that one strive earnestly in supplication during prostration, when the servant is close to his Lord.

The worshipper has been commanded to say in prostration:

“Glory be to my Lord, the Most High.”

This is reported by the compilers of the Sunan collections. Likewise, the hadith of Ibn Masʿūd states:

“When the servant prostrates and says three times during his prostration, ‘Glory be to my Lord, the Most High,’ his prostration is complete, and that is its minimum.”

This is reported by Abū Dāwūd. In the hadith of Hudhayfah reported by Muslim:

“The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, offered a night prayer in which he recited al-Baqarah, al-Nisāʾ, and Āl ʿImrān. He then bowed and then prostrated, for approximately as long as his recitation, saying while bowing, ‘Glory be to my Lord, the Magnificent,’ and while prostrating, ‘Glory be to my Lord, the Most High.’”

This is because prostration represents the servant’s utmost submission and humility, and his lowering and humbling himself to the fullest extent before Allah by placing the noblest part of himself—his face—on the dust. It is therefore fitting that, when he is at his lowest, he should describe his Lord as the Most High. “Most High” is more emphatic than “High,” for the servant possesses nothing of himself: considered in himself, he is sheer nonexistence, and he has no share in grandeur or greatness.

Likewise, the servant has no right to “exaltation on earth,” for Allah, glorified is He, has condemned those who desire exaltation on earth, such as Pharaoh and Iblīs. The believer, however, attains an elevated rank through faith, not by desiring it, as Allah Most High says:

“Do not lose heart or grieve, for you will be superior if you are believers.”

Since prostration represents the servant’s utmost lowliness and submission, he glorifies the name of his Lord, the Most High. He, glorified is He, is the Most High, and the servant is the lowliest, just as He is the Lord and the servant is the servant. He is the Self-Sufficient, and the servant is