Prostration of Quran Recitation

Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim

Prior to going in to a discussion on how to do a proper Sujud at- Tilawah (Prostration of Quran Recitation), it may be useful to review  a proper Sujud (prostration) first.

Although it is the most relied upon opinion (mu`tamid) that the  standing position  (qiyam) is the most excellent of all the integrals  (arkan) of prayer because that is the position in which the Quran  (the most excellent of all words) is recited…there is another  opinion that the prostration (sujud) is the most excellent of all the  integrals of prayer because of the hadith of the Prophet Muhammad  (salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam) that is relayed by Imam Muslim on the  authority of Abu Hurayrah (r): “The closest a servant is to his Lord  is while he is in prostration (sajid), so make plenty of du’a.”

Not only is prostration (sujud) an integral of prayer…but the  prostration itself has its own conditions.

Conditions (shurut) of Prostration:

• That you do not drop down for any other purpose. That is, you must  not intend some other action like dropping down to the ground out of  exhaustion, or going down in order to pick up something from the  floor, etc.
• That all the seven “limbs” of prostration touch the ground. These  seven are: the forehead, the inside of the two hands (palms/fingers),  the two knees, and the bottom of the toes of the two feet. To fulfill  this condition, at least some portion of each of these seven “limbs”  should touch the ground–that is the most relied upon opinion. There  is a weaker opinion (qawl) that the minimum part of the body that  must touch the ground during prostration is some portion of the  forehead only.
• That you remain in prostration for the duration of a moment of  serenity (tama’ninah). That is, all your limbs should come to a rest  and pause for at least a moment, as long as it takes to  say “subhanallah”.
• That the forehead is exposed. In other words, there can be nothing  covering up your entire forehead… some portion must remain  uncovered/exposed so that at least a part of your forehead is able to  touch the ground.
• That you bear some weight on your forehead. In other words, you  must shift your weight such that your forehead bears some of the  pressure… it is not sufficient to simply have your forehead make  contact with the ground.
• That your waist is higher than your head during prostration.
• That you do not prostrate on something that is moving with your  movements. (meaning: do not place your forehead on something that is  attached to you). For example, say you have a hood over your head or  you are wearing a shawl on your shoulder: if, as you are going down,  that material some how comes in between your forehead and the ground,  the prostration is not valid, because the material is from something  you are wearing/it is moving with you.

Prostration of Quran Recitation (Sujud at-Tilawah)

It is sunnah to make a prostration of Quran recitation at the  appropriate verses in the Quran for: – the one who recites, – the one who is actively listening, and – the one who just happens to hear the recitation.

There are 14 places in the Quran when it is sunnah to prostrate:

1. Surat al-A`raaf (surah 7, verse 206)
2. Surat ar-Ra`d (surah 13, verse 15)
3. Surat an-Nahl (surah 16, verse 49-50)
4. Surat al-Israa’ (surah 17, verse 107-9)
5. Surat Maryam (surah 19, verse 58)
6. Surat al-Hajj (surah 22, verse 18)
7. Surat al-Hajj (surah 22, verse 77)
8. Surat al-Furqan (surah 25, verse 60)
9. Surat an-Naml (surah 27, verse 25-6)
10. Surat as-Sajda (surah 32, verse 15)
11. Surat Fussilat (surah 41, verse 37-8)
12. Surat an-Najm (surah 53, verse 62)
13. Surat al-Inshiqaaq (surah 84, verse 21)
14. Surat al-`Alaq (surah 96, verse 19)

Conditions for the prostration at these verses to be considered a  sunnah:

• That the recitation is allowed in the Shari`ah. For example, the  one reciting the Quran cannot be a person who is in major ritual  impurity (janabah), because it is haram for such a person to recite  Quran.
• That the recitation is done on purpose. That is, you would not  prostrate if these verses were recited by someone who is talking in  his or her sleep, or an intoxicated person, or someone who is not  even aware of what he or she is saying.
• That the recitation is of the entire verse (the entire ayah of  prostration)
• That the recitation comes from a single reciter.
• That the prostration does not take place during a funeral prayer  (salat al-Janaza).
• That the recitation and the prostration occur at the same time.  (there is no long pause between the recitation and the prostration;  if there is a long pause in between, then it is no longer sunnah to  prostrate)
  • If you are in the middle of prayer, then the following 2  conditions are added:
    • That you are not being lead in prayer. That is, if you recite one  of the verses of prostration while you are following an Imam in  prayer, you cannot make the prostration for your own recitation.  (However, if your Imam recites a verse of prostration and then  prostrates, you must also follow in prostration in order to avoid  invalidating your congregational prayer)
    • That the verse was not recited solely for the purpose of wanting to  make the prostration.

The Integrals (arkan) of the Prostration for Quran Recitation are:

1. Make the Intention (niyyah)
2. Saying “Allahu Akbar” (Takbirat al-Ihraam)
3. Prostrating (sujud)
4. A moment of serenity (tama’ninah)
5. Sitting up after the prostration (juluus)
6. Saying “as-salamu alaykum” (as-salaam)
7. Doing this all in the above order (tartib)

Note: The Prostration of Quran Recitation is considered to be like  prayer…in that you must be in a state of ritual purity (have wudu)  and facing the qiblah in order to perform it.

Note: Standing (qiyam) is not an integral of the prostration…you  could do the prostration for Quran Recitation while starting from a  sitting position.

In summary, how do you go about doing the Prostration of Quran recitation?

1. you start by either reciting Quran or listening to someone’s recitation, and then one of the verses of prostration is recited.
2. then make sure you have wudu, locate the direction of the qiblah and face it
3. either starting from a standing position, or from a sitting position, raise your hands and do a takibirat al-ihram (say “Allahu Akbar”) as you would when starting prayer.
4. make sujud…and be sure that your prostration fulfills all the aforementioned conditions of a valid sujud
5. sit up after making your (single) sujud, and then do a taslimah (say “as salamu alaykum”) as you would when ending a prayer

And Allah knows best.

wassalaam
Omar

Sources:

Fath al-`Allaam, v2. (217-223)
at-Taqriraat as-Sadidah (168-169)