His nose bowed low, never raised;
His gaze downcast, his ears deaf.

Sahl ibn Abd Allāh was asked, “Does the heart prostrate?” He replied, “Yes, in a prostration from which it never raises its head.”

In Surah al-Hajj, the first prostration passage is a statement:

“Do you not see that to Allah prostrates whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on earth, as do the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains, the trees, the animals, and many people? But many others have deserved punishment. Whoever Allah humiliates, none can honor. Indeed, Allah does whatever He wills.”

The second is a command coupled with bowing, which is why it became a matter of disagreement.

The prostration passage in al-Furqān:

“When they are told, ‘Prostrate to the Most Merciful,’ they say, ‘And what is the Most Merciful? Should we prostrate to whatever you command us?’ And it increases them in aversion.”

This is a statement accompanied by censure of those who are commanded to prostrate but do not; it is not praise. Likewise, the prostration passage in al-Naml:

“I found her and her people prostrating to the sun instead of Allah. Satan has made their deeds appealing to them and barred them from the way, so they are not guided.”

“So that they do not prostrate to Allah, who brings forth what is hidden in the heavens and the earth and knows what you conceal and what you reveal.”

“Allah—there is no deity worthy of worship except Him, Lord of the Mighty Throne.”

This is a statement implying censure of those who prostrate to other than Allah and do not prostrate to Allah. According to the reading alā yā usjudū (“Lo! Prostrate!”), however, it is a command.

In “Alif Lām Mīm Tanzīl al-Sajdah”:

“Only those believe in Our verses who, when reminded