Moreover, when the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, recited Sūrat al-Najm, he prostrated, and the Muslims and polytheists, jinn and humans, prostrated with him, as established in the Sahīh in a report from Ibn ‘Abbās. The Sahīh also contains a report from Ibn Mas‘ūd:

“They all prostrated except one of the polytheists, who took a handful of pebbles and said, ‘This is enough for me.’” He added, “I later saw him slain as a disbeliever.”

This indicates that they had been commanded to perform this prostration and that whoever omitted it was blameworthy. It was not the prostration performed in prayer; rather, it was an act of submission to Allah. Among them were disbelievers and people who had not performed ablution. Rather, this was a prostration of submission upon the recitation of His words.

Likewise, Allah praised those who prostrate upon hearing His words, saying:

“When the verses of the Most Merciful were recited to them, they fell down prostrating and weeping.”

And He said:

“Indeed, those who were given knowledge before it, when it is recited to them, fall upon their chins in prostration. And they say, ‘Glory be to our Lord! Surely the promise of our Lord has been fulfilled.’ And they fall upon their chins, weeping, and it increases them in humility.”

Even if this is said to encompass prostration within prayer, since they bow and prostrate upon hearing the Quran, it undoubtedly encompasses the prostration of recitation all the more. In prayer, prostration is only one part of the prayer, whereas here He mentions a prostration on the chins by itself. It can therefore no longer be interpreted as bowing, since bowing is not performed upon the chins.

His expression li-l-adhqān (“to the chins”) means “upon the chins,” just as He says, “and laid him down on his forehead,” meaning “upon his forehead.” His expression “upon the chins” indicates the completeness of their prostration