Islamic Manual

The prostration of recitation (sajdah tilawah)

The single prostration that becomes obligatory on reciting or hearing one of the fourteen verses of prostration, how it is performed, and its three causes.

There are fourteen special verses in the Qur'an. Whenever you read one out loud, or hear someone else read one, you must make a single sajdah. This is called sajdah tilawah.

Wājibmust do

Making one prostration becomes wajib upon reciting or hearing any one of the fourteen verses of prostration in the Qur'an. This is called sajdah tilawah.

How to make sajdah tilawah

  1. Say Allahu Akbar and go down into sajdah.
  2. Say the same tasbeeh you say in the sajdah of a normal prayer.
  3. Say Allahu Akbar again and come back up.

Three ways sajdah tilawah becomes necessary

  1. You recite one of the fourteen verses yourself.
  2. You hear someone else recite one.
  3. You are praying behind an imam who recites one; it becomes necessary for you too, whether you joined the prayer before or after he read it.
Wājibmust do

A single prostration becomes obligatory upon reciting or hearing any one of the fourteen verses of prostration in the Qur'an. This is called sajdah tilawah.

There are fourteen such verses across the whole Qur'an, found in the surahs al-A'raf, ar-Ra'd, an-Nahl, Bani Isra'il, Maryam, al-Hajj, al-Furqan, an-Naml, as-Sajdah, Sad, Ha-Mim Sajdah (Fussilat), an-Najm, al-Inshiqaq, and al-'Alaq.

Sunnahthe Prophet’s way

Sajdah tilawah is performed between two takbirs, under the same conditions as prayer (facing the qiblah, in a state of wudu, and so on). It does not, however, require raising the hands, reciting Tashahhud, or giving salam. The tasbeeh recited within it is the same as that recited in the prostrations of salah.

The three causes of sajdah tilawah

  1. Reciting a verse of prostration oneself.
  2. Hearing a verse of prostration recited by someone else.
  3. Following an imam who has recited a verse of prostration: the sajdah becomes necessary for the follower too, whether they joined the prayer before or after the imam recited it.
Wājibmust do

Sajdah tilawah, a single prostration, becomes wājib upon the recitation or the hearing of any one of the fourteen āyāt as-sajdah distributed through the Qurʼān.

The fourteen verses of prostration occur in Sūrahs al-Aʿrāf, ar-Raʿd, an-Naḥl, Banī Isrāʾīl, Maryam, al-Ḥajj, al-Furqān, an-Naml, as-Sajdah, Ṣād, Ḥā-Mīm as-Sajdah (Fuṣṣilat), an-Najm, al-Inshiqāq, and al-ʿAlaq.

Sunnahthe Prophet’s way

It is performed between two takbīrs, under the same conditions that govern ṣalāh (ṭahārah, satr al-ʿawrah, facing the qiblah), but without raf' al-yadayn, Tashahhud, or salām, none of which belong to it. Its tasbīḥ is that of the sujūd of ṣalāh.

Wājibmust do

Sajdah tilawah has three distinct causes, any one of which obligates it: reciting a verse of prostration oneself; hearing a verse of prostration recited by another; and following an imam who has recited such a verse, in which case it becomes obligatory upon the follower (muqtadī) regardless of whether they joined the prayer before or after the imam's recitation of it.

Terms on this page

sajdah-tilawah

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