enter the gate prostrating themselves and to say, “ḥiṭṭa” (absolve us). It is well known that He did not order them to perform ablution, nor had ablution been legislated for them; rather, it is one of the distinctive rites of the nation of Muhammad. Whether the verse intends full prostration on the ground or mere bowing, if the latter is meant it remains an independent act of worship that signifies submission to Allah and belongs to the same class as prostration. In our own law a single, stand-alone prostration has indeed been prescribed, whereas a solitary bowing is a matter of dispute—some jurists have allowed it as a substitute for the prostration of Qur’anic recitation.