the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ‘The radiance (subuhāt) of His Face would burn.’ He replied, ‘In the case of a human being, subuhāt refers to the part on which he prostrates.’”

What Tha‘lab said is well known. Someone might say, “Do you not see the radiance of his face?” meaning the light of that particular part. It appears—and Allah knows best—that this was called subuhāt because prayer is called tasbīh (glorification), and voluntary prayer is called subhah, a well-known linguistic usage. For the servant combines therein perfection in speech and action: this is the state of prostration, when the servant is closest to his Lord. The finest utterance in prayer is recitation, yet recitation is forbidden during bowing and prostration. Its finest action is prostration, and the remembrance accompanying it is glorification.

A subhah is something used for glorification, just as a string threaded with beads used for glorification is called a subhah. The subuhāt of his face likewise refers to that with which glorification is offered.

Qādī Abū Ya‘lā said: “As for his words, ‘everything His sight encompasses of