Chapter: The Prostration of Qur’anic Recitation

The author—may Allah have mercy on him—said:

The prostration of recitation (sujūd al-tilāwah) is prescribed for both the reciter and the attentive listener, because Ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrated:

“The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would recite the Qur’an to us; whenever he came to a verse that requires prostration, he would pronounce the takbīr and prostrate, and we would prostrate along with him.”

If the reciter omits the prostration, the listener should still perform it, for it pertains to them both, and the omission of one does not excuse the other. As for someone who merely hears the recitation without listening attentively, al-Shāfiʿī said: the ruling is not as emphatically applied to him as it is to the attentive listener, on account of the reports from ʿUthmān and ʿImrān ibn Ḥuṣayn (may Allah be pleased with them) that “the prostration is due from the one who listens,” and from Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with them both) that “the prostration is for the one who sits for it.” Thus it is a Sunnah, not an obligation, as indicated by the report of Zayd ibn Thābit (may Allah be pleased with him):

“I recited Sūrat al-Najm before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and none of us prostrated.”

Explanation

The ḥadīth of Ibn ʿUmar is related by al-Bukhārī and Muslim with this wording except for the phrase “he pronounced the takbīr,” which does not appear in their versions; that phrase is found only in Abū Dāwūd’s narration, whose chain is weak. The ḥadīth of Zayd ibn Thābit is reported by al-Bukhārī and Muslim in meaning. Al-Bukhārī’s wording is: “I recited Sūrat al-Najm to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and he did not prostrate in it,” while Muslim records: “He recited before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ‘By the star when it descends’ (al-Najm), and he did not prostrate in it.” The report from Ibn ʿAbbās is authentic, as cited by al-Bayhaqī, and the two reports from ʿUthmān and ʿImrān are likewise authentic; al-Bukhārī mentioned them decisively in his Ṣaḥīḥ.

Ruling

Sujūd al-tilāwah is a Sunnah for both the reciter and the attentive listener, with no disagreement—whether the reciter is inside the prayer or outside it. A solitary weak opinion, transmitted by al-Rāfiʿī, states that the listener does not prostrate to the recitation of someone praying who is not his imām. Whether or not the reciter himself prostrates, it remains recommended for the listener to do so; this is the correct position affirmed by the majority. Al-Ṣaydilānī held that it is not recommended if the reciter does not prostrate, and this view was selected by Imām al-Ḥaramayn.

If one listens attentively to the recitation of a person in minor impurity, or of a non-Muslim, or of a child, there are two views. The sound view is that it is recommended to prostrate, for he has listened to a verse of prostration; the second view says it is not recommended, since he is following the reciter.

As for the person who merely hears the recitation without attentive listening or intention, there are three views: the sound, established opinion—explicitly stated in al-Buwayṭī and elsewhere—is that it is recommended for him to prostrate, though with less emphasis than for the attentive listener; the second view equates him with the attentive listener; the third view holds that the prostration is not recommended for him, and this was the decisive position of Shaykh Abū Ḥāmid in his Taʿlīq and of al-Bandanījī.

Sub-issue

When a person praying alone recites a verse of prostration, he should perform sujūd al-tilāwah for his own recitation. If he recites the verse but does not prostrate, and later decides to prostrate, it is not permissible, because he is engaged in the obligatory prayer and cannot abandon it to return to a Sunnah act; besides, it would amount to an additional bowing. However, if he changes his mind before reaching