And in another verse, He says:

“And those who spend the night before their Lord, prostrating and standing.”

He did not say “in devotion.” Thus, He referred to standing using the word for standing, not the word for devotion.

Allah Most High also says:

“And stand before Allah in devout obedience.”

A person standing may or may not be devoutly obedient, and the same applies to someone prostrating. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, therefore explained that the best prayer is that marked by prolonged devotion. This includes devotion both while prostrating and while standing. This hadith supports the second case: prolonging the standing, bowing, and prostration in prayer is preferable to increasing their number, because prolonged devotion is achieved by prolonging them, not by increasing their number. As for preferring prolonged standing with brief bowing and prostration over more frequent bowing and prostration, that is mistaken.

Prostration, as a form of worship, is superior to standing in several respects:

First: Prostration is itself an act of worship and is only proper when performed as worship of Allah alone. Standing, however, is only an act of worship when accompanied by that intention, for a person stands while attending to worldly affairs and is not forbidden to do so.

Second: Obligatory prayer must include prostration. Likewise, every prayer that includes bowing must also include prostration; prostration is never dispensed with in such a prayer, under any circumstances. It is therefore the mainstay of prayer. Standing, however, may always be omitted in voluntary prayer, and in prayer on a mount while travelling. Standing is also waived in obligatory prayer for someone who is ill, and likewise for a follower whose imam prays sitting, as