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How do I perform Sujud Tilawah?

how do i perform sajda tilawah?
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February 11, 2022
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What is sajda tilawah?

Sujud Tilawah is a single prostration which one makes after reciting certain ayahs of the Quran. These are marked with an arrow in the Quran.

It can be performed within the salah, if you recited one of these ayahs in your salah, or out of the salah, if you were reciting or you heard someone reciting one of these verses.

The Prophet (peace be on him) used to make this sujud whenever he recited one of these ayahs. He said:

“When a person prostrates himself after reading a verse requiring the performance of sajdah, the shaitan starts crying and wailing in a corner, saying: ‘Alas! The children of Adam were enjoined to perform sajdah and they carried it out, and become entitled to enter Paradise, but I refused to do so and was condemned to Hell.'” (Muslim and Ibn Majah)

Which ayahs require Sujud tilwah?

In the Maliki school there are 11 ayahs of Sujud Tilawh. In the other three schools, there are 14-15. There is a difference of opinion about the ayah in Surat Hajj.

1.         Surah Al A’Raf (7) Ayat 206

2.         Surah Al Ra’d (13) Ayat 15

3.         Surah Al Nahl (16) Ayat 50

4.         Surah Bani Israil (17) Ayat 109

5.         Surah Maryum (19) Ayat 58

6.         Surah Al Haj (22) Ayat 18

7.         Surah Al Haj (22) Ayat 77

8.         Surah Al Farqan (25) Ayat 60

9.         Surah Al Naml (27) Ayat 26

10.       Surah As Sajdah (32) Ayat 15

11. Surah Saad (38) Ayat 24

12. Surah Fussilat (41) Ayat 38

13.       Surah Al Najam (53) Ayat 62

14.       Surah Inshiqaq (84) Ayat 21

15.       Surah Al Alaq (96) Ayat 19

Is it an obligation or a sunnah?

In the Hanafi school, sujud tilawah is wajib (obligatory). It is considered a debt which must be paid. It can be performed later, but it is regarded as a debt until then.

In the Shafi school, the sujud is considered a sunnah. Therefore you would be rewarded if you did it, but there is no sin if you did not do it.

According to the Maliki school, the prostration of recitation (sujud tilawa) is considered a sunnah, not obligatory, if one is praying a recommended (nafil) prayer. It is disliked (makruh) to recite a verse of prostration during an obligatory prayer.

How do you perform sujud tilawah?

If you are seated on the floor, you can go into sujud. If you are seated on a chair, you should stand up with the intention, face Qiblah, without raising your hands, say Allahu Akbar and go into sajdah, then recite Subhaana Rabbi’al A’laa’ (at least) 3 times while in sajdah and then rise saying Allahu Akbar. There is no need to do the salam afterwards.What duas can you recite in sajda tilawah?

In addition to reciting Subhaana Rabbi’al A’laa’ it is more rewarding to recite other duas:

You may recite other duas conveyed from the Prophet (peace be upon him), such as:

سَجَدَ وَجْهِي لِلَّذِي خَلَقَهُ، وَشَقَّ سَمْعَهُ وَبَصَرَهُ، بِحَوْلِهِ وَقُوَّتِهِ

My face fell prostrate before He who created it and brought forth its faculties of hearing and seeing by His might and power.

اللَّهُمَّ اُكْتُبْ لِي بِهَا عِنْدَك أَجْرًا وَضَعْ عَنِّي بِهَا وِزْرًا وَاجْعَلْهَا لِي عِنْدَك ذُخْرًا وَتَقَبَّلْهَا مِنِّي كَمَا تَقَبَّلْتهَا مِنْ عَبْدِك دَاوُد

Oh Allah, for this prostration write down reward for me with you, and in return for this prostration forgive my sins, and make it [the prostration] a reposit for me with you, and accept it from me like you accepted it from your slave Dawud (Allah bless him). (Tirmidhi, Ibn Khuzayma)

If you find it difficult to do sujud?

If you have a problem making sujud, you can do the sujud seated. If you are seated, you just incline your head forwards, you do not need to bend down on to a table or cushion or wall.

Do you require wudu?

In the four Sunni schools, you do. According to one Hanbali opinion you do not. If a woman recites the Quran while on her period, she cannot make the sujud until she has finished her period and done her ghusl. If she follows the Hanafi opinion that the sujud is wajib, she can repay this sujud later, or if she follows the opinion that the sujud is sunnah, she does not have to repay it later.

Do you need to be covered?

Yes. As you would in salah.

Do you need to do taslim afterwards?

No. You do not need to say ‘salam’ afterwards.

Do you have to perform it immediately?

If you cannot perform it immediately, you can perform it later.

Can you make up missed sujud tilawah?

Yes, you can make it up in the Hanafi school. If you have missed a large number of of sujud tilawah you could perform anytime.

Do menstruating women need to make a sujud tilawah if they recited or heard an ayah of prostration?

The sajda cannot be while one is not pure, therefore it is not due while a woman is menstruating and does not have to be made up later.

Can it be performed outside salah?

Yes. As along as you face the qibla and have wudu’ and are covered.

How do you perform it in salah?

If an ayah of sujud tilawah is read in salah then the sajdah must be made immediately in the salah. The method of performing sujud tilawah in salah is to complete the ayat and then immediately go down into sajdah whilst saying Allahu Akbar. After the sajdah return to the standing position whilst saying Allahu Akbar and continue reciting without first reading ‘Bismillah’.

When you recite an ayat tilawah during salah then you should make prostration immediately, whereas if you recite such a verse outside the salah, you may perform it later.

During salah, you may recite a few more ayahs before you do the prostration. For instance, in a surah like Surah Inshiqaq, there are only three verses left to the end, if one completes the surah and then does ruku for the recitation, this is valid only in the Hanafi school as it is still considered as having done sujud immediately after the recitation.

When you rise from the sujud tilawah can you go straight into ruku?

It is preferable to recite some verses when you re-stand, either by completing the surah, or reciting the beginning of another surah. As going from the standing, to prostration, to standing, and then immediately to Ruku’ would be disliked, as it resembles mixing up the order of the prayer by prostrating immediately after bowing, yet doing so would not invalidate the prayer.

Can you do multiple sujud?

After your first sajda you may remain seated and do as many additional sujud as you want, without having to re-stand.

Do you need to do sujud tilawah if you hear the ayah tilawah in a recording?

No. The condition of the prostration is only necessary if it is a live recitation. You are not required to do the sajda if you hear a recording, as per the opinion of scholars. This is due to the analogy that the sajda is not required when the recitation is by a parrot or from an echo.

Who is not required to perform sujud tilawah?

Anyone who is asleep, insane, or a child and women who are menstruating are not required to perform the sajda. Women can make it up later once they are in a state of purity again.  

How many prostrations must you make if you recite a verse repeatedly in one session?

According to the Hanafi school, as long as one recites within a single session (majlis), one only has to perform a single prostration (sajda) at the end.

If one recites the verse (ayat) multiple times in one sitting, it would be sufficient to perform a single prostration.

If more than one verse requiring sajda is recited, the number of sajdahs to be performed will be the same as the number of the verses recited. Similarly, if the verse requiring a sajdah is repeated in different sittings, the number of sajdahs to be performed will be according to the number of sittings.

What times should you avoid performing sujud tilawah?

You should avoid performing the sajda at the times when it is disliked to pray, namely, at sunrise, Istiwaa before Zuhr few minutes and sunset.

Why do we prostrate when we hear these ayahs?

Every verse of tilawah contains a command to do sajda and mentions the severe punishment of those who refuse to. Therefore, believers rush to fulfil this command and to show their obedience and submission to Allah.

1) Al-A’raf, 7:206, Juz 9

Indeed, those who are near your Lord are not prevented by arrogance from His worship, and they glorify Him, and to Him they prostrate.

2) Ar-Ra’d, 13:15, Juz 13

And to Allah prostrates whoever is within the heavens and the earth, willingly or by compulsion, and as do their shadows in the morning and the evening.

3) An-Nahl, 16:50, Juz14

They fear their Lord above them, and they do what they are commanded.

4) Al-Isra’, 17:109, Juz 15

And they fall down upon their faces weeping, and it [the Quran] increases them in humility.

5) Maryam, 19:58, Juz 16

Those were the prophets who Allah has blessed from among the descendants of Adam, and of those We carried [in the Ark] with Noah, and of the descendants of Abraham and Israel, and of those We guided and chose. Whenever the revelations of the Most Compassionate were recited to them, they fell down, prostrating and weeping.

6) Al-Hajj, 22:18, Juz 17

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 living creatures and many human beings? But upon many the punishment has been justified. And he whom Allah humiliates – for him there is no bestower of honor. Indeed, Allah does what He wills.

7) Al-Furqan, 25:60, Juz 19

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 only drives them farther away.

8) An-Naml, Chapter 27, Verse 26, Juz 19

Allah – there is no god except Him, the Lord of the Mighty Throne.

9) As-Sadjah, Chapter 32, Verse 15, Juz 21

The only people who believe in Our messages are those who, when they are reminded of them, fall down in prostration, and glorify the praises of their lord, and they are not arrogant.

10) Swad, Chapter 38, Verse 24 (Hanafi), Juz 23

“O David, indeed We have made you a successor upon the earth, so judge between the people in truth and do not follow [your] desire, as it will lead you astray from the way of Allah .” Indeed, those who go astray from the way of Allah will have a severe punishment for having forgotten the Day of Reckoning.”

11) Fussilat, 41:38, Juz 24

But if the disbelievers are too arrogant, those who are near your Lord glorify Him night and day. And  never grow weary.

12) An-Najm, 53:62, Juz 27

So prostrate to Allah and worship [Him].

13) Al-Inshiqaq, 84:21, Juz 30

And when the Qur’an is recited to them, they do not prostrate themselves [to Allah ]?

14) Al-’Alaq, Chapter 96, Verse 19, Juz 30

No! Do not obey him. But prostrate and draw near [to Allah ].

15) Al-Hajj, 22:77 , Part 17 (Shafi School)

O you who believe! Bow down, prostrate yourselves, worship your Lord, and do good so that you may succeed.

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Shaykh Haytham Tamim is the founder and main teacher of the Utrujj Foundation. He has provided a leading vision for Islamic learning in the UK, which has influenced the way Islamic knowledge is disseminated. He has orchestrated the design and delivery of over 200 unique courses since Utrujj started in 2001. His extensive expertise spans over 30 years across the main Islamic jurisprudence schools of thought. He has studied with some of the foremost scholars in their expertise; he holds some of the highest Ijazahs (certificates) in Quran, Hadith (the Prophetic traditions) and Fiqh (Islamic rulings). His own gift for teaching was evident when he gave his first sermon to a large audience at the age of 17 and went on to serve as a senior lecturer of Islamic transactions and comparative jurisprudence at the Islamic University of Beirut (Shariah College). He has continued to teach; travelling around the UK, Europe and wider afield, and won the 2015 BISCA award (British Imams & Scholars Contributions & Achievements Awards) for Outstanding Contribution to Education and Teaching.

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