitting. Sujood sahwy is to acknowldge your mistakes and ask for forgiveness during shalah.

[ahmed_indian]

salaam alaikum