to prostrate, and he did so, and for him is Paradise; whereas I was commanded to prostrate but refused—so the Fire is mine!’ Recorded by Muslim.

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, mentioned this incident to urge people toward the prostration, which shows that this sujūd is divinely mandated, just as the prostration to Adam was commanded—for in both cases there is a clear order. He also laid down the precedent of making a prostration immediately after the verse is read: whoever prostrates emulates the angels, and whoever refuses imitates Iblīs. Moreover, this is a prostration offered to Allah, and is therefore more exalted than the angels’ prostration to Adam.

This ḥadīth on its own is enough to prove the obligation, and the Qur’ānic verses that contain specific commands—and even those that contain general ones—point to the same ruling.

In addition, when the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, recited:

“By the star when it descends” [al-Najm 53:1],

he prostrated, and with him prostrated the believers and the idolaters, the jinn and humankind alike, as is authentically reported from Ibn ʿAbbās.