Prostration
Scientific
analyses have proven that prostration rids the human brain of the excess
electrical charges which lead to stress and behavioral disorder. It is known
that stress adversely affects the body’s immunity.
Praise be to Allah that we
are Muslims.
Prostration in human history
Throughout the
ancient history, kings and dictators did not accept less than prostration as an
evidence of sincerity and loyalty to them.
A citizen in
these countries used to bow down or prostrate to them.
Position of Islam towards prostration
Islam has
prohibited bowing down or prostration except to Allah. He who
bows down to things or persons other than Allah, he disobeys Him. And if he
prostrates to other than Allah, he disbelieves in Him.
God says ﴾And of His signs are the
night, the day, the sun, and the moon. Do not prostrate to the sun or to the
moon, but prostrate to Allah, Who has created them, if it should be Him that
you worship﴿
Chapter of Detailed. Verse NO 37
●It was narrated
from Abi-Hurairah that Allah’s Apostle ﷺ
said, “The nearest a servant comes to his Lord
when he is prostrating, so increase supplication (in this state).”
Reference:
Sahih Muslim. Book 4, Hadith 245
●It was narrated
from Ibn 'Abbas that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ
said,
“I have been forbidden to recite the Holy Qur'an in the state of bowing or prostration. As for bowing, glorify Allah therein. And as for prostration, make supplication with exertion in it, that is worthy of being accepted.”
“I have been forbidden to recite the Holy Qur'an in the state of bowing or prostration. As for bowing, glorify Allah therein. And as for prostration, make supplication with exertion in it, that is worthy of being accepted.”
Reference:
Sunan Abi-Daoud. Book 2, Hadith 486
●Ibn 'Abbas
reported: The Prophet ﷺ used to say between
the two prostrations: “O Allah, forgive me, have
mercy on me, guide me, heal me, and provide for me.”
Reference:
Sunan Abi-Daoud. Book 2, Hadith 460
◊Prostration
is the highest rank of worship and body humiliation, because the highest part
of the body touches the earth.
Also, it includes turning away from this world and closing eyes to its adornment.
Also, it includes turning away from this world and closing eyes to its adornment.
A lot of the
people of Makkah were about to be convinced of Islam, but they disdained to
prostrate.
●'Abdullah
ibn Mas'ud reported:
The Prophet ﷺ recited Chapter of the Star (Surat An-Najm) at
Makkah and prostrated while reciting it.
Those who were with him did the same
except an old man who took a handful of small stones or earth and lifted it to
his forehead and said, “This is sufficient for me.”
Later on, I saw him killed
as a disbeliever.
Reference: Sahih AL-Bukhari. Book 17,
Hadith 1
Note: this old man was
Umaiyah ibn Khalaf
Prostration to Allah is a right and a fact
It
is the right of Allah upon His servants
because to Him alone is the greatness and bestowing favor upon all people even
the disbelievers. He has not deprived disbelievers from food, water, and air.
And
it is a fact as all creatures prostrate to Him,
the sane and the insane.
God says﴾And to Allah prostrates whatever is in
the heavens and whatever is on the earth of creatures, and the angels [as
well], and they are not arrogant﴿ Chapter
of Bees. Verse NO 49
﴾Do you not see that to Allah prostrates whoever is in the
heavens and whoever is on the earth and the sun, the moon, the stars, the
mountains, the trees, the moving creatures and many of the people?﴿ Chapter
of Pilgrimage. Verse NO 18
Allah has
bestowed favor upon Solomon by giving him a great kingdom.
One of Allah’s gifts
to this prophet is that He made him know the language of birds.
In the Holy
Qur'an we see the hoopoe apologizing to Solomon for its absence:
﴾But the hoopoe stayed not long and said, “I have encompassed
[in knowledge] that which you have not encompassed, and I have come to you
from Sheba with certain news (22) Indeed, I found [there] a woman ruling them, and she has been given of all things,
and she has a great throne (23) I found her and her people prostrating to the sun instead of Allah, and the
Devil has made their deeds pleasing to them and averted them from
[His] way, so they are not guided (24)
Do not they
prostrate to Allah Who brings forth what is hidden within the heavens and the
earth and knows what you conceal and what you deczwzwwwzwwzwwzwzwzwzwzwwzwwwlare﴿ (25) Chapter of Ants.
This bird, by
nature, wonders how the people of Bilqees, the Queen of Sheba, prostrate to other
than Allah.
Prostration to Allah reminds us of the Hereafter
It reminds us of
one of the scenes of the Hereafter, where all creatures bow humiliating to
Allah after the first blowing, and the universe is surrounded by deep silence.
﴾That Day, everyone will follow
[the call of] the Caller[with] no deviation therefrom, and voices will be stilled before
the Most Merciful, so you will not hear except a whisper﴿
Chapter of Ta-Ha.
Verse NO 108
﴾And faces will be humbled before the Ever-Living, the
Sustainer of existence. And he will have failed who carries injustice﴿
Chapter of Ta-Ha.
Verse NO 111
●In a part of a
tradition about the Day of Resurrection, narrated by Abi-Hurairah, the Prophet ﷺ says,
“When
Allah finishes judging His servants, and because of His mercy, decides to take
out of Hell such people as He pleases.
He will command angels to bring out
those who have not associated anything with Allah. To whom Allah decided to show
mercy.
Those who say: ‘No god but Allah.’
They (the angels) will recognize them in the Fire by the marks of
prostration, for Hell-Fire will devour everything (limb) of the sons of Adam except the marks of prostration.
Allah has forbidden the fire to consume the marks of prostration.”
Reference:
Sahih Muslim. Book 1, Hadith 358
The
link of the previous Hadith: https://sunnah.com/muslim/1/358
God
says about the Day of Resurrection:
﴾The Day the shin will be uncovered and
they are invited to prostration but the disbelievers will not be able (42) Their eyes are
humbled; humiliation will cover them. And they used to be invited to
prostration while they were sound﴿(43) Chapter of the Pen.
●Abu
Sa'id reported: I heard the Prophet saying,
“Allah
will bring forth the severest Hour, and then all the Believers, men and women,
will prostrate themselves before Him, but there will remain those who used to
prostrate in the world for showing off and for gaining good reputation.
Such
people will try to prostrate
(on the Day of Judgment) but their back will be
as if it is one bone (a single vertebra).”
Reference: Sahih AL-Bukhari. Book 65,
Hadith 4919
Averting suspicions of prostration to Allah
A
question may be raised: Since the prostration is only to
Allah, then how does that rule accord with the following situations?
①It
is mentioned in many verses of the Holy Qur'an that Allah has ordered the
angels to prostrate to Adam and they prostrated except Iblis; he refused.
The answer is: The prostration of the angels
to Adam is a prostration of respect, and not a prostration of worship.
②God
says in Chapter of Joseph
﴾And he raised his parents upon the throne, and they bowed to
him in prostration. And he said, “O my father, this is the explanation of my
vision of before﴿
Verse NO 100
The interpreters say:
their prostration to Joseph was like bending and they did not put their
forehead on the earth. This was their greeting to each other at that
time.
Prostration with regard to prayer
Prostration
is a pillar of prayer, i.e., if it is not performed, prayer is invalid.
The
valid prostration is that your forehead and nose touch the land, you raise
elbows above the land, and make your hands away from your face.
As
for a woman, she makes her body parts near each other.
●Ibn
Abbas reported from the Apostle of Allah:
“I have been commanded to prostrate on seven bones:
forehead, and then pointed with his hands towards
his nose, hands, feet, and the extremities of the feet. And we were
forbidden to fold back clothing and hair.”
Reference:
Sahih Muslim. Book 4, Hadith 260
Prostration is the most important pillar of prayer
Since
the obligatory prayer is the most important pillar of Islam, bowing down and
prostration are ever the most important pillars of prayer.
He who traces the
Holy Qur'an notices that; it uses them as an idiom or a metaphor to express the
prayer.
God
says ﴾[Such believers are] the repentant,
the worshippers, the praisers [of
Allah], the travelers [for
His cause], those who bow and prostrate [in prayer], those who enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, and
those who observe the limits
[set by] Allah. And give good tidings to the
believers﴿
Chapter of Repentance. Verse NO 112
﴾And [mention, O Muhammad], when We designated for Abraham the site of the House, [saying], “Do not associate anything with Me and purify My House for
those who perform circumambulation
(Tawaaf) and those who stand [in prayer] and those who bow and prostrate﴿ Chapter of Pilgrimage. Verse
NO 26
﴾And when it is said to them, “Bow [in prayer]”, they do not bow (48) Woe, that Day, to
the deniers﴿(49) Chapter of Those Sent Forth.
Also, the Prophetic traditions use the same expressive way
●Ibn
'Umar reported:
I performed two prostrations (two prayer units) along with
Reference: Sahih Muslim. Book 6, Hadith
128
●Rabi'a
ibn Ka'b reported:
I was with Allah’s Messenger one night and I brought him
water and what he required.
He said to me: “Ask
(anything you like).”
I said, “I ask your company in
Paradise.”
He (the Holy Prophet) said: “Or
anything else beside it.”
I said, “That is all (what I
require).”
He said, “Then, help me achieve
this for you by devoting yourself often to prostration (a lot of Sunnah prayers and Nawaafil).”
Reference: Sahih Muslim. Book 4, Hadith
256
============================================
Types of prostration
Prostration,
other than that of prayer, has three types:
□The
two prostrations of forgetfulness.
□Prostration
of recitation.
□Prostration
of thankfulness.
a) The two prostrations of forgetfulness.
Their provision: they are duty in Abi-Hanifah School, but Sunnah in Shafii School.
Note that
Before
beginning to pray, a Muslim must finish everything concerns him and devote
himself to standing in front of Allah.
It is preferred that the place be empty
of inscriptions and drawings, because if there are any of them, the Devil will
not let him perform prayer well.
It
is God’s mercy to us that if a Muslim forgot something in his prayer, he would
not stop performing it, instead, he would continue it and then he would
prostrate twice after testification and before prayer-end greeting.
When does a praying person perform forgetfulness prostration?
1)
The pillar of prayer: Prostration of forgetfulness
does not deputize for it.
If you remember it soon, perform it, complete your
prayer, and perform the two forgetfulness prostrations at the end of the
prayer.
But Imam Malik sees that forgetting a pillar makes prayer invalid,
therefore the praying person should perform prayer-end greeting and perform
this prayer again.
2)
When you forget the first testification in the prayer of three or four prayer
units.
3)
If there is a doubt about the number of prayer units, then you pray according
to the least number
4)
Perform forgetfulness prostration also when you are sure that you have added
something in your prayer.
5)
If it was a group prayer and the leader forgot to perform something in it, the
followers should not dissociate themselves from him.
●It
was narrated from 'Abd Ar-Rahmaan ibn 'Awf that the Prophet ﷺ said, “When one of you becomes
forgetful in his prayer so that he does not know if he prayed one or two, then
let him consider it one.
When he does not know if he prayed three or four, then
let him consider it three, and let him perform two prostrations before
prayer-end greeting (Tasleem).”
Reference: Jami' At-Tirmidhi. Book 2,
Hadith 251
a) Prostration of recitation.
Its provision: It is a Sunnah in Shaffi School for the Qur'an reciter and listener.
It
is duty in Abi-Hanifah School, according to scolding its leaver, in the Holy
Qur'an, in the form of an inquiry which aims at wonder and disapproval:
﴾So what is [the matter] with them [that] they do not believe (20) And when the
Qur'an is recited to them, they do not prostrate [to Allah]?﴿(21) Chapter of Rending Asunder.
●Ibn
'Umar reported: When the Prophet ﷺ
recited a Chapter that contained the prostration of recitation, he used to
prostrate and we did the same, so that some of us could not find a place for
prostration.
Reference: Sahih AL-Bukhari. Book 17,
Hadith 9
●Abu
Rafi' reported: I performed the night prayer ('Isha') with Abi-Hurairah
and as he recited ﴾When the
Heaven burst asunder﴿, he prostrated.
I said to him: “What prostration is this?”
He
said, “I prostrated behind Abil-Qaasim (the Prophet) (when he recited that
Chapter) and I will go on doing it till I meet him.”
Reference: Sahih AL-Bukhari. Book 10,
Hadith 160
●It
was narrated from Abi-Hurairah that Allah’s Apostle ﷺ
said,
“When the son of Adam recites a
verse of prostration (Sajdah) and falls in prostration, the Devil withdraws weeping and
saying,
“Woe is me! The son of Adam was commanded to prostrate and he prostrated,
and Paradise would be his. I was commanded to prostrate and I refused, so I am
doomed to Hell.”
Reference: Sahih Muslim. Book 1, Hadith
151
How to perform prostration of recitation?
◊If a Muslim recites a verse of prostration or hears it, he waits till
the end of the verse.
◊Then he says: “Allahu Akbar” while he is about to prostrate.
◊He says in this prostration the same as the prostration of prayer.
◊He raises from the prostration saying, “Allahu Akbar” without Tasleem,
i.e., it is a prostration between two Takbeers.
◊He returns to complete reading or listening to the Qur'an.
●'A'ishah
reported: Allah’s Messenger used to say in the Qur'an’s prostration at night, “My face prostrates itself to Him Who created it and brought
forth its hearing and seeing by His might and power.”
Reference: Sunan Abi-Daoud. Book 7,
Hadith 14
Note that:
If
it was a group prayer and the leader did not perform prostration of recitation,
the followers should not dissociate themselves from him.
************************************
Verses of prostration of recitation in the Holy Qur'an
They
are fifteen verses. A Muslim should prostrate after reading or listening to
them.
They are in the order of Chapters of the Qur'an:
(1) ﴾Indeed, those
who are near your Lord are not prevented by arrogance from His worship, and
they exalt Him, and to Him they prostrate﴿
Chapter
of the Heights. Verse NO 206
(2) ﴾And to Allah
prostrates whoever is within the heavens and the earth, willingly or by
compulsion, and their shadows [as
well] in the mornings and the afternoons﴿ Chapter of Thunder. Verse
NO 15
(3) ﴾And to Allah
prostrates whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth of
creatures, and the angels [as well], and they are not arrogant﴿ Chapter
of Bees. Verse NO 49
(4) ﴾Say, “Believe
in it or do not believe. Indeed, those who were given knowledge before it ─
when it is recited to them, they fall upon their faces in prostration﴿Chapter of the Night Journey. Verse NO 107
(5) ﴾When the
verses of the Most Merciful were recited to them, they fell in prostration and
weeping﴿ Chapter of Mary. Verse NO 58
(6) ﴾Do you not
see that to Allah prostrates whoever is in the heavens and
Chapter of Pilgrimage. Verse NO
18
(7) ﴾O you who
have believed, bow, prostrate, worship your Lord, and do good ─ that you may
succeed﴿
Chapter of Pilgrimage. Verse NO
77
(8) ﴾And when it
is said to them, “Prostrate to the Most Merciful”, they say, “And what is the
Most Merciful? Should we prostrate to that which you order us?” And it
increases them in aversion﴿
Chapter
of the Criterion. Verse NO 60
(9) ﴾Do not they prostrate to Allah Who brings
forth what is hidden within the heavens and the earth and knows what you
conceal and what you declare?﴿
Chapter of Ants. Verse NO 25
(10)
﴾Only those
believe in Our verses who, when they are reminded by them, fall down in
prostration and exalt [Allah] with praise of their Lord, and they are not arrogant﴿ Chapter
of Adoration. Verse NO 15
(11) ﴾And of His
signs are the night and day, the sun and moon. Do not prostrate to the sun or
to the moon, but prostrate to Allah, Who created them, if it should be Him that
you worship﴿ Chapter of Detailed. Verse NO 37
(12)
﴾And David
became certain that We had tried him, and he asked forgiveness of his Lord and
fell down bowing [in prostration] and turned in repentance [to
Allah]﴿ Chapter of Saad. Verse NO 24
(13) ﴾Then at this
statement do you wonder? (59) And you laugh and do not weep (60) While you are
proudly sporting? (61) So prostrate
to Allah and worship [Him] ﴿(62) Chapter of the Star.
(14) ﴾So what is [the matter] with them [that] they do not believe (20) And when the Qur'an is recited to them, they do not prostrate [to Allah]?﴿(21)
Chapter
of Rending Asunder.
(15) ﴾No! do not
obey him. But prostrate and draw near [to
Allah]﴿
Chapter
of the Clinging Clots. Verse NO 19
C)
Prostration
of thankfulness
Its provision:
It
is disliked in Abi-Hanifah and Malik Schools.
It is better to perform two
prayer units of thankfulness, as the Prophet ﷺ
did on the Day of Conquest of Makkah in 8 A.H.
The evidence of its legitimacy
If
a Muslim was waiting for an important news, which resulted in occurrence of
blessing or cease of distress, and then he received this news, he should fall
in prostration thanking God.
۞The Prophet has prostrated at the
end of the Battle of Badr when Abdulallah ibn Mas'ud came to him pulling the
head of Abi-Jahl.
۞Ka'b ibn Malik prostrated
thanking God when a person shouted on the Mountain of Sal' saying, “O Ka'b ibn
Malik, rejoice!”
Ka'b
was one of the three persons who absented themselves from the Battle of Tabook
and he waited for fifty days till Allah’s forgiveness occurred.
۞Salaah Ad-Deen AL Ayoobi (the
hero of the Battle of Heteen) prostrated thanking God when he conquered
Jerusalem and liberated it.
●Abu
Bakrah reported: When anything came to the Prophet ﷺ which caused pleasure to him, he prostrated himself in
gratitude to Allah.
Reference: Sunan Abi-Daoud. Book 15,
Hadith 298
***********************************
Conditions of validity of recitation and thankfulness prostrations
①
Covering private parts.
②
Facing AL-Qiblah (Ka'bah direction).
③
Purity of clothes and the place where you prostrate on.
④
The prostrating person has already performed ablution.
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